Destination MoP is FULL (of motivation!) (Page 23)

Cynthia - Congratulations!  That sounds like some climb, and not only did you make it, but you enjoyed it, so that's great.  

Just have one comment from your race report - you said you should take your helmet off while running with the bike.  Not sure about your local rules, but over here that's a penalty.  Helmet must be on and fastened at all times the bike is off the rack...

Christine - I've been reading about your race this weekend, which I'd never heard of.  That sounds epic!  I hope you have a great time.  How does it work with 6 of you?  Do you run twice as often, or do 2 legs each before you changeover?

Stu - Your weight loss has inspired me.  I'm growing my own vegetables this year, but nothing ready for eating yet.  I guess I just need to buy some more in until they're ready.  Laziness is my enemy...

Unfortunately I'm off training for a little longer.  The twinge in my knee turned into real pain.  A trip to the physio later and it turns out I have patellar tendinitis.  Bizarrely I think it might have been coming on for a while, but the fact that I was ill in June and didn't get much training in meant it didn't get too bad until Steelman.  I've got stretches and lunges to do every hour for the rest of the week and then we'll re-assess at the weekend.  This is the first time my physio has ever told me to rest, so I guess that really does mean no running.  Hopefully if I stick to the exercises he'll work his usual magic and I'll be able to start working back up next week.  It means no sprint for me the week after, but it was always an extra so not too upset.  Should be back up before the OLY in August, which is our club's away day, so I'm really looking forward to that.

Well done Cynthia!  Sounds like (literally) a wild ride.  Yes, hills... hills... hills.  After a month of flat running (and little biking), getting back to the local hills was a wake up call.  Nothing like practice.  Both for running and biking, they are a great workout.  Just be sure to take it easy on the way back down (no screaming on the bike and watch the pounding on the run).

Back in the pool today.  Had one short swim last week otherwise it has been over a month since a swim workout.  Another wake up call headed my way :-)

Thanks for the input...I believe you are right; the helmet needs to stay on for most races and I really don't want to figure which ones so its best to just leave it on until the bike is racked.

My daughter is here wih my son in law and grandson...I am worn out!  Oh, "grandma" is being beckoned...gotta go

I just purchased a tri top, tri shorts and a race belt online.  I hope they all fit.  Then I'll have to test them in the water, bike and run.  I'm tempted to join an OWS tonight, since it's so hot, but it's my husband's birthday, so I guess I'll try next week or Sunday.

Anyone racing this weekend in addition to Christine's crazy "race"?

It is gawd-awful hot here.  100+ in the shade and who knows what on the road/concrete.  Marathon training begins next week.  Is this a bad joke?

Hope everyone has a super weekend!

Stu

Let me know how things work out with your new tri suit...I am starting to look around for something to wear too. 

Ok, I am so tired of No. Nevada weather...its either too hot or too cold; missing the So Cal beach temperatures.  I have slacked off from biking an running all week and am beating myself up about the whole thing.  I had the week off from work and have been spending it with my visiting daughter and husband and grandson but I still should have gotten a run and bike in or two.  Gosh they leave this week and I am going to really miss have a little one around...we may get to keep the g-son for a week, which will be fun!

How is everyone dealing with the heat?  Seems like the East is really suffering; in No. NV its a dry heat!

Hey everyone!  I'm sorry I've been quite absent lately.  I've been having trouble fitting it all in lately but in bits and pieces I've been trying to keep up with everyone's progress.

In just a week now I'll finally be taking my turn on my first tri!   I've been reflecting a bit on what all I've been through and learned from when I started training in March to now.  I've realized that I've been through a roller coaster of really more psychological challenges than physical lately.  Someone posted this article on FB today that sums up PERFECTLY exactly what I've been thinking and struggling with lately: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/22/tri-challenge-my-brain-is-my-last-obstacle/?hpt=hp_bn6.  Thankfully I've in just the last week or two come to the same conclusion.  I'm now ready to be proud of what all I've been able to accomplish and how far I've come instead of beating myself up with negative thoughts of what others can do that I can't yet.  I'm still slow but I'm not the slowest (a true MoPer ) and I've found that if I keep up a steady pace I can do all three sports comfortably (enjoyably ).  I can now appreciate the positive aspects of this sport, the fitness I've gained, the new friends I've made, the group workouts, the camaraderie, the scenery of the courses, and much more.

I did a full practice on the race course yesterday and it felt great.  I was able to complete without any problems.  So now that I'm past my psychological issues and I've proved to myself that I physically can do it, I'm feeling confident and excited.  I'm ready to do it!  I've even been enjoying all of this so much that I went ahead and signed up for another Sprint Tri next month.

Hi Erin,

Great to see you pop up again and good luck next weekend!  Thanks for sharing your post.  Pretty natural feelings and thoughts, especially going into your first triathlon.  Everyone comes into this with different hopes and expectations and all that has to settle out as you train and eventually participate in tris.  Embrace MoP!

Can't wait to hear how it goes this weekend!  You've accomplished a bunch already and the race is only a marker, not the real prize.  Enjoy the ride!

Stu

Hi Everyone. I've enjoyed reading all of the posts and commend all of your awesome accomplishments. Living in North Carolina means the heat and humidity have been sapping my energy today and it's been difficult to train. Today was my first decent ride (18 mi in 1:15) in 2 weeks. Traffic is always the main issue so I have to time it just right. Regardless, it was fun and I'll have to find time for another one this week. Swim team is now over so the pool should be more available. I've got to get in there! I love to swim so why is it so hard to get to the pool? Running is easiest for me. I just change and go, but with a heat index of 115-120 it doesn't seem healthy unless I can get out there at sunrise and who wants to do that on vacation? I'm fitting in the runs, but they need to get longer as I start training for the half marathon in October. Given the crazy heat (I've never seen it this hot in Wilmington!) I've been going to the gym 2-3 times a week and my ab works are definitely showing an improvement. Nothing has paid off in my physique so I'll just have to remember it's a healthy choice and not be so darn vane about it.

Tennis, well if you saw my logs, it is my dominant activity and it's hard for me to turn down a match. In order to stay injury free though I need to keep my court time less than 10 times a week! That will be my August goal for sure.

Stay cool everyone and congrats on all of the wonderful achievements.

Joanne

Back into the swing of training.  Got in two long bike rides over the weekend.  Will get in a good run today.

Next race is IronGirl Columbia (sprint).  My girls will do it with me.  They've not done any training.  I'm hoping they aren't too miserable by the end.

Also hoping the Centennial Lake water is not as gruesome as I hear.

Still have to catch up on everyone's posts.

Stu - I will be in Charlottesville for an overnight on Thursday.  Any suggested running routes?  I'd like to get a run in during the evening.  Want to join me?

I will be at FEI on Emmet St.

Use it or lose it...I finally got a run in last night...friggin' slow!  I have not ran in over week so I made it a point to get out there.  It was good to get out there but slow!

Melanie - they have a swim / run untimed instructional brick this Saturday (super early) for IG participants (you just sign a waiver to participate).  There are to links - one to the info about the brick & one to the required waiver - under the "Need Training Help?" section on the IG webpage - http://www.tricolumbia.org/events/?eid=6.

Idid most of the bike course (a wrong turn, so slightly shorter, but a little more of a climb) on Saturday & my muscles are actually sore. This is the 1st time in training any of my tri sports that my muscles have actually been sore.

I tend to run at home (25 min west), so I don't know the routes in C'ville as well (other than race routes).  But there are some greenway paths that we could bop on not too far from FEI.  I'll look into that as I've been meaning to try it out sometime.  Warning though... it is supposed to be brutally hot later this week (again?  still?).  My training calls for a 1 hour run on Thurs... will that work for you?  It would be great to meet you in person regardless - so even if the run doesn't suit you, let's at least say hi!

Approx timing? 

Stu

Good morning,

Just did an OWS. It was the first time I have done an OWS and I was so nervous! I wish I had a camera with me so I could show you how calm and beautiful the sunrise was this morning at the beach after a night of thunderstorms. Other than a fish, nothing scary to report. Our leader, who is fantastic, mentioned jelly fish and said to just swim through them and that was a little disconcerting, but I didn't see any thank goodness.

The toughest part was siting and I need to read up on that because I found I would stress out when I looked up and was off course. I can stay relaxed and breathe out of both sides, but looking up just makes me realize how far I have to go and I worry about getting off course. Maybe a few more of these and I will stay more relaxed. Now that I know I can go the distance I will try to do freestyle the whole way. We didn't have any tide to help us this morning, but I think that's a good thing so come race day I'll be ready for this distance. Some people in the group put on their sneaks and ran back to their cars so I'm going to do that next time.

Hope you all have a great day,

Joanne

All,

We had quite a weekend at the Ragnar Relay. We arrived into Seattle at 4PM on Thursday night and drove to Blaine. On the way we stopped at Bucca di Beppo for our pre-race fuel of spaghetti, meatballs, gnocchi... mmm. and then continued on to Blaine. I was so amazed the sun was still up at 8:30 PST, it helped me stay awake as I was pretty exhausted by the time we got there.

Friday morning we headed off to the start line, we had an 8:15 PST start and the east coasters were ready to roll. My first leg out I carried my camera with me, and got some pretty interesting photos. Note to self it is hard to run and to video or take pictures but I am so glad I had it.  I was nervous about running in general as my longest run since my marathon (10/3/10) has only been 9.5 miles, 6 miles into the first leg my right leg started to hurt. I chatted it up with a guy for a while and it didn't get much worse. I finished out my 12.4 and was glad to be done running. 9:13 pace for the first leg, I consciously slowed down several times and stayed within a specific pace. I didn't want to have the intestinal issues I had last year. So I ran at my all day pace!

I put the compression socks on, spent a few minutes getting changed up and then hopped in the van. I took the time to stretch while in the van. The biggest challenge for me is not the run, but being in the van, not having access to facilities and the food situation, plus I am unable to sleep. We tried to be good with fruit & carbs, but a lack of real substance is challenging. I played support the rest of the day, through to the evening leg. We were at the second major exchange when I was waiting to run, this means it is the location of all the vans (most teams having two) and one van swaps out with the other (which really means six fresh legs and long lines for the Honey Bucket)

I went off on the second leg around 6PM to run 7.9, I was glad this was short as both my legs hurt. After a few miles into it, they stopped aching and things started to feel much better. This run was mostly flat, a couple of hills, one of which I walked for 10 seconds, hills are really my achilles. I finished that up (9:25/mile), handed off to runner #2 and hopped back in the van. I took over driving for a little while, then played navigator until midnight. I told the crew I needed to sleep if I was going to make it for my next 11, but I think I managed one hour worth of sleep.

When I went off for my third and final leg, it was 4:30 AM and I was in full night gear. I told Elisabeth my teammate this was going to take a miracle for me to finish this. I ran in the dark, listening to the power lines buzz for the first third of the leg. My van lost me for a while, but another van refilled my water bottle about 4 miles into it. The sun started to come up at about 5:30 AM and I was so excited to see it! My legs were tired, the pain had gone away and all I was really interested in was getting to the end of my 11 miles (pace not sure 10:00+/mile). I ran/walked most of the hills and tried like hell to run all the flat and downhills. At the end, I was glad to be done. I kept thinking I needed more mental strength if I was going to finish a HIM in 8 weeks. YIKES!

Our team finished in 30:07:25 a 9:39 average pace. Yea!

And then there was leg #4. "A short run from DQ to the van"

So as part of this race you end up on Whidbey Island, and you take a Ferry from the Island back to Everett, WA. Once our team crossed the finish line, we packed up and went to get in line for the ferry. Across from where we were backed up in traffic there was a DQ. On the right hand side of the road there was a sign that says, "Wait from this point 1 hour 45 minutes". So my hubby and I walked over to the DQ and ordered a blizzard and some fries, and watched as our van took off and headed down the street. By the time we got out there it was out of sight. So we ran, DQ in hand ~ 1 mile to the van. We were not alone, several other teams had done the exact same thing.

Traveling, time changes, improper nutrition, & 32 miles made for one heck of a weekend. Can't wait until we decide on what to do next year?! Sounds like it might be a relay IM.

Interestingly, I didn't stomach the GU all that well this weekend, nor the gatorade. I'm not sure if that was car sickness or something else.

I was able to get on the trainer last night for 40 minutes, and the legs felt alright. I brought my stuff to hit the gym at lunch today for a short run, maybe some abs & elliptical. My training plan for this week is intense and I'm hoping to complete as much in as possible without overdoing it.

Christine

Wow, Christine it sounds like you did great!  What an event.  The logistics alone sound exhausting to me.

Joanne, I did an OWS on Sunday.  I'm comfortable in lakes.  No problem, right?  but.. this lake was so clear that on the way back in I was startled by things that I could see on the bottom!  sunken bouy? coil of cable?  I decided to concentrate on watching my hands enter the water. 

Andrea

I saw the clinic but am out of town (bummer).  How was the bike course.  I hear that it is quite hilly.

An hour run would be great!  I've been a bit of a slacker lately and a good run will help get me jump started.  Will likely be free right around 5:00pm.  Will touch base Thursday during day.