Yanti & Salty MAD MANATEES Part 2 -- Full Pod (Page 48)

O.k. guys I'm back from Kansas and can give a quick report on the grueling day.  I'll try to post a RR in the coming days.

This was by far the hardest race I've ever done!  

The swim ended up NOT being wetsuit legal.  The lake temperature was like 76.8 degrees and the cut off is 76.1 degrees  I looked out at the water and saw how choppy it was.  I decided to wear my wetsuit as I knew I wasn't expecting any podium awards, LOL.  Because of this decision, I ended up having to start in the LAST wave.  By that time the wind was picking up a bit and the choppy waves looked intimidating.  So I started my swim with the wetsuit wearers and it started out scary.  I kept inhaling a bunch of water every time I turned to take a breath.  I had to stop and hang on to the bouy to catch my breath.  My heart rate was high and my breathing was rapid.  After what seemed like a minute or so, I calmed down and started swimming again.  I felt calm and got into a rhythm.  The water was so choppy I had to sight constantly to make sure I wasn't going off course.  Finally after what seemed like forever, I saw the swim finish.  52 minutes!!  Yikes!  I have to tell you though, that wearing the wetsuit was the best decision I made!!  I honestly don't think I would have been able to complete the swim with out it.   

The bike was brutal!  The wind gusts were up to 30mph.  I really thought I was going to fly off the bike.  I kept thinking about the winds picking me up and sending me to the land of OZ, LOL.  The uphills were just epic with the headwinds and crosswinds.  But I was proud of myself for biking up every hill without stopping.   After 3 hours and 39 minutes later, I knew this was going to be a loooong day.

I knew I was in trouble when I got into T2.  I sat down to put my shoes on and my legs were starting to cramp.  I took in a gel and drank some gatorade but I knew It was probably too late.  I started the run slow.  After a half mile, I had to walk.  My legs were hurting, it was hot, I was feeling bad, and I had 12 miles to go.  I walked to the aid station and took in more fluids.  I decide to try and jog to every aid station and walk through the aid stations.  It was by far my worst run experience.  My legs cramped off and on throughout the whole race.  I kept telling myself to move forward.  Dammit, I didn't drive 9 hours to not get my finishers medal.  I was going to finish!  After a long 2 hours and 55 minutes (not a typo), I crossed the yellow brick road to the finish!!  I felt light headed and a volunteer sat me down and gave me a bunch of water.  I sat there for a few minutes and got my bearings.  My family found me and congratulated me.  I was so glad to be done!!

Overall the race was well organized with AMAZING volunteers.  The crowd support was phenomenal.   I'm not going to lie and say I'm not disappointed with my performance.  My run was a demoralizing experience.  This was my second HIM and aside from the hot weather, the races were very different beasts.  The big picture is, I finished and I am proud of that accomplishment. There will be other races.  Thank you all for your support and well wishes.  It means a lot to me.  

O.k. guys I'm back from Kansas and can give a quick report on the grueling day.  I'll try to post a RR in the coming days.

This was by far the hardest race I've ever done!  

The swim ended up NOT being wetsuit legal.  The lake temperature was like 76.8 degrees and the cut off is 76.1 degrees  I looked out at the water and saw how choppy it was.  I decided to wear my wetsuit as I knew I wasn't expecting any podium awards, LOL.  Because of this decision, I ended up having to start in the LAST wave.  By that time the wind was picking up a bit and the choppy waves looked intimidating.  So I started my swim with the wetsuit wearers and it started out scary.  I kept inhaling a bunch of water every time I turned to take a breath.  I had to stop and hang on to the bouy to catch my breath.  My heart rate was high and my breathing was rapid.  After what seemed like a minute or so, I calmed down and started swimming again.  I felt calm and got into a rhythm.  The water was so choppy I had to sight constantly to make sure I wasn't going off course.  Finally after what seemed like forever, I saw the swim finish.  52 minutes!!  Yikes!  I have to tell you though, that wearing the wetsuit was the best decision I made!!  I honestly don't think I would have been able to complete the swim with out it.   

The bike was brutal!  The wind gusts were up to 30mph.  I really thought I was going to fly off the bike.  I kept thinking about the winds picking me up and sending me to the land of OZ, LOL.  The uphills were just epic with the headwinds and crosswinds.  But I was proud of myself for biking up every hill without stopping.   After 3 hours and 39 minutes later, I knew this was going to be a loooong day.

I knew I was in trouble when I got into T2.  I sat down to put my shoes on and my legs were starting to cramp.  I took in a gel and drank some gatorade but I knew It was probably too late.  I started the run slow.  After a half mile, I had to walk.  My legs were hurting, it was hot, I was feeling bad, and I had 12 miles to go.  I walked to the aid station and took in more fluids.  I decide to try and jog to every aid station and walk through the aid stations.  It was by far my worst run experience.  My legs cramped off and on throughout the whole race.  I kept telling myself to move forward.  Dammit, I didn't drive 9 hours to not get my finishers medal.  I was going to finish!  After a long 2 hours and 55 minutes (not a typo), I crossed the yellow brick road to the finish!!  I felt light headed and a volunteer sat me down and gave me a bunch of water.  I sat there for a few minutes and got my bearings.  My family found me and congratulated me.  I was so glad to be done!!

Overall the race was well organized with AMAZING volunteers.  The crowd support was phenomenal.   I'm not going to lie and say I'm not disappointed with my performance.  My run was a demoralizing experience.  This was my second HIM and aside from the hot weather, the races were very different beasts.  The big picture is, I finished and I am proud of that accomplishment. There will be other races.  Thank you all for your support and well wishes.  It means a lot to me.  

I am in bed. Passed out at 9pm (after having slept the whole day anyway) but now I can't sleep again.

Also, how can we be out of rice? RICE?!?!

I had an awesome weekend! Had an amazing dinner at a new restaurant with my DH Friday night, riding lesson Saturday morning (worked on no stirrup work on a super comfy and slow mare), then the garden tour with my stepmom - we saw some AMAZING gardens, land that could have been 10 people's back yards.  And the weather was just perfect, sunny and 78, no humidity.  We had some wine and cheese and crackers back at her house on the patio then pizza, then I went home to watch 2 episodes of Mad Men and repair my wetsuit (oops, I ripped it 3x the first day I put it on).  Sunday I got up at 7am for a really nice, quiet, back roads 25 mile bike ride (longest distance yet!) with a group of women I met through my tri coached workouts, then a couple of us went for a short swim in a nearby lake.  I was really proud of myself, I swam back in to shore and barely stopped, letting myself use set amounts of recovery strokes in between freestyle. I need to keep doing that, eventually I'll be able to go the 1500m for my OLY! After that I was all energized, so I weeded my front garden, then went shopping for groceries, flowers and mulch, a new summer bed quilt, and some storage furniture for the house. Came back home and planted the new flowers and mulched, ended my day at 8:00pm with firecracker chicken wings and extra spciy cajun fries  Such a great weekend!!

Well, I had a pretty wild weekend. 

Ran lots, worked a local 5K with PowerBar, biked some and we got our project funded on kickstarter. We raised 18K in a month!

I just need a final push to get me through the next week and a half and then I am on vacation, followed by marathon taper. Phew. Thank goodness. 

O.k. guys I'm back from Kansas and can give a quick report on the grueling day.  I'll try to post a RR in the coming days.

This was by far the hardest race I've ever done!  

The swim ended up NOT being wetsuit legal.  The lake temperature was like 76.8 degrees and the cut off is 76.1 degrees  I looked out at the water and saw how choppy it was.  I decided to wear my wetsuit as I knew I wasn't expecting any podium awards, LOL.  Because of this decision, I ended up having to start in the LAST wave.  By that time the wind was picking up a bit and the choppy waves looked intimidating.  So I started my swim with the wetsuit wearers and it started out scary.  I kept inhaling a bunch of water every time I turned to take a breath.  I had to stop and hang on to the bouy to catch my breath.  My heart rate was high and my breathing was rapid.  After what seemed like a minute or so, I calmed down and started swimming again.  I felt calm and got into a rhythm.  The water was so choppy I had to sight constantly to make sure I wasn't going off course.  Finally after what seemed like forever, I saw the swim finish.  52 minutes!!  Yikes!  I have to tell you though, that wearing the wetsuit was the best decision I made!!  I honestly don't think I would have been able to complete the swim with out it.   

The bike was brutal!  The wind gusts were up to 30mph.  I really thought I was going to fly off the bike.  I kept thinking about the winds picking me up and sending me to the land of OZ, LOL.  The uphills were just epic with the headwinds and crosswinds.  But I was proud of myself for biking up every hill without stopping.   After 3 hours and 39 minutes later, I knew this was going to be a loooong day.

I knew I was in trouble when I got into T2.  I sat down to put my shoes on and my legs were starting to cramp.  I took in a gel and drank some gatorade but I knew It was probably too late.  I started the run slow.  After a half mile, I had to walk.  My legs were hurting, it was hot, I was feeling bad, and I had 12 miles to go.  I walked to the aid station and took in more fluids.  I decide to try and jog to every aid station and walk through the aid stations.  It was by far my worst run experience.  My legs cramped off and on throughout the whole race.  I kept telling myself to move forward.  Dammit, I didn't drive 9 hours to not get my finishers medal.  I was going to finish!  After a long 2 hours and 55 minutes (not a typo), I crossed the yellow brick road to the finish!!  I felt light headed and a volunteer sat me down and gave me a bunch of water.  I sat there for a few minutes and got my bearings.  My family found me and congratulated me.  I was so glad to be done!!

Overall the race was well organized with AMAZING volunteers.  The crowd support was phenomenal.   I'm not going to lie and say I'm not disappointed with my performance.  My run was a demoralizing experience.  This was my second HIM and aside from the hot weather, the races were very different beasts.  The big picture is, I finished and I am proud of that accomplishment. There will be other races.  Thank you all for your support and well wishes.  It means a lot to me.  

Ok, I am going to try again with the pix.

Ok, I am going to try again with the pix.

I, uh, found the rice. We have so much of it in fact that it's in a big covered bucket next to the dog and cat food covered buckets. Well, how am I supposed to know it's rice in there if I can't see it?!

Heh.

As long as you figured it out prior to cooking...pet food gets mushy in the rice cooker.

The voice of experience?

I'm pretty out of it but at this moment I can still tell the difference between commercial pet food and rice. If I start chewing on dog kibble (NO I have NEVER done that before ever ever nope) it's definitely time to go to the doctor.

I am not allowed to touch the rice cooker.  Ever since I put Basmati in with Jasmine.  I have a Singaporean... 

There's actually a blend (or perhaps strain) of rice called Jasmati! Asians sure are stuck up about our rice purity, though. And availability.

Oooh, Singapore. That's where we export all our rich Indonesians.

Did you ever get any help with this Melanie?  I did post a pic awhile back, but I remember it being difficult to do, so I am no help whatsoever.  Sorry!

O.k. guys I'm back from Kansas and can give a quick report on the grueling day.  I'll try to post a RR in the coming days.

This was by far the hardest race I've ever done!  

The swim ended up NOT being wetsuit legal.  The lake temperature was like 76.8 degrees and the cut off is 76.1 degrees  I looked out at the water and saw how choppy it was.  I decided to wear my wetsuit as I knew I wasn't expecting any podium awards, LOL.  Because of this decision, I ended up having to start in the LAST wave.  By that time the wind was picking up a bit and the choppy waves looked intimidating.  So I started my swim with the wetsuit wearers and it started out scary.  I kept inhaling a bunch of water every time I turned to take a breath.  I had to stop and hang on to the bouy to catch my breath.  My heart rate was high and my breathing was rapid.  After what seemed like a minute or so, I calmed down and started swimming again.  I felt calm and got into a rhythm.  The water was so choppy I had to sight constantly to make sure I wasn't going off course.  Finally after what seemed like forever, I saw the swim finish.  52 minutes!!  Yikes!  I have to tell you though, that wearing the wetsuit was the best decision I made!!  I honestly don't think I would have been able to complete the swim with out it.   

The bike was brutal!  The wind gusts were up to 30mph.  I really thought I was going to fly off the bike.  I kept thinking about the winds picking me up and sending me to the land of OZ, LOL.  The uphills were just epic with the headwinds and crosswinds.  But I was proud of myself for biking up every hill without stopping.   After 3 hours and 39 minutes later, I knew this was going to be a loooong day.

I knew I was in trouble when I got into T2.  I sat down to put my shoes on and my legs were starting to cramp.  I took in a gel and drank some gatorade but I knew It was probably too late.  I started the run slow.  After a half mile, I had to walk.  My legs were hurting, it was hot, I was feeling bad, and I had 12 miles to go.  I walked to the aid station and took in more fluids.  I decide to try and jog to every aid station and walk through the aid stations.  It was by far my worst run experience.  My legs cramped off and on throughout the whole race.  I kept telling myself to move forward.  Dammit, I didn't drive 9 hours to not get my finishers medal.  I was going to finish!  After a long 2 hours and 55 minutes (not a typo), I crossed the yellow brick road to the finish!!  I felt light headed and a volunteer sat me down and gave me a bunch of water.  I sat there for a few minutes and got my bearings.  My family found me and congratulated me.  I was so glad to be done!!

Overall the race was well organized with AMAZING volunteers.  The crowd support was phenomenal.   I'm not going to lie and say I'm not disappointed with my performance.  My run was a demoralizing experience.  This was my second HIM and aside from the hot weather, the races were very different beasts.  The big picture is, I finished and I am proud of that accomplishment. There will be other races.  Thank you all for your support and well wishes.  It means a lot to me.  

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=445328 (warning: lots of typos!!)

race report is up.

Here are some highlights:

-wore my wetsuit (a very last minute decision) and was 1st in my AG in the swim...ablsolute SHOCK!

-thought of Yanti's words "...redlining all the way" and tried to keep my effort high on the bike

-again thought of Yanti's words "sprints are pukefests" as I was puking my guts out at the finish.

Overall, a great race and a 3rd place finish in my AG! (I can hardly believe it!! But, it was a pretty small race.) 

Congrats on everyone else's races this weekend - looks like there were some great races and some epic finishes - way to push through everyone.  I've had some CRAPPY races, and let me tell you, those hard days make the good ones even more sweet.  So, way to finish but also, way to go to use your mind to stay safe.  And I'm happy to hear that some of you who didn't race this weekend had some fantastic days too!! 

Yay for summer, peeps.  Carry on training hard and having fun!!