Tri-Curious - -full (Page 4)

I am using my log - not sure if I am doing it right but I am doing it!!!! It feels good to look back at the week and see what I have done. Just started biking again -I don't think my weekend touring bike is gonna cut it so have been looking for a used one online.

Cross-posted from my other journal:

Race report:

Actually starts a couple of days before the race.

We get to Vegas on Wednesday afternoon, driving in on what is going to be the bike course. It's hills, a couple of short, steep-ish ones, and several long uphills. I did not expect hills at all. It's fricking Vegas, ffs, flat as flat can be. Get checked in, go down to the "beach" at the resort where the swim is being held. It's disgusting. Mossy, brown, smelly, first thing I saw was a big- fish swimming around the shallows. And it's cold. f***. So I'm starting to freak out. Spending the last 2 weeks with no sleep is not helping. Pick up my girlfriend L from the airport - she's not impressed with the course either. I'm not in a great frame of mind. We end up chatting after Brian takes the boys to bed, I cry a little. She says it's supposed to be fun, if I'm that stressed, don't do it. I decide to try the bike course and do a swim the next day before making any decisions.

Thurday morning - haven't slept all night. Am a f***ing mess in the morning. Have a meltdown at 5am in the bathroom, ugly crying, snotty nose, weird noises, all of it. Poor Brian is a saint. Talks me down - we decide I'll ride a couple of the hills and see how it goes. If it's bad, I won't do it. Get the bike out, Brian and the boys walk over to the hills with me and I ride them. No walking involved! Apparently putting in some time on the trainer actually worked! Who knew?
P.S. Love my fricking bike to the ends of the earth, at this point.

Head down to the pool with the boys, L and D (her first tri) come down later after riding the course and we grab our wetsuits and get into the lake. Disgusting smell. Pretty stinking cold - every time I put my face into the water, I lose my breath. So I just end up paddling around with my face out but trying to get comfortable. Feels pretty good. We do what we approximate the course itself to be. Boys are out in a paddle boat with Brian, my little guy is bored as s***. Feeling much better about the tri.

Friday morning and I'm nervous again - lack of sleep is doing a serious number on my anxiety levels. L lets Brian borrow her bike and watches the boys so we can hit the hills again. I get up the two long hills, then go for the steep one. It goes well. I'm feeling much better. Hang around swimming, etc. Head over to REI and pick up a few things, Cheesecake Factory for supper. Carb loading, right? Head for bed fairly early. Swim start is based on what time you get there, earlier in line, earlier into the water. Make arrangements to meet the girls around 5:15am.

Sleep a total of 2 hrs, am awake very early. Text L to see if she's up and wants to go sooner, D will be up as she's starting to feel anxious. Brian gets up, was going to help with my wetsuit but forgot that they'll want to body mark us when we get down there. My oldest, J, wakes up and is wishing me luck, etc. Then complains that his leg is itchy. Take him into the bathroom for some light and he's a rash from head to toe. Freak out, start thinking that we need to take him in to be seen, I can't do the tri, etc. Grab L and D (both nurses) and have them look. Duh, it's a rash from the antibiotic he's been on, very common. Apparently I've become a total idiot in my nervousness.

Head down to body marking and transition. Windy as s***. Freaking cold. I'm shivering, poor L is almost dying because she's always cold. Get marked, set up our stuff. I've already lost the mirror on my bike helmet. Get done, head down to the beach. We're fairly close to the start - standing on the sand of the beach. It's freezing. Our feet are going numb. They delay the start by 30 minutes, everyone else is pissed but I'm happy to have some extra time before dealing with it. I get in the water for a few minutes, just to calm my nerves. Freaking cold. Start goes off, everyone is running in a line into the water. I get in and immediately move over to the side, so I don't get swum over. Choppy waves, everyone is in pretty quickly. It's a sea of pink caps. Within 5 minutes, someone is calling for help from the kayakers. Full disclosure - my face never touched the water. I did a modified dog paddle alternating with the side stroke when the waves were too high. I watched some chick back stroking and she had nothing but water over her face the entire time. While I was making the rounds of the buoys, at least 5 people called for help and I saw several being towed out. I am happy to report that even though I didn't do a front crawl, I did not hang on a kayak or panic at all. I just kept moving and hoping to make the swim cut off. I also couldn't see out of my goggles, I had a tiny corner of the right one that wasn't fogged. I didn't want to stop though, so I just kept peering through it and trying to head the right way. Got to the beach and headed up to the bikes. 33 minutes in the water.

The path to the bikes is actually pretty far - I think over 1/4 mile and my feet were black once I got to the bike. The great thing is that Brian and the boys were waiting for me on the way to t1 when I got out of the swim, so it was such a nice boost to see them at that point. Brian was concerned - nobody had said that we started 30 minutes late, so when people were so late getting out of the water, he was wondering how bad the swim was. My calves were cramping up when I first got out of the water, so I stopped for a second and stretched them. I thought, if I got through the swim and can't do the damn thing because of cramps, I'll be pissed.

Get to the bike, attach my garmin but my battery on the cadence thing must have died. Throw on my t-shirt, helmet, try my sunglasses but decide they're going to me off. Didn't bother with sunscreen. Head out on the bike. Apparently L took someone out when she was mounting her bike, the other chick was also and then L veered left while she veered right and she went down hard. My biggest fear was taking someone out accidentally. I'd feel so terrible. So bike was uneventful. Passed a few people walking their bikes up the hills - so glad I had practiced them. Felt good once the steeper hills were behind me, now gradual climbs until the halfway point. Nicest part of the course was looking over and seeing the Vegas strip with Mount Charleston behind it. Almost made me forget how much I hated Vegas when I lived there. Almost. As I'm peddling, I'm thinking how nice it is that the wind has died down for the bike portion. Then I hit the turn around. Bam, right into a headwind the entire way back. A couple of long, gradual climbs but nothing too bad. Turn left into the resort area and a couple of gusts blow me around a little. Wind all the way back to the resort. L yells at me as she's heading back and I'm heading out on the bike - relieved to see I didn't quit the swim, i think. Not sure what my time on the bike is - they have my bike time as 1 sec and my transition time as 1:18, so I'm not sure. I started the timer on the garmin even though the cadence didn't work, so I'm hoping I'll have something a little more accurate.

See B and the boys coming back from the bike, Brian is looking very relieved at this point. Get off the bike, drink some water. Throw on sunscreen and a cap and head up the steep hill to the run, walking. My thighs are feeling pretty jello-ish and I start thinking that my strategy about not worrying about the run since I was planning on walking it may not have been smart. Feel better about 1/4 mile in. The run is gross. When they said desert run, what they really meant was a construction road through a hilly, barren area. Red dust and big rocks all over. Up and down the entire way. Aid station at mile 1 (and 2, since it was out and back) was better scenery - the Vegas tri club had their guys out there handing out water and gatorade, dressed in tiny shorts. One guy was fine with a capital F. One guy had a banana stuffed halfway down his shorts - So walked it to mile one, ran on and off, and probably ran about a total of 1.25 miles. Saved some for the end so that I could run it in. My foot actually did okay, although later on I was feeling it in my arch. Brian had left the boys with L and D and was waiting for me near the end. He ran alongside for a minute or two, then I saw the boys and stopped to give them a kiss. Went through the finish line and was ecstatic. Total time was 2:48? Solidly back of the pack, but not in the last 25, so I'll take it.

So, the course was ugly for the most part. The girls are joking that I've lost my choosing privileges at this point. I wouldn't do that one again. I was saying to Brian beforehand that I didn't think I would ever do another triathlon - the stress was just too much. Now, of course, I'm changing my tune. I'd like to move from BOP to MOP at some point. We're considering going to Denver for the irongirl there. I'd also like to do Danskin again - I think it was a little better organized. The next thing with the girls is the half-marathon in Disneyworld in January - I need to get my foot better and start focusing on my running.

Feels good to have actually done it - I'd like to be able to swim the next one properly, so that'll be a goal.

Sorry, double post.

Edited by kwynnc 2011-05-05 11:23 AM

Have a great trip! That's the report I want to read - I'd love to go to Costa Rica!

Well, I personally think it's *pretty* awesome that you did it!! Yay!!! You go, girl!!

Wow!! Have a splendiferous time!!

Daughter and I looked into the Ramblin Rose series for our first tri together, but the times didn't work for our schedules. I'm already thinking about it for next year though. Let us know how it is.

Life has kinda hit me upside the head lately, and I haven't been to the board - or training/working out. Hopefully, things are back to "normal" now, and I'm ready to get back at it.

start back up today.

I am interested in having you as a mentor...if it's not too late, I know this thread was posted quite awhile ago. This is my first week of training for my first try. I am not a runner and not a very active person. But I think that having a goal & focus will help me. I haven't decided which one, but there is a sprint tri in my area in August and one in September. I do have one question right away...should I include strength training in my routine besides the run/bike/swim? And if so, what?

Alright people lets check in with our progress and short term goals.  The weather is supposed to be nice all week so I anticipate an increase in my time and distances this week.  Anything will be an improvement over last weeks busy busy life.

HOW IS EVERYONE ELSE PROGRESSING?

Edited by rwolf 2011-05-10 11:49 AM

Hex - how many times a week are you swimming? If it's a couple of times or more a week, I would suggest doing 300's once a week and then doing intervals the other session. If you're doing 3 times a week, you could throw drills in there for the third session. That way you mix it up. I was surprised at how much doing intervals helped me ie. 8 x 50, 12 x 25, 2 x 100, etc. I went from being able to barely do a 400 to doing an 800 the next time I tried to go long.

I'm embarassed to report that I have done NOTHING since my tri. My arch/heel is still bugging me, so I'm trying to wear my brace at night and see if that helps. My next planned event is a half marathon in January - I might throw a sprint tri in at the end of the summer but not sure yet. Plan to start the couch to 5k either this week, or beginning of next. Time to get back to being accountable.