BikerGrrrl's Group - CLOSED (Page 15)

Have a good weekend, Janet.  Sounds like a plan!  Let us know how the 5k goes.

I have a race tomorrow - my first full triathlon for the season.  I don't count the relay stuff I did earlier  

I hate packing for a race.  It's a sprint, though, so at least I won't be tortured for too long and still have the weekend ahead of me.   At least no long grueling workouts like the last few weekends!

Well, the ride this morning didn't go quite as planned.  Instead of 12-15 miles I ended up with a little under 10 - not because I wanted to quit either.  Yep - had my first crash.  I had to call my husband to come pick me up.  Totally my own fault.  I don't know what it is, but when it comes to my bike, my brain goes on vacation, lol!  I've got a pretty big scrape on my left leg just below the knee and will probably have a much bigger bruise.  I'm wondering if this is a sign that I should back out of the tri in August.  Not going to do it yet though - I'll see how this heals.  Not really sure what to do about my 5k tomorrow though.  The leg is sore today but I'm afraid by tomorrow it may stiffen up.  I'll probably go either way - I can always just walk it if running isn't possible.   

Oh no!  I hope it doesn't start feeling much worse.  What happened?

Thanks for the further details on the mentor threads, Steve.  I tried the inspire thing for a while, but I've gotten no response from enough people that it starts to hurt a girls feelings   Good to know it's not just me.  Or at least it's me and you - ha ha.  You're right that it would be nicer to have a group that keeps going, if you want to.  They need a "groups" section.  I had that on a food diary forum I belonged to and it was nice.  You could find likeminded people and have an ongoing discussion. 

Janet - I totally know that situation.  Sometimes I turn and I cannot make my front wheel follow the path and go where it should.  I ended up off the sidewalk like that a month or two ago and it gave me a start.  In fact, it's played with my confidence a bit.   I find that if I remember to look "through" the turn (and not where I want to avoid going) it helps.  Heal fast.

The race went great!  I am waiting for official splits, but I did receive the 3rd place medal in the Athena division.  I honestly thought my time might earn 1st of 2nd, based on previous results, but I guess I had stiffer competition than in the past.  This makes me happy because I'd like to change the Athena image.  So few ladies take the opportunities, even though I swear 1/3 of the crowd would qualify   I met or beat all my goals, I am pretty sure, so it was a good day!  And I glad to have the race over and the weekend ahead of me.

Good luck tomorrow, guys! 

Sorry I fell off the group wagon.  I got in a funk last week (kinda depressed, kinda not) and fell into some bad habits. You can tell when it started because I quit my training log. I still worked out, I just didn't log. Then last weekend I gave up. My husband was very kind and supportive and asked me why I quit (he noticed I wasn't doing anything) and gently encouraged me to get back out there.

I did.

My first COMPLETE triathlon was today. I finished 8th in the "Athena" catagory. Don't ask out of how many, but I will say it's right in the middle. I'm please with my performance today. I had a 16 min swim (700m), 40 min bike (11min), and a 40 min 5k. 

I just took a LONG nap. I'll be incommunacado again for a few days as I have girls' camp for church for the next few days, but I plan on running and swimming while I'm there.

Janet, I do the Athena category when I can now (not always available) in hopes of encouraging others to join in.  I would honestly guess that 1/3 of the gals in MN would qualify - yet only a few go for it.  I'd like to see two categories (or more) by age  or weight as well, within the category.  I want folks to identify strong ladies with Athena and not the "fat girls" category it seems to be.  I was thrilled that I had tough competition on Saturday.  I don't want to win by default and 3rd felt right, after I saw how well 1st and 2nd did.  The first place girl would have been competitive in her AG as well. 

And I think your experience in the race, where your better time actually yielded a lower placement, shows how arbitrary categories are anyway.  I raced last Fall in a tri where there was no Athena category, but the field was very small.  I won my AG against women of all sizes - but this time the field was only 4 people   And I got 2nd overall...in a field of 8.  You just never know...

I also place quite differently at all female events versus Co-ed.  The first at ladies events tend to be less experienced and  I place higher.

My point is simply that it's so arbitrary based on who shows up, that I take the chance in Athena when I can.  I'll never outrun a 100 lb girl, so why try?

When you are slow it does not matter...  I came in last in Clydes and in AG...    So for some of us, we just are slow...

That's cool that your daughter runs with you sometimes. 

Sounds like the race organizers are meanies!  I think that proper timing is something that they are 100% responsible for.  They should thank you for your patience in the matter, in my opinion...

Ouch.  Can you tell if there's any improvement?  I live in fear of injury!  I'll be crossing my fingers for you.

Well, I am sure you're happy to have at least made the decision!  Hopefully things will start to turn around and that August race will be a possibility.  If not, life's too short to worry about it - right

I was in the pool last night, fretting about the possibility of not being able to wear my wetsuit at my race on Saturday.  I am hugely dependent on that thing and is my final remaining crutch.  While I try to be really positive and have a "go get'em" attitude, this is an area where I have a big mental block.  The weather has gotten cooler and rainy, so I think I'll be good, but it was a good reality check.  I need to be training in the open water without my suit.  That's my new goal for the rest of June and early July, on the very bad off-chance my HIM isn't wetsuit friendly.  WOuldn't that be ironic of the my longest race yet was my first sans wetsuit!  Ha ha.  Trying not to think about that...

Thanks for the pep talk, Steve.  You're totally right!  And last night I swam for a short while in the pool, trying not to stop or stand like I would have to do in OWS.  And I can do it!  Hopefully I'll never need to prove this