Nike Women's Marathon 2012 Weekend/Race Report

This past weekend my sister and I went to San Francisco (with two of her best friends) to run the Nike Women's Marathon (NWM).  We signed up for the lottery last year and didn't get in (luckily, since she had already convinced me to sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon), so decided to try again this year.  Somehow, our party of two got selected, which brought us to SF the Friday morning before the race.

We stayed at Petite Auberge which is really all sorts of fabulousness.  I won't go crazy with the details but highlights include:

• Location three blocks from Union Square (home to the race start. race expo, and VERY upscale shopping)
• Free fresh baked cookies (chocolate chip was my favorite), delicious home-cooked breakfast, and wine with h'ordeuvres everyday
• Super friendly staff and guests

Pre-Race
After checking in and eating at least four chocolate cookies each (fresh from the oven) we headed to the marathon Expotique (no plebian marathon expo for NWM, no sir) to pick up our packets with our bibs, but no T-shirts.

My sister: "Where are our t-shirts?"
Nike helper lady: "You only get those when you finish."
My sister: "WTF?"

Okay, she didn't say that last part, but she might as well have.  Seriously - WTF?  I guess you don't get any of the good stuff (more on that later) unless you actually run the darn 26.2 miles.

We spent the rest of Friday and all day Saturday doing what you should be doing if you are planning to run a marathon - walk up and down steep hills (hello, SF) eating lots of good rich food (hello, macaron).

Sis and I Saturday at the biggest and nicest farmer's market I've ever been to

My sister and her friends had never been to SF before and I was just running this thing to support her.  This was just going to be for fun, so I didn't mind the walking.  SF is a beautiful town with some pretty cool stuff to see.

Race Day
I know I already said our hotel was awesome, but being one block from our corrals doubled the awesomeness.  We were able to get up relatively late, get down to the start, do bag check, go to the bathrooms, and stand around with a few thousand of our closest friends with plenty of time to spare.

About half an hour before the race, this is the corral behind me.  It was about to get a lot more crowded.

I hung out at the very back of my corral (Sis was in a different corral) because I was looking to meet up with someone I had met at the Diva's half marathon the week before.  We never did meet, but being at the back didn't hurt me in any way.  I'm going to give it to the race organizers, they really listened to past criticisms and the corral system was great.  There were lots of port-a-potties and by the time we got near the race start there was plenty of space to run.  I wasn't running (saving that for the the start line), but everyone else was running about a block out.

I hadn't really trained for this marathon much.  After Pumpkinman I was pretty tired and pretty lazy, so my training consisted of one long run a week.  I got up to 21 miles once thanks to my friend Sam.  Normally for marathon training I would do three 20+ mile runs.  So while I was sure I could finish I was thinking it was going to be much much slower than my PR.

Oh, and did I mention there were hills?

This doesn't look hard...

The race starts out pretty flat, but get serious around mile 6.  My first eight miles was pretty slow (~10:00 miles) thanks to the lack of training and the (beautiful) hills of SF.  Due to my Garmin dying during Pumpkinman I don't know for sure when I started picking up the pace.  My end average pace was 9:16 so somewhere in those 26.2 miles I must have been hauling butt a little because I'm pretty sure my last six miles were on the slow side too.

Overall, the race was pretty uneventful for me.  I tried to keep a fairly even pace once I started running a bit faster.  My feet started hurting around mile 18 and I was just ready to be done with the race.  During the last "hill" (really a bump) I started walking because I was really tired, but this girl I had been running next to for the previous three or four miles encouraged me to start running again and we ran together almost to the finish (I slowed down a lot in the last quarter mile and she pulled away).  Thank you random girl whose name I can't remember right now for pulling me along.  I was happy with my time given the circumstances. Would I have liked to run faster?  Absolutely, but I think given my fitness and training I did the best I could have possibly done and that makes me very proud.

I was pretty done at that point.

The end of the race, which everyone probably knows about, is as pretty darn cool.  There are firemen in tuxedos with Tiffany's boxes holding finisher's medals on a silver tray.  I took a picture of this with my phone, but I think the Noggin erased it when he was playing with my phone.  Suffice to say, that was pretty exciting.

Sweet!

After getting my medal I got my finisher t-shirt (finally), which could not be anymore florescent green.  I know these bright colors are the rage right now now, but I am not a fan.  Additionally, florescent green does nothing for the Asian complexion - nothing.

The finish area had a stretching tent (very cool), a changing tent, and a finisher's boutique.  I wasn't feeling the merchandise at Niketown before the race, but was definitely more excited to purchase something after I was done.  Also, Niketown before the race was a feeding frenzy of almost unmatched proportions.  Anyhow, after I took advantage of these amenities, I settled in with my sister's friends and this cool cowbell they had picked up at the cheer station (thanks, ladies) to welcome my sister in.

I think I almost had more fun cheering people and ringing my cowbell than I did running the race.  It was really fantastic to see all those ladies accomplish something special and to yell (encouragement) at random strangers.

On a side note - like the Diva's Half Marathon the week before, where it was impossible to spot anyone you knew wearing pink, at NWM it was impossible to spot anyone wearing purple.  NWM supports Team in Training (TNT), whose color is purple.  It seemed that every other person was part of TNT so when my sister decided to wear a purple tank for the run, we found it pretty challenging to spot her.  However, she was wearing a white hat (who knew this would be differentiating) and her friend was able to spot her about a tenth of a mile out.  I got to cheer her on and she was able to finish strong (before they closed down shop at the finish).

Last Points
Overall I thought the event was fantastic.  The organization was pretty good, the perks were really nice, and the course was beautiful.  I would recommend it for a girls' weekend/race.  Points of interest (good and bad) for those of you who might be interested in doing this in the future:

• There is a bra exchange around mile 6.5 (yes, you could swap your disgusting sweaty bra for a free new Nike one) which is one of the weirdest things I have seen as a race perk.
• The half marathon (probably two thirds or more of the field) split off around mile 12, but the marathon rejoins it around their mile 13 (marathon mile 16).  Marathoners got to run pretty much past the finish (marathon and half finish at the same spot) with the knowledge that we needed to run about 10 more miles.
• There is plenty of water/Nuun stations and a few Cliff Shot Blocks/Luna Bar stations.  I picked up Cliff Shot Blocks when available, but I was very glad to have carried my sports beans or I would not have had enough to eat.
• Even as a runner you have to pay for the shuttle bus to take you back to Union Square after the race.  I think $20 is a bit steep for runners to have to pay.  There may be a better alternative to get back to Union Square, but we didn't bother to figure it out.
• The NWM expotique (so fancy) is not the type of expo you would find at other races.  Do not expect there to be booths selling shoes, nutrition or other things a runner might be interested in buying at an expo.  There is one small tent selling Gu/fuel and a few other things like gloves or fuelbelts outside the main tent.  It was like the red-headed step-child of the expo and I think they only added it because people complained in the past.  Also, it was a very good idea for us to get our numbers on Friday.  Saturday we went to Niketown to get a shirt for my sister and there was an insane line for number pick-up.
• Either the live runner tracking is terrible or my sister's friends and I are not very bright.  We could not figure out how to track her (we wanted to know approximately where she was on the course) when we were looking for her at the end.
• There are a lot of men who run this race.  A lot.
• There was good crowd support, especially at the cheer stations and at the finish.  The best sign I saw was the one below which was when I was was heading up one of the hills between miles six and seven (a very good time to be getting  a laugh or two).

I love me some Ryan Gosling

Diva's Half Marathon 2012 (Long Island) Race Report

The one word I would use to describe this race is "fun".  I did this race last year, so I knew what to expect going in.

The race starts and finishes in Eisenhower Park on Long Island, some of the course is pretty, some not so pretty (hello, prison on the highway).  It's fairly flat (good for a PR), but very crowded at the start so if you line up anywhere except for the front you spend quite a lot of time dodging people (not so good for a PR).

I ran the race with my friend Sam, who seems to be my go-to-girl for races this summer.  I wasn't running for time since the Nike Women's Marathon was the following Sunday and I hadn't really been training.  Sam is training for the Philadelphia Marathon so she wasn't planning to go all out on this race either, but she wanted to finish in less than two hours, so we kept this goal in mind while we were running.

It was a beautiful day and we were surrounded by about a thousand women... all wearing pink.  I kid you not.  This race is literally a sea of pink.  Good luck on spotting any of your friends if they are in pink.  At one point near the end of the race I was talking to this one woman next to me for about two minutes before I realized it wasn't Sam, but some other lady wearing a pink shirt and black capris.  I was wearing blue.  I am not a pink girl at all.

I had a super fantastic time running and chatting with Sam.  I really enjoyed the enthusiastic crowd support, especially the three men who were dressed up as very interesting looking ladies (of the night, I think).  I saw them three times (those girls really got around) and they were so funny. 

The highlights of the race were at the end.  Around mile 12 you run through a tiara and boa (yes, pink) station and getting glammed up for your finisher picture.  The boa is a bit annoying because it flops around while you are running, but I think it's a cute idea.  When you cross the finish line you get a glass of champagne (I chose the ginger ale alternative), a rose, and a medal from a shirtless, buff fireman.  The finisher's medal at this race is probably the biggest and nicest one that I have ever seen at any race.  It is truly blinged out.

The Noggin's monkey modeling my bling

I crossed the finish line of this race with Sam laughing and smiling, which never happens to me.  i'm never the person with their arms raised and a huge smile at the end, but this time I was.  I loved the whole experience (Thanks, Sam!) and would definitely recommend this race to anyone, especially as a first time half marathon.  You have to do it with a girlfriend though, it makes the experience so much better.

Don't make fun of my crazy race outfit - I get enough of that from the Russian

My only two criticisms of the race are no number pick-up race morning and no gu/fuel/whatever on the race course.  The first point means that if you, like me, don't live on Long Island then you have to drive across Manhattan twice in one weekend (SO not recommended for anyone who, like me, has any form of road rage).  I really don't understand why there is traffic on 495 on Long Island at all times of the day (even early morning on a Saturday).  The second point means that you have to be really prepared and carry your own fuel during the race, which is not that big of a deal, but I think it's nice when a longer race at least offers this to the participants.

Overall a very positive experience.  I will probably be back again next year, unless it conflicts with another race.

I'll be back...

Due to some unforeseen delays in our kitchen renovation project, the Russian, Noggin, I, and the furballs have been trapped in our master bedroom sans computer for the last month (hence the no blogging).  Well, that nightmare is coming to an end this weekend and I plan to be back with a (pretty small) vengeance.  In the last month - post Pumpkinman - I have been mostly sitting on my behind getting fat, but when not doing that I ran the Diva's Half-marathon (not on my race calendar) and the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco.  Full race reports and pictures to come soon of those, but before that happens (and my computer gets reconnected) here is a sneak peak.

Pumpkinman Half-Iron 2012 Race Report

Let me just start with the disclaimer that this blog will have (almost) no pictures from:

• Before the race: We made it to the race location barely in time to register, set up and get down to the athlete meeting at the swim start.
• During the race: The Russian and I were both racing and the Noggin stayed with friends in Cambridge, MA for the day so there were no fans (super or otherwise) to take pictures.
• After the race: I can only describe my state after the race as "please help me" so there was no real desire on my part to go the transition area, get my camera and take pictures at that point.  The Russian was also suffering so I cut him some slack in that department too.

For those who aren't interested in the long version of the race report, here's the quick wrap-up.

• Pre-race: Due to the hip still feeling like it was out to get me and the lack of training over the last three to four weeks, I was seriously mentally preparing myself for my first DNF.
• The swim: I swam and (most importantly) lived. [Time 47:04]
• The bike: I biked the longest distance I have ever done in my life and it felt like at least half of it was the aero position. [Time 3:11:58]
• The run: This is where the "please help" me part comes in.  Safe to say that this ranks in the top 5 in terms of suffering in my life. Maybe top 3. [Time 2:08:34]
• Overall: So proud of myself for finishing and leaving it ALL out there. [Time 6:17:03]

If you're still reading, here's the more detailed (super long) version.

Pre-race
As the Russian (and everyone else who ever speaks to me) knows I was complaining about my hip for the 6 weeks prior to the race.  I thought I had it figured out with my visits to the chiro, but a sprint distance tri later it was back to square one.  The last two weeks before Pumpkinman I completely laid-off running and reduced the biking just hoping that a magic fairy would come along, sprinkle some dust on it and all would be better for the race.  Even up to the day before, I was feeling my hip when I walked up the stairs at our friends' house.

Shout out to K, J & L who hosted me, the Russian and the Noggin for the weekend.  This is the second time they have hosted us for a race weekend and they are so sweet, gracious and understanding about our (general and race specific) craziness.  In addition, this weekend they watched the Noggin for the day while the Russian and I were racing (our first race together since I got pregnant).  We can't thank them enough.  We promise next time we visit there will be no races involved.

The Swim [47:04]
The swim was mostly uneventful except for a few light kicks to the head (mine).  It was a double-loop triangle course.  Personally I would have preferred to have a single loop or point-to-point, but I think logistically this was easier for them.  This double-loop thing was a theme for the race and worked (the bike) better for me in some areas than others (the run).  I did vaguely better than I anticipated, though truthfully I had no real idea how long the distance should take me.

T1 [6:55]
The swim ends with a very steep run (I walked) up a hill into transition.  You should guess that there is going to be something wrong when a "challenge" is advertised for T1.  I did not rise to the challenge.  I took my sweet time making my way to transition and trying to remove my wetsuit.  Note to self - remember to put bodyglide on wrists so you don't look like a major idiot trying to wrestle your arms out of your too tight wetsuit. In addition to the hill climb and wetsuit fiasco, I lost time in T1 trying to get my Garmin to turn on since I wanted to know what my progress on the bike was.  Darn thing chose a heck of a time to crap out.

The Bike [3:11:58]
The bike course was beautiful, and fairly flat with some rollers.  The roads for the most part were really nice except for one bumpy section at the beginning of each loop. The double-loop really worked for me here because in the second loop I knew where I could push it in aero and where I could expect to be a bit slower. I spent quite a lot of time in aero because the roads were so flat and empty that I was comfortable with my bike handling.  I got passed by the elite men and women and a few other people rocking disc wheels (on their second loop).  I did a bit of passing during the bike, but was on the road by myself for most of the ride. I got passed at the very very end of the bike by a few people, but at that point I really didn't care.

While I was able to eat some on the bike everything made me feel gassy.  I guess I am not used to digesting while working that hard on the bike.  Part of my plan had been to use Gatorade Endurance for calories in the bike, but that was somewhat derailed when I lost my second water bottle about halfway through.  I am not -  I repeat not - skilled at handling things while I am riding.  My water bottle from my last olympic tri is only the latest casualty (sad face).  At that point I realized that I really needed to pick up something else to drink.  Luckily, I was only 5 or so miles from the aid station.  When I got there I first tried to get one on the go by slowing down and trying to grab a bottle.  Instead I knocked it out of the poor girl's hand and screaming, "Sorry!".  I ended up stopping my bike at the far end of the aid station and getting a water bottle there. That worked much better, though I probably should have grabbed a Gatorade instead.  I definitely underfueled on the bike, which would come back and bite me in the butt big time on the run.

T2 [2:31]
Completely uneventful, though I was obviously moving slowly at this point.

The Run [2:08:34]
Starting out on the run I knew that I was going too fast, but could not make myself slow down. I had an unalterable desire to just get this thing done with. Due to my Garmin issues I didn't know how fast I was going, but I knew it was way too fast. My completely unsustainable pace lasted for all of a mile and a half, at which point I hit the first hill, which I walked up. The run was also a double-loop (out and back), which I figured out soon after the hill and roundly cursed once I realized I would be hitting that hill again. The only benefit to this format was that I was able to see (and kiss) the Russian three times.  That was nice.

The run pretty much went like this for the first ten miles. Run almost as hard as I can until I have no juice (thank you poor nutrition on the bike).  Give myself permission to walk the next 30-60 seconds.  Rinse and repeat.  I also gave myself permission to walk at the hills (of which it seemed there were more than a few), which meant I was running mostly on the downhills (ouchie on the quads). In the last two and half miles there was the added fun of my lower back spasming.  Prior to the first spasm I really felt like I was on course to hit 6:15, which was my super-secret-before-hip-injury goal (more on this later).  Even after the first spasm hit I still felt like it was just possible for me to hit this goal during miles 11 and 12 - mile 13, not so much.  To give you a point of reference, I was internally comparing the back spasms to labor pains (the difference in these two situations being that for the majority of my labor I had drugs).  Sorry to the people that were around me in the last few miles where I was moaning like a laboring cow.  The last mile I was mostly walking, except for the last hundred yards or so where I was running/about-to-fall-and-roll towards the finish line (Note: the chute to the finish line is down a grassy small incline.)

I crossed at the finish line at 6:17:03 with my chin pretty much glued to my chest (trying to alleviate the spasm in my back) and promptly doubled over in pain.  The Russian came up to ask me if I was okay, though I didn't recognize it was him (I was doubled over and staring at the ground) for a few minutes.  One day I am going to be one of those people that cross the finish line of an event like this with both arms in the air and a big smile. On a happy note, my hip did not bother me at all during the run.  It was probably feeling sorry for me because everything else hurt so much and decided to give me a break.

Post Race
I rested for a bit in the medical tent where they let me stretch and ice my back.  I also got some chicken broth, which was salty and warm (so nice).  I then got a very painful, but very helpful, massage/stretch of for my hips, back and quads.  The Russian and I rested a bit while eating our post-race thanksgiving dinner. We were too tired to walk up the hill to transition for me to get my camera so I didn't get any shots of the lovely lake, the awesome decorations (including scarecrows) or anything else.  We then headed back to Cambridge, where we had a delicious dinner with K, J & L (thanks again guys!).  After that we drove the four hours back to New Jersey.  Sitting in a car a total of 5.5 hours the day of a race like Pumpkinman - not recommended.

All in all, Pumpkinman was a fantastic race.  While I didn't love the double-loop swim and run, the bike was really really nice.  The scenery overall was lovely, the organization was great, and the volunteers so fantastic.  Big thanks to all those people out there on the course making it happen.  The t-shirts and other giveaways were great. I would recommend this race to anyone as a first half-iron and I am thinking I will be back to try to improve on my time and run experience.

Race Goals
Prior to my hip injury I was thinking that I would aim for a 6:30 finishing time, but once I started thinking I might not even finish, I felt that a more realistic goal would be 7:00.  Way back when I first started thinking about doing a half-iron (before the Noggin was a gleam in his father's eye) the Russian and I had made an agreement that I could have a puppy if I finished the half-iron in 6:15.  So my super secret-ideal-scenario goal has always been 6:15.  I didn't meet the cutoff in Pumpkinman, but the Russian agreed with me that he would spot me a few minutes since I was wrestling with this hip injury.  The point is, "It's puppy time!".  I did a (very) little dance at the end of the race , once we agreed that my 6:17 qualified me for a puppy.  Of course, said puppy will have to wait until we're no longer living in a small condo next to the city, but I earned me that puppy!

Love
This blog is about me, but wanted to put the love out there for the Russian who killed it in 5:41:56.  He is aiming for a 5:30 finish (maybe next year) and an Ironman sometime in the future.  The point is, I have give my love to the Russian who has been encouraging/kicking my butt on this whole half-iron adventure. Thanks, Babe.

On a last note - no way am I ever doing an Ironman.  I think the half-iron distance is my limit, one which I try again.

My lovely medal that says I finished a half-ironman (whoa that sounds weird).

Some perspective - (just) in time

In the last month I've been battling with a bad hip and a bad attitude.  I was depressed, anxious, sad, and angry that all of the hard work I had put in during the summer was going to be wasted because my training was coming to a standstill and my hip was likely to bother me during Pumpkinman and beyond (Hello, Nike Marathon). Truthfully, I was acting like spoiled brat because I wasn't getting my way.  This is behavior I should recognize, since I deal with a three-year-old every day, but somehow I just didn't see it that way.

This weekend turned that attitude on its ridiculous head.  There were a number of things that helped set me straight, but the first was that I spent the day on Sunday with the Russian--just the two us.  Just the two of us.  That doesn't happen much.  We had lunch, watched a movie, laughed, and just plain enjoyed ourselves.  It probably seems weird that this is momentous for me. And, it is weird. With our busy work schedules, with a Noggin to look after, and both of us training for a half-ironman, there never seemed to be much time for that sort of thing.

What the day made me realize was that the training was sucking the enjoyment out of my life in other areas.  I was so focused on getting my training in and then on what I viewed as the colossal failure of my body (the hip injury) that I wasn't seeing what I was giving up to be doing this race.  And what might that be?

1. Sleep = At the peak of my training I was sleeping 4-6 hours a night.  Personally, this is not enough for me to function like a normal human being. Not even close.
2. Quality time with my family - While I would get up at 4 am (even on Saturdays) to workout and be done fairly early, my schedule would make me tired and cranky the rest of the day.  More power to you parents who can be the kind, supportive, engaged parents your kid deserves on little to no sleep.
3. Quality time to myself - My time to myself involved sweating, pain, and/or ice, but not so much enjoyment.  Not what I would call QT.

I guess the point is that doing races (at least for those of us who don't expect to win) should be at least just a tiny little bit fun.  The Russian has been telling me for weeks now (since the bad attitude started) that I should be enjoying the training, and that otherwise the whole thing is pointless.  Of course since he is never right and I am supremely stubborn, I've been wallowing instead of listening.  I've been running when I should have been resting my hip.  I've been unhappy instead of enjoying the summer before the Noggin goes to preschool.

While I don't think it's silly to care about your training or your race performance, it is silly to care beyond what it is really worth. Of course reaching your goals and improving yourself is important (I truly believe that), but it's really just not the be all and end all.

I've got a bit of the tunnel vision thing going on, so I have to remind myself to keep this idea front and center - there are so many things more important than a race.  So I hug my Noggin and I kiss my Russian and thank my lucky stars that the worst thing I'm facing is that I have a bad race next Sunday.

Oh - and I'm finally resting the hip (though it evilly doesn't seem to improving with rest).

Me say "baaaaa"

Sometimes I think that I'm such a trusting baby sheep when it comes to fitness trends. I trust every shepherd (competent or not) to herd me to green grasses and better fitness. Witness my obsession with compression (ha ha, that rhymed..), the total gym that sat in my basement for years, my collection of workout DVDs (hello, P90X that's almost never been used), among many many other examples. Well, this week it's all about the K-tape.

About four or five weeks ago I started experiencing some pain in my left hip whenever I ran. I started seeing a chiropractor (Dr. Frank) who has been helping me with stretching, exercises, e-stim, the whole deal. This week he suggested we try K-tape (also known as kinesio tape)to help with the healing process. If you want to know more about it, check out www.kinesiotaping.com. Though there are a lot of claimed benefits, none of them have been substantiated by what some people call "evidence". Regardless, I'm desperate and anything that could possibly help will be accepted by me.

Okay - let's get real. I've secretly thought it would be cool to try it since I saw Kerry Walsh sporting it in Beijing. Nobody had to twist my arm

Today Dr. Frank taped me up and it wasn't pretty...

Besides the overall hideousness, you will probably notice that my tape is a boring nude color. No fun blue or pink or bad-ass black tape. Nope, just blend-in-with-your-cellulite skin colored stuff. The Russian took some other pictures and they were even less flattering than this one, though it may be hard to imagine without photographic evidence (of which there will not be any). Here he is making me laugh by telling me what I looked like in the other pictures.  Did I say the tape blends in to your cellulite? Strike that and replace with highlight.

While a bright color might have been fun, the function is the important thing here. Truthfully, I was really hoping the tape would somehow help with healing the hip in time for Pumpkinman. I had my fingers and toes crossed for a miracle, but listen this isn't 34th street and we're not even in Manhatten.

To test the tape out, I went for a ten minute run at a slow pace on the treadmill. If I'm being truthful, I didn't feel like the tape was doing anything. I still was feeling pain, fatigue and all manner of weird sensations around my hip area that I have had on and off for the last month.  I don't think I'm buying the hype at this point, but I'm willing to give it a little more time. The tape is supposed to last for a few days (through showers) so I'll see if there is any improvement on my Saturday run.

On another note - someone who looks bad-ass without the black K-tape...

We were sitting on our stoop and the Noggin just got down on the ground and started doing elevated push-ups. Something I'm pretty sure I cannot do. No, I am not yelling at him to give me ten, even though the Russian says that's what it looks like I'm doing.

Trifitness Women's Triathlon and Duathlon Race Recap

I'm not sure why a small triathlon in nowhere Norwalk, Connecticut had to start at 6:30 in the morning on a Sunday, but there it is. In order to make the drive in time for the 6:00 am transition closing, I had to wake up at stupid-thirty in the morning.

According to the Russian I woke up 10 minutes after we went to sleep to ask him to set his alarm too so I wouldn't oversleep (he was not thrilled). Then, I apparently jumped out of bed an hour later, turned on the lights and said it was time for me to go. Again, the Russian was less than thrilled. It took me a few minutes to admit that I was confused and go back to bed. Truthfully, I vaguely remember these two incidents only because he told me about them the next day. I do remember waking up almost every hour thinking that it was time to get up. The short of it is that I get really anxious when I know I need to wake up for something. The anxiety was compounded by the fact that I was meeting Sam to head up together. When I have to meet someone, that makes me REALLY anxious.

Sam and I headed out around 4:15, which was our planned time. There were lots of drunk people roaming the streets of Hoboken when we left. I believe they were going home, like any sane person should be doing at that time of the morning, rather than leaving their nice bed and nice husband. Seemed like a good idea two months ago. The GPS took us through Manhatten, which we didn't want to do, but didn't know how to avoid. Here's what I learned from that experience:

• There are a ridiculous number of people awake and driving in NYC at that time of the morning on Sunday. 
• These people, despite their early morning habits, are less than ideal drivers.  I believe I was cut off at least twice on 95.
• I am so distanced from reasons for staying up that late that I was trying to figure out why everyone was up so early. 

Anyhow, we made it to the race and got in line to get our stuff. That's right - stuff. No pre-stuffed packets, just your number, chip and a t-shirt. We were in line at 5:50 with about 30 women behind us. No chance that transition was closing at 6:00. By the time I got my transition area set up and my wetsuit on (easier than last time with my currently short nails), it was 6:20. I missed the athlete meeting where they told us important things, like where we should swim. Despite the delay with the registration check-in, the race still started at 6:33. There were women running down the beach to get in our wave (the 39 and under). Sam quickly briefed me on the two buoys I should site for and we were off.

This is what Sam looks like at 5:30 Sunday morning.  Yes, she is that cheerful.

The Swim (Time - 13:56)
The swim was 800 meters and it was a run off the beach start. It was pretty crowded until we rounded the first buoy. There was lots of people grabbing me and I'm sure I did my fair share too. Once it spread out a bit it was better, but I ended up swimming next to a woman for the last third who must have thought I was stalking her. Despite me actually not wanting to ride her hip, that's what happened to the very end. Whoever you are, I'm sorry I was crowding you. totally didn't mean to Overall, the swim felt okay and I wasn't feeling ill when I got out of the water, which was already a plus.

T1 - 3:03 
I could not get my wetsuit off because the timing chip was so huge.  It took me about 30 seconds to figure out that I needed to take the timing chip off first.


The Bike (Time - 37:01)
Not sure if I was thinking when I biked for an hour and a half Friday, but let me tell you that my legs were asking me, Why?" Not only did I feel like I was moving backwards, the thousand or so ladies that passed me were probably thinking that I was. Additionally, my front shifter was misbehaving so I had to stay in my small front ring the whole time. I am a classic masher and ALWAYS ride in the big ring in the front unless I have serious climbing to do. So I was spinning fast and going nowhere fast. Thank goodness they shortened the bike to 9 miles. I seriously could not have taken more of that.

T2 - 1:07
Nothing special, nothing terrible.

The Run (Time- 22:58)
As soon as I left transition, my hip started to hurt and continued the whole way. Running slow didn't help with the pain so I tried to run fast. I was glad to be able to go a decent pace (crushing it if I do say so myself) despite the pain. Overall the run was a confusing two-ish laps that was being directed by a 6 year old in a critical spot. Lucky for me that there were people to follow. The race ended on the beach, which I was not excited about since I hate the feeling of sand in my shoes, but I was glad the whole thing was over.

Post Race 
I got a painful massage/stretch of hip that didn't help as far as I could tell, some fruit on a stick, hummus, coffee and yogurt. Yeah, it seemed a liitle odd to me too.

Post Race Feelings
I am anxious, frustrated, disappointed, annoyed, and (insert negative emotion here).  This race did a lot to make me question my theoretical ability to do Pumpkinman.  I seem to have no bike fitness and pain in my hip.  The mechanical bike problem I was able to fix later that day (so no excuses there), but the other non-mechanical problems have got me worried.  With less than two weeks, things are not looking good...

Sam still cheerful after the race (she crushed it).

She even made me smile, though I'm sure you can tell it was a bit forced...

Here's something to make you and me smile. Furbaby-1 decided all her own to dress up as a ninja and show her white belly.  Don't call animal cruelty on us please.

Oh, rally?

Last Sunday I took part in the Ramapo Rally, a biking event in Mahwah, New Jersey (Mahwah, just wants to make you cackle evilly, right? Me too). The rally consisted of marked rides from 12 miles all the way to 123 miles (for the truly hardcore) starting and ending at Campgaw Mountain County Reservation. I've never done an organized bike rally before, but as the Russian has been hounding me (rightfully so) to get out and ride, I thought it would be a good chance to do a ride in a well-organized (read: food stops) safe (read: people to make sure I don't get lost) situation.

I did the 52 mile ride and overall I had a really good time, though I think there were some things I could have lived without.

The good:

• 52 miles is the longest ride I have ever done. And my sensitive parts were still okay after all that.
• I got to ride with my new bike friends (the lovely ladies of the Tenafly Bicycle Workshop Team). 
• It was a beautiful day with mild temperatures and lots of cloud coverage. 
• The food stops had a great selection of snacks and treats (though for some reason I didn't eat as much as I normally would in such a situation) 

The bad:

• My friend Sam had some issues with her bike and decided to drop to the 25 mile ride. Though she was a great sport and had a great attitude about everything the whole time. 
• We had to cross a highway twice and ride on major roads (with off ramps!) twice 
• I forgot to close my bike bag before putting it on the car on the way home. Amazingly, only one thing came out (I think).

The ugly:

• There are apparently some people who don't understand the concept of riding single file on a road where there are cars. The roads were not closed and this guy was doing this while biking slowly up what amounted to a mole hill. Why, no I didn't want to yell at him...
• I had yet another low speed fall!  
• Someone got badly injured near the end of the course. I didn't see what happened, but he was being taken away in an ambulance.

While it seems like the number of bad things outweighed the good, the overall magnitude of the good parts really made it a fun event. See, I'm smiling!(Okay, that was before it started, but I was smiling at the end too).

Also, The rally gave me some (just a tiny amount) confidence in at least getting the 56 mile half-iron bike ride done without serious problems (minus any low speed falls). This is a bit of a pick-me-up from the blows my confidence has been taking with my hip injury. Don't even get me started...

Pain, pain, go away...

Please don't come another day.

I've been giving my injured hip (see last week's post)rest, relaxation, and some darned good pampering (compression gear, ice, Advil). Despite all of this, and killer Vietnamese food courtesy of my mom, the hip was still angry with me. Yep, still hulking it up when I even pretend to run trying not to miss the light on my way home from work. I admit, that hill workout last week was probably not a good idea, but I'm talking about fake "running in heels".

I decided that I really had to do so something about the pain now because I need it be at least 75% by Pumpkinman. Sorry - I did not run/bike/swim/mom my way ragged to do the aquabike (not that that isn't a legitimate race!).

So first I tried super doses of this...

That helped, but my good friend pain was still lurking about, waiting to pounce.

Then I tried this...

If you're Asian you probably know what this stuff is. If not, it's tiger balm - an ancient herbal miracle remedy that cures all ails. It also smells like you chopped down a bunch of eucalyptus trees and bathed in their rotting husks. My mom used this stuff on us all the time when we were kids. We smelled, though we tried not to smell at school. Anyhow, this tiger balm is special - made from white tigers, rather than your run-of-the-mill orange ones - and is not supposed to smell quite as much. It doesn't, but it also didn't cure the hip. An Asian girl can hope.

Then I made an appointment with a chiropractor on the recommendation of a friend. The Russian's response to this was, "95% of them are frauds". Before I went to the doctor I was hoping that I was getting one of the 5%.

Dr. Frank specializes in sports related injuries and sporty patients and he seemed to really know what he was talking about. I got e-stim with heat, a massage, an adjustment, and some stretching. Overall, it felt really great and was cheaper than going to a spa. Did it cure the hip? Not yet, but that was one session. I am hoping that with some additional sessions it will help with the problem and I can get back to running soon. At this point, I will try anything to make sure I am at least okay for the big day (and the Nike women's marathon after that).

Some things that Dr. Frank told me:

1. My right hip is actually the messed up one (tight). It is making the left hip do all the work, thus causing the injury. This makes total sense! 
2. I need to stretch. I know, this seems so basic, but I am so lazy and stretching always seems like so much effort.  It would be great if I had time for yoga, especially as I'm getting older and less stretchy (he confirmed you lose flexibility with age).
3. I need to get my bike professionally fitted. I've been wanting to do this, but most shops will only do this during the week and during the day so I hadn't done it yet. Dr. Frank recommended a place that will do it this Saturday. Yay!

I'm hoping for the best with the chiro sessions and the bike fitting, because the race is about 3 weeks away.  YIKES!

Rough (training) week

To say last week sucked was challenging would be an understatement.  The week started out bad and only got worse.

Rough training week - day 1
On the way home from work on the bus I started to feel a little nauseous.  This happens to me once in awhile (I hate the bus), but I usually feel better once I get off.  Fifteen minutes later, after getting the Noggin from daycare, I felt worse not better.  After realizing this feeling was not going to go away, I called the Russian and asked him to come home ASAP.  The Noggin can be a bit rambunctious and I wasn't feeling like I could deal in the state that I was in. ASAP ended up being about an hour.  In that time the Noggin showed me what sympathy looks like on a three year old.

Me (while lying on the floor): Sweetie, mommy feels sick.  Can you please not jump on my head?

The Noggin: ha ha ha (crazed laughter while jumping on my head)

Me (inside my head): WTF? WTF?

Needless to say, I did not go to the pool for my swim.  I went to bed at 8:30 feeling like a truck (or a Noggin) had run over my head.  I don't do well with unplanned rest days, but no training was happening that night.

Rough training week - day 2
Following the miserable day 1, I was still feeling not that great.  On top of that, my hip that had been vaguely bothering me the week before became very angry after an unplanned 11 mile run a few days earlier.  I'm never this judicious, but I thought it might be a good idea to take another unplanned rest day and give myself and the hip a break.

Personally, I like my schedules and my training plans.  A training plan feels like a safety blanket.  I feel that if I put in the time and follow the plan, at the very least I won't die on the day of the race.  I don't take kindly to missing training days, especially with this half-iron distance as it freaks me the F out has me a bit nervous.  The Russian says that my Monday breakdown was because the training and life was leaving me too exhausted and that my body was telling that I needed to rest.  Well, I have this mug which says, "Coffee - I'll sleep when I'm dead", which is pretty much how I lead my life.

Rough training week - day 4
Nothing happened on day 3.  I went for a swim, which felt good and I thought maybe I was getting back on track for the week.  Day 4 was supposed to be a track day so I went for a hill run with my running group.  That angry hip did not like the hill workout at all.  In fact, that angry hip became a "you won't like me when I'm angry" hip. Let me tell you, I did not like it when it was angry.

I decided after that fiasco that I was going to skip my runs for the next week and take lots of Advil. This freaked me out a bit because the race is less than 5 weeks away and I've done hardly any long runs.  I guess with running you always have the option of walking (which is what it looks like I'll be doing in the Nike women's marathon at the rate that this whole "training" thing is going)

Rough training week - day 7 (the culmination)
Days 5 and 6 were again, uneventful.  I stuck to my no running plan (ack, more missed training!), but was pretty excited about my long ride planned for day 7.  Through a woman I had met at the pool, I had arranged to meet up with this all women group for a long ride.  For many reasons (that's another post) I love training and racing in all women groups.

Day 7 I got up a early to make sure that I made it to the meeting spot (~45 minute drive away) with plenty of time to spare and ended up being the first person there.  About fifteen minutes before the ride was supposed to start, the ride leader rode up and asked me to park closer to where they normally meet.  No problem.  I hop in the car, drive to the next parking lot over and get out.  I go to get my bike down from the roof rack and put my front wheel on when I realize I didn't have my front wheel.  Again, WTF?

Before the group leader had ridden up I had gone to use the bathroom and was getting ready to  unload my bike.  In doing so, I had taken out my front wheel and leaned it up against the side the car.  Long story short - I ended up with a wheel and this somewhat essential piece separated from it.

No - that end of the axle is not meant to snap off like that. Unless, of course, you run over it with a two ton car.  Then in that case, you have to wonder how the wheel didn't get completely crushed, which it wasn't.  Well, with the axle bent inside the hub and the end snapped off, I was riding nowhere fast.  I hung around for a few minutes to meet the women in the group (they were nice), called the Russian to tell him what a fool I was, and then drove home in a funk.

When I got home I was met by the (much more sympathetic than on day 1) Noggin.

The Noggin: Mommy, don't cry.  I'm going to buy you a new wheel.  I'm going to bring three moneys.

Okay, that was pretty darn cute considering the Russian swears he didn't tell the Noggin to say that to me. Times like that I think that kid does actually like me.

The family went to our local bike shop, Strictly Bicycles, with the slim hope I could get the wheel fixed, but with the more realistic idea that I would be buying myself a new (cheap) wheel.  Amazingly, though I was ready to buy a new wheel, they were able to fix mine in about half an hour.  WHOA.  Those guys are great.

Even though the week went downhill fast, it didn't end nearly as bad as it could have.  I had a fixed wheel and some time to ride (on the trainer).  In addition, we came home to Furbaby 1 guarding my sad, incomplete bike...

...which is just too darn funny.  Yes, she guards things furry-white-belly-up.

Nutrition 101 – FAIL!

There are two types of runners – those who “eat to run” and those who “run to eat”.  I’m definitely one of the latter.  Actually, I may their leader. Mind you, I’ve loved running since I started over ten years ago, but I love eating a lot more.  I wish I just loved clean, fuel-your-workouts, help-you-recover types of food (and I do love these), but I also love deep-fried, clog-your-arteries, make-you-feel-hung-over foods too. 

What’s really strange about the whole thing is that I am a type-A personality.  When I train for a race I need a training plan and I follow it carefully (these days as carefully as a full-time job and a 3 year old will allow). When it comes to the nutrition part though, I fall down.  I don’t mean stumble a bit, I mean trip over my own feet and fall flat on my face.  For example… last week was the Noggin’s birthday and we had a small family get together over the weekend.  There were maybe ten people expected to attend.  I bought a chocolate whipped cream cake with strawberries that is supposed to serve 15-20 people.  Part of the reason for this was that this was the smallest size that they would do the Cars (the movie) design on and the other (somewhat secret) part was that I was excited about the leftovers.  If I had listened to the Russian I would have bought a non-theme cake that serves 8-10 and we would have maybe a piece left over.  Instead, we have this…

Now, the cake wasn’t that good, so I haven’t been eating that much of it, but I am still eating it (it was pre-eating for my long bike ride). 

I know I need to figure out how to get myself to commit to eating well for training (and for life).  I want to be one of those people who eats purposefully, I really do. I’m jealous of those people. I try to train purposefully and I feel that it’s a shame I can’t put the same sort of discipline into a part of the equation that is as important, if not more so, than the type of workouts I do. (the Russian would also be happy if I could do this since he thinks I set a ridiculously bad example for the Noggin, which I do, but I try to do my worst eating when the Noggin is not around). With the half-iron training, and getting older, it is becoming more clear to me that I need to get serious about nutrition – for real, like now! The hard part is figuring out how to do it. 

Of course, the question from this article in the magazine Swimmer is never one that I’m really going to ask myself with a straight face.

So BUSTED...

That's how I've been feeling since last weekend's olympic tri.  Here are some signs that I did not recover well from that effort:

1. My long "ride" on my trainer this weekend felt like some sort of cruel and unusual self-afflicted punishment (this was even with watching old episodes of Smallville with the gorgeous Tom Welling)
2. I slept 9 hours Saturday night (which I never do) and still felt like having a nap on Sunday
3. Even my compression gear didn't make me feel any better
4. I want to eat everything in sight (I eat when I'm tired, which is why I gained almost 40 lbs when I was pregnant)
5. I fell asleep today for ten minutes with the Noggin singing "Old MacDonald" in my ear (and no, the Noggin does not know how to sing quietly) 

It worries me that the last week has been so hard.  I feel like I'm not getting any sort of quality out of my workouts this week because I'm so tired, which makes me feel like I am missing a week of training.  With Pumpkinman less than 6 weeks away, that is very disturbing.  Looking past Pumpkinman - I am supposed to run the Nike Women's marathon with my sister 5 weeks afterwards.  If I can't even recover from an olympic, how am I supposed to recover from a half-iron in time to do some long runs before the big day? Ack!

I feel like I'm the sign the Noggin was drop kicking all last weekend.  Not a good feeling. Hope it goes away soon...

BTW - that is my hat the Noggin is wearing.  He can also wear my visor and my sunglasses - that's why we call him the Noggin.

I DID IT (race report for the Title 9 Olympic Triathlon)

And it was hard...

This past weekend my little family drove to Boston so that the adults could do some triathlons and the baby could run amok (more on that).  The drive to Boston on Friday took us a long time, but it ended with BBQ (a case of all's well that ends well).  We stayed with friends in Cambridge who were beyond gracious in hosting us, even as we took over their place with our bikes and all our tri stuff.

The Russian did the Massachusetts State Triathlon Saturday morning, which was nice for me because the Title 9 Triathlon on Sunday was the exact same course.  Basically, he checked it out and let me know what I was facing ahead of time.

The Russian did a great job on the course, but despite what the announcer said, I do not believe he was smiling while he was running up to the finish line.

Sunday morning was a wash and repeat of Saturday morning except for this time I was racing and the Russian was dealing with a tired, cranky naughty toddler (the Noggin spent various parts of Saturday drop kicking the sign I had made for him to cheer on his father, crying, running around like a madman with his stuffed monkey, touching EVERYTHING, and pushing his limits in a myriad of different ways).

I look so calm and relaxed before heading into the transition area to set up...

THE SWIM

I was able to get into my wetsuit (wasn't sure it was going to happen to be truthful) with the help of the Russian and took a pre-race dip.  The Russian made me do this silly pose and then somehow caught me with the camera.  I was still in a good mood at this point because the water was warm (a little too warm for a wetsuit, but I am a bad swimmer) and calm and my wetsuit fit.

When I got out of the water after a very long swim (I took the long way around the first few buoys), I was not quite smiling like that anymore.  In fact, I felt a little nauseous.  The Russian got a great picture of me gagging on some honey stinger gel thingees, which was all I ate for the entire bike section.

Because I didn't feel super great, I took my time with changing into my socks, bike shoes, helmet, and gloves and getting something to drink before heading out of transition.

THE BIKE

Since I was 75th out of 105 people out of the water and took my sweet time in transition, most people were out on the bike section already.  Once I got on the bike, things went fairly well, I passed a number of people during the ride and no one passed me.  Well, there weren't many people behind me so I wasn't expecting to get passed too much.

On a side note - I did not spend much time on the aero bars because I was uncomfortable passing people while riding like that and there was a fair amount of traffic during parts of the ride.

I was working pretty hard for most of the time and at mile 10 I thought, "I've only done 10 miles? WTF?".  Anyway, I made it to the end, feeling a lot better than I did after the swim.  My second transition was faster than the first (no wetsuit to remove), but slow enough that two people I passed on the bike ran out ahead of me.  Got to work on those transitions...


THE RUN

Running is my strength so I was excited to get to this part, but did I mention it was in the 90's by this time? Whatever the exact temperature, it was HOT and I was suffering.  During the run I remembered that the last time I did an Olympic distance triathlon (Lobsterman in 2008) I felt like it was the hardest thing I had ever done (this was post marathon, but pre-baby).  Right, running 6 miles at the end of swimming and biking is hard.  Forgot about that...

I slogged through the run, with the first 3 miles being kind of miserable.  I did pass a number of people, so I wasn't running backwards at least. After the turn around at the midway point my legs started feeling a little peppier and I knew I only had 3 miles to go - that was helpful.  The Russian and the Noggin were at mile 6.1, with a handmade sign to cheer me on.

When I finished the run, the volunteers let me put my feet in a pool of cold water (fantastic) and put a wet cold towel on my head (even more fantastic).  Did I mention that the volunteers were great?  They were really great and Max Performance put on a fun race.  Now, if it wasn't in the middle of July, which tends to be a tad warm, it would have been perfect.


I got this cool metal for my 2:51:47 of effort, which the Russian did not get (though he got a towel which was also nice).

THE SUMMARY

If I compare how I did in this race to the only other Olympic distance I have done, the breakdown would be:

1. My swim was a lot suckier (2012 vs. 2008)
2. My bike speed was a bit better
3. My run was somewhat worse (I already know I am a lot slower now than I was before baby)
4. My transitions are slightly faster than they were before

What I learned from this race that I need to apply before Pumpkinman:

1. I need to swim in open water more (this was the first time in four years and my shoulders felt the extra effort sighting took)
2. I need to bike more (56 miles is a lot more than 22 miles)
3. I should work on riding on the aero bars (to help with that speed thing)
4. I should work on descending (I got passed by someone I had passed because I was too cautious on the downhills, though I passed her no the next uphill)
5. I need to learn to eat on the bike (if it had been any longer I would have been in really bad shape on the run)
6. I should work on my transitions
7. I have a long way to go before September!

I've probably made wiser choices in the past

It's less than a week until my first triathlon of the season.  In the last couple of days, a few things have come to my attention:

1. I am either a.)[over]confident or b.) not that smart to have signed for an olympic distance triathlon as my return to racing - I'm pretty sure it is the latter, because I have never been that confident about swimming or biking.
2. I am not a very good bike handler - While I survived my first ride trying out the aero bars, there was a close call when I tried to clip and get into the aero position at the same time.  You probably guessed that I am not that talented.  Luckily, there were no cars nearby or there might have been some ugliness on route 9 in NJ. Side note on that ride - there was a small mishap where I was hurt in a place I will not speak of by my crossbar.  I doubt it's necessary to say more.
3. It's been awhile since I have done this sort of thing -  After my last foray into the ocean to test out my wetsuit, The Russian hung it up to dry and I noticed that the markings from my last tri had imprinted themselves on the inside. Last time I raced I was 31 (see the left leg) and my number was 270 (see the right leg). Now I'm 35 - I've moved up an entire age bracket since that last one.

Somehow, these things together make me quite a bit nervous for Sunday.  Not to say that I think it will be the hardest thing that I have ever done (I will reserve that distinction for childbirth  and the eighteen years that follow). However, I do think that it will be quite challenging and I really hope that I'm up for it.  More importantly, I hope it goes well, because other wise I am in deep for Pumpkinman, which is less than two months away (yikes!)

Excitement and terror all in one

No, I am not talking about childbirth, I'm talking about aero bars. Though I'm sure you mothers may agree the title could apply to that too.

Early this week the Russian installed his old aero bars on my bike (In addition to being a professor at a prestigious university, my personal chef and  my sherpa, he is also my bike mechanic).  We (meaning the Russian and I somewhat) thought it would be a good idea for me to learn how to use aero bars before Pumpkinman.  I hear 56 miles  goes by much faster when you're traveling at higher than 13 mph (my normal speed).

In case you were wondering, this is what scary looks like from the top:

Of course I am excited about the prospect of learning to ride on them - I do think that they will improve my speed (they better!). Though I will look even more like a poser (The Russian's word) than I already do, I hope to get some benefit out of them in my races this season.  [BTW if you don't know what a poser is I may be too old to be your friend.]


Tomorrow we are going on our first jaunt with these things attached.

Reasons for terror:

1. If you know me, you know I can barely ride a bike as it is.  Ask The Noggin ("Mommy, you fall down?").
2. I have been known to freeze when confronted with unexpected (for me) events on the bike. For example, I kicked the chain on an uphill on my last ride and despite The Russian yelling repeatedly "Unclip, unclip!" I did not and ended up taking a nasty slow-mo fall into a ditch head first - see the above question from the Noggin. One can only imagine what the wobbly aero position will do for my bike handling skills.
3. This will be the first time for me outdoors in months (I am a self-admitted chicken and will not ride by myself around traffic, bad roads or really in any conditions).  Of course it would be worst to try it next week during my first tri in four years...

*Update-7/9/2012 * I lived, but just barely.  Those things are nerve-wracking!

Inspiration, perspiration and neoprene

This weekend was chock-full of all of the above.  Okay, maybe not the neoprene, but there was more than enough of that for me...

Inspiration
On Friday I came home to this in the mail:

Every year my husband enters the lottery to try to win a spot in the Ironman Championship in Hawaii.  So far, he is 0-5, thank goodness unfortunately. As a consolation for not getting the opportunity to intensely suffer challenge yourself, they send you the broadcast from the previous year.  I love watching this thing.  Of course the pros are beyond AMAZING specimens of humanity, but I really like the segments on the "regular" folk who have overcome adversity.  These are people who have cancer, are in their 80's and have done 20+ Konas, are racing with their child, have lost 200 lbs... You get the picture.  One of the guys this past year was a double amputee vet - makes you say to yourself, "What's my excuse now?"  Anyhow, this is a much watch even if you're not into triathlons for the pure inspiration.  So I watched this while I was on the bike trainer Saturday morning to get psyched for my 3 hour indoor ride (The Russian and The Noggin were sleeping and I am a chicken when it comes riding by myself). Which leads to...

Perspiration
As it was everywhere else on the East Coast, it was super hot in New Jersey this past weekend.  Inspired as I was by the folks in Kona I was still hating the weather, especially when I got off the bike to do a run outside with my (all women) running group, the Elysianettes.  If you're ever in Hoboken, NJ you should definitely come run with us.  The group is friendly, all-inclusive and just plain fun.  Anyhow, it was hot, I was dying on the run and I was more than happy to turn around early when one of the ladies suggested it.  I felt like I was pretty dehydrated, supported by the fact that when I got home and weighed myself I had lost 4.5 lbs.  I didn't recover on the hydration until probably today (Monday). This was compounded by the fact that we decided we should go to Brighton Beach to check out what was going on with my...

Neoprene
On Sunday, The Russian, The Noggin and I went to Brighton Beach to do a little open water swimming, but mostly to test out my and The Russian's wetsuits.  Mind you, it's been 4 years and a baby since I put that thing on and it was tight when I was at my thinnest.  Needless to say, 90+ degrees, sand, extra weight and not having done this for 4 years was not a recipe for success.  I got it on (sort of and with lots of sweating and WTFs) and swam for about 5 minutes.  That's how long I lasted before heading back to shore. I didn't get it on high enough on the legs, so it was pulling on my shoulders and making them extra tired while I was swimming.  Well, at least I learned what not to do before my first tri this season.  I'm planning for another practice this coming weekend.  Hopefully, it won't be ridiculously tortuous as bad next time.  I definitely need to practice before the olympic tri in two weeks, which is in itself a dress rehearsal for Pumpkinman.  At this point, all things are done for Pumpkinman, including walking amongst lots of Russians on the beach, sweating like crazy while they (and you) wonder if you are in fact crazy.

The Russian had no such problems with his wetsuit, but there are two things to consider here: 1 - his is two pieces, 2 - he never had a freaking baby.

Why?

Who is Anne? Why is she running amok?


The answer to the first question - I'm the mother of an almost three year old with an above average sized head (AKA The Noggin) and the wife of a wonderful man (AKA The Russian). I used to be a (not too fast, not too slow) runner, a (decent) climber, a (baby) triathlete, a voracious devourer of the written word, and so much more. I want to begin to recapture that person while continuing to be a good mother, a good wife and staying (mostly) sane. 
One part of the process for me is to get back to running and (hopefully) to get back to where I was in terms of speed and distance.  I'm part way there, having completed the Marine Corps Marathon with my sister last October. The speed piece of it I am still working (hard) on. The other part is to challenge myself by doing some triathlons, which I had only begun to appreciate before I got pregnant.  The other pieces of me are going to have to wait until these first two fall into place. 


This blog is really about my process and I hope it will help:

• keep me accountable
• get me fit(ter)
• keep me motivated
• get me connected with others who are in the same boat (or nearby boats, or boats passing in the night... )

The answer to the second question - refer to the first question. My life is crazy, but it's fun and personally, I like running amok.