Yanti & Salty Mad Manatees PART 3: FULL POD (Page 22)

Yeah Kirk, Yanti and TJ!  Great job with your races!

I'm not so happy with my results...definitely not what I had planned on, and my plan definitely wasn't unrealistic.  But I have an awesome blister on my collarbone from my tri top, that's gotta count for something!  Oh well.  Apparently I need to continue to swim more, bike more and run more (and lose more weight) and learn to push harder still on the bike.

I keep telling myself that at least for the swim, so many variables could account for my worse than last year time.  It is a point to point river swim, so maybe the buoys were different, maybe the current was different, for sure it was a ton shallower than last year with tons more sea(river?)weed.  Maybe I picked a bad line.  Who knows.  All these are real possibilities.  As far as the bike, that's all me.  And the run, too.  No official times yet, so I will wait to make race report.  My arms really itch right now, I hope nothing too evil was in the water...

Hey all, I had a great time (apart from the massive amounts of hot sunlight and plague-like amounts of grasshoppers, but more on that when I write the rr.)--I missed my goal of 3 hours 30 minutes by 11 minutes, but I did a fantabulous swim, and my biking went well (despite a tiny bit of nausea)--the run was simply okay, but at least I had a good time with it despite singing poorly and yelling at crickets (IT WAS HOT OUT THERE!). Sadly, I was literally on the weight limit for being an athena today (165 pounds)--and had I raced as an athena, I would have taken second in my division--I WOULD HAVE PODIUM'd!!!!  Oh well, sadly, I am betting by the next olympic, I will be FAR below that weight! (at least I hope so!). In any case, I had a great time racing, a great massage after it, and the BEST strawberry milkshake on the way home (is it strange that a milkshake was my motivating factor today?)--I'm thinking new post-race tradition....

I'll write my race report later--a bit tired and husband is whining about wanting to go out to dinner...too bad I'm not hungry yet...

Great hearing how everyone's weekends went! We had a good time at the Pork & Brew, although we went for frozen custard instead of "brew" the BBQ was wonderful! Speaking of the Pork & Brew, I'm not in the results . Not a big deal as I kept my time myself.  Based on the results I was second out of 4 in my AG and about 1/2 overall.

So our niece is doing a relay for life in Salina, Kansas next weekend and we decided today to go be with her for it! She actually organized this team before she was diagnosed! So now I have to cram as much of my training into the early part of the week as possible.  I am considering taking my bike for my long ride on Saturday tho. What do you think Felicia, will I be able to find someplace safe to ride?

Survived the family wedding!  It was great--at a fairgrounds, after the ceremony there was games for the kids, popcorn, cotton candy.  Dinner was pulled pork and BBQ corn.  Kegs of beer ran out about 9:30 pm....Live band on the bandstand, groom played sax, lots of dancing.  What a riot!

My run tonight got cut short.  I was about 1/3 the way through an hour run when a young man asked if I had a cell phone.  I replied I didn't and was going to keep on running when I realized he was upset.  Stopped to ask if he was ok--he and his two friends had just been robbed by a guy in a mask with a machete--they were in a park behind an elementary school.  He had no ideas where his friends were, his wallet and cell phone were gone.  I walked with him to find a phone, we stopped another guy, borrowed phone to call mom.  He was just 14, and as soon as his mom answered, he burst into tears and couldn't speak.  I talked to his mom, and then walked him up to a nearby store to call the police and wait for his mom.  I felt terrible for the poor kid, he was so traumatized.  As soon as his mom walked in, he burst into tears again.  I left when mom got there, but I sure hope he is able to get through it--or gets help if he needs it.  Ran my shortened route home saying a little prayer for him.

Good job to all the racers out there, sounds like everyone had a great weekend!  I'm out to an OWS again tomorrow evening.

Cool, TJ.  That is awesome that you are going to be with her for the run!

Another squad done - comments made about my beautiful stroke!  Very happy

If you can't sleep here's the workout:

FINS
200M FREE (50 BREATHE LEFT, 50 BREATHE RIGHT)
200M 50M CATCH UP FOUR SCULLS, 50M OTTER NO KICK
200M FISTS BREATHE EVERY 5 (Yeah like that's possible)

3 sets of the below:
25m fly
25m back
25m back
25m breast
25m breast
25m free
25m free
25m fly

NO FINS
5X250M as below

200m free
50m front scull
2x25m band sprints

300m cool down

THAT'S 3KM!  Oh I started in the faster lane but then my little slow lane wanted me back to lead the no fins sets so I toddled back.

Wow, Kirsten.  That is an eventful weekend.  I'm so glad you were there to help that young man, what a terrifying experience for him!

The 11 hour drive (each way) across NM, OK and KS will give me a chance to finish some books I've started i.e. Chrissie, Swim Secrets and hopefully my Be Iron Fit will be here by then.

Great Race kate!! Way to go!!

X2 Glad you were there and able to help him.  I hope they catch that a@@hole.

x3 You are a wonderful lady, Kirsten, and I hope the best for justice in this case.

The race is almost 4 weeks away which is a lot of time for improving.  IMO, 1:30/mile improvement is a lot but I've found that once you've reaced a level of fitness it is easier for your body to get back to a level of fitness than to get there the first time. I vote go for it!

Yes, but don't do it through hard running.

I think you should do the race for the experience and the fun. Maybe you can repeat May's performance, maybe not. It's worth a try.

However, given the recent difficulty with your knee ... I'd keep the running steady between now and then but max it out on the bike AS YOUR KNEE ALLOWS. That will set you up for the best run possible.

Do you have to improve your time?  I say go for the race, but even if you don't get back to the 9min/miles.  Work hard between now and then, but considering knee issues, just being able to get out there and race is great!

Yes, you get stronger and faster through consistency. 

I understand we are all striving for PRs and I imagine that is why you are asking this but if PRs were easy to obtain, I'm not sure we would be striving for them.

I think in this case you should just run to the best of your ability. You can certainly train your butt off (listening to your body, and specifically your knee) and see where that leaves you in 4 weeks but I personally think making a specific time goal is not a good idea.

Make fun the goal and anything else that comes with is a bonus..

I got to watch some VERY competitive pole vaulting on the beach this weekend. There were some soon-to-be Olympians, Olympic hopefuls and a slough of average joe vaulters. I hope to do this event next year if I can get a little training in:

I also did some trail running on the Xterra course. It was gorgeous and a very nice break from the pavement. 

Man, that pole vaulter looks photo-shopped, so cool.  It was the one event I never did in T and F, but always wanted to try.  So0unds like a great w/e!

Geeze...the poor kid. Waita' do the right thing and help him out. That's what it's all about right there!

Kirsten: way to go helping that poor boy out, what a terrible experience for him but how fortunate you were there to make is a little less so.

Jen: GOOD LUCK, Monday racing Manatee!  Enjoy a little time for you!

Kirk: I'd say do the race since you have off mainly just for fun.  Don't wreck yourself trying to get your times down to what they were pre-injury back in May.

Salty: wow, that is some serious pole vaulting, impressive!! And as much as running and I don't get along, I do love me some trail running! That looks wonderful!

Click here for Zee r-r-race r-r-report (meant to be spoken in Sargeant Schultz accent (from Hogan's Heroes)).

Hello manatees! Just stopping in for a quick post to say "hi!" After nearly 2 weeks of no activity by riding horses, I did a swim/bike brick yesterday on the course of my sprint tri this coming Saturday. The swim went really well, I'm feeling more confident about the 800m distance.  Then I've got a run on the docket this afternoon.

Hope everyone is doing great, I'll read through the 20 or so pages I've missed to find out for myself!