PanicTour's Group - FULL (Page 5)

Hey Ya'll! We're leaving for Baton Rouge and onto New Orleans. Sorry I've been AWOL. This taper week has been the toughest yet. I don't envy your next couple, Keith. Anyway, we all avoided the flu, thus far. (OK, we're all on Tamiflu at $10/pill.) Thanks so very much for ya'll's support. I think about you guys a lot. It would have been so much harder to get here without all of your support, and I know that sounds cliche', but I really mean it.

Ya'll have a great weekend and I'll let you know how the race in the Big Easy goes. Oh, Murray, my 12 y/o is hoping to sign up for the 5K! How cool is that?

Hugs to you all,

Carol

Since we are at .83 of February, it looks like I am not going to make goal in bike, but might in run and probably will in swim.

Bike 0/99.36/150 miles    .66

Run 3/20.32/35 miles      .58

Swim 1000/11650/15000 yards   .78

Hey guys, we're back, with sore quads and all. No internet for 4 days, so sorry for the absence. Oh, I wish you all could have been there running with me. It was so much fun! I kept thinking, "I'm really doing this, with all these runners around me. How cool is that!" I never hurt, never faded, never panicked. It was just fun and glorious all the way. I waved, thanked the police and volunteers, sang to myself, and enjoyed the scenery as it passed. At mile 10, I couldn't believe it was almost over, that quickly. Richard, my husband, had a great race, his first 1/2 mary too. A lot faster than me, he finished in a few seconds over 2 hours. Murray, my 12 y/o did the 5K in 30:30. I'm pretty proud of him, too, mainly because he wanted to try.

Race report later, but here are some observations from the back of the pack:

• Most people don't give a thought to their race nutrition and their performance suffers.
• The water stops are too far apart for a 14 min/mile pace...you have to carry water unless you run under 10 min miles, and that's at 60 degrees and you're 70 kg.
• People at the front half of the pack don't talk (so my husband says). People in the back can talk too much.
• If you pace correctly, you can have a lot of fun passing people in the last 3-4 mile and finish strong. If you don't, you look (and probably feel) like dog vomit as those who paced correctly pass you.
• We (and you guys) trained a whole lot more and more consistently than the majority of those there
  
• Triathletes are waaaay more OCD than runners.

February - Acheived/Goal

108/150miles Bike     32.32/35miles Run     15850/15000yds Swim

Although I only hit my swimming goal (imagine that) it was a decent month.  Looking back there were too many days off, but things do happen. 

March goals will be:

150miles Bike     45miles Run     17500yds Swim

In February I paid a lot of attention to speed, but March I will concentrate on strength and endurance.  Hopefully the weather will be nice, and I can get the bike out and run outside.

Ward, you had an awesome month! Kudos for keeping it up. It's so hard to be consistent and you seem to make it look easy. Here's my Feb totals, and my March goals.

Feb: Swim  1200/4000, Bike 29.7/56, Run 48/30.

March: Swim 2000/ Bike 56 / Run 13. 

How about the rest of you? Ready to tri again?

Great job Ward and everyone else that made progress towards their goals.  For me the running and swimming went well but I need more time on the bike in March.

My race went OK on Sunday.  I'm feeling much better today now that most of the soreness has passed.

Sorry for being out of touch.  Work has become increasingly crazy and finiding time to post is becoming difficult.  Thank you all for the great inspires this week.  They made me smile.

Keep up the good work -- this is a great group.  Together we will meet all of our 2008 goals!

Good Sunday Morning gang!

Up early for work after the Warhawk tri yesterday. Had a great time racing at my university alma mater. Wow, a lot has changed in 25 years. Will post a report when I get my official times. But I got second in my age group!!!. OK, there were only 2 racing, but who has to know? Richard had an awesome time but his field was competitive and he didn't place. And Murray finished his first sprint tri at age 12. Here are a few lessons learned:

• Sprint length tri's go fast!
• The sprint length is very forgiving...anyone can finish if they want to
  
• The swim causes more anxiety than it's worth. It's over fast, and it's a fraction of your total time.
• The bike doesn't cause the anxiety it should. It's the bulk of the time, and you have the potential to really burn up your legs on it. Equipment failure is most likely on the bike, and can really screw up your time and your mind
• Don't worry about the field. You can only race your race, and meet your goals. Some days the competition is tough; some days it sleeps in.
• Small-town tris have great goody bags.

Thanks for all ya'll's support. Will check in with ya'll later.

Carol

Well, unfotunately, I am back from Jamaica.  Great weather, sunny most of the time, with highs in the upper 80's and lows in the lower 70's. 

We drank a bunch of rum and Red Stripe beer.  Beth and I made a decision that we could do 1 of 2 things; only eat one plate of food at each meal and drink as much as we want or eat as much as we want and not drink.  Since we chose the 1st option, I only gained 1 pound and she only gained .4 pounds. 

This actually was a pretty active vacation for me.  The property had a little more than 250yds of beach so I swam a couple of laps on Mon, Wed and Fri. each.  The entry drive to the resort was a little more than 1/2 mile so I did 3 laps on Sun, Tues, Wed and Thur each, without shin problems.  On top of that, I played beach volleyball for about 2 hours on Mon, Tues, We, and Thur each.  There was some really good players there so the games were quite competitve.

I forgot to say this:  We had a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, it is now time for March madness and baseball. 

GO FIGHTING ILLINI !!!!   GO CHICAGO CUBS !!!!

Carol - Great job on the race.  Sounds like a fun, family event!

Ward - I'm jealous of your vacation.  I'm pretty fired up for March Madness and baseball season to get started.  My friend just told me he has an extra ticket for Phillies Opening Day so I'm pretty psyched!

Now I am the one that is jealous.  Opening day game @ 3:05 vs. the gnats.  Nice way to start a season.  The Cubs open @ home vs. the Brewers.

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Phillies.  Remember the great trade: we give you Larry Bowa and Ivan DeJesus and we get some guy named Ryne Sandberg, a 3rd basemen I believe.  Ever heard of him??

Yeah, didn't he play 2nd base or something   The 3:05 start is perfect.  Hopefully the weather will be good.  They are raising their NL East Champion banner.  It is funny how badly this city is starved for a champion -- they will make a huge deal out of being NL East champs.

March Goals - Bike 150miles     Run 45miles     Swim 17500yards 

March Actual- Bike 180miles     Run 54miles     Swim 17950yards

This turned out to be a pretty good month.

April Goals - Bike 255  miles     Run 60 miles     Swim 17500 yards

My plan is to bike 17 miles on 15days, to run 3miles on 20 days, and swim 1750 yards on 10 days.  I feel my swim and bike are both fine, but could use a little more endurance.  While the run (my nemesis) is getting there and could use more days of traning.   

On a side note, I picked 3 of the 4 in the Final Four.  Go Memphis!

Most importantly - HEY! HEY! HOLY COW! Baseball season is here!    WOO! HOO! 

GO CUBS!

How is everybody?   This last week has been hard on me.  I have had migraines most of the week, making workouts very low on the priority list.  With a Dr.'s help, I plan on getting back on track starting Saturday. 

Ward - I know the feeling.  I had a tough few weeks between work and some health issues for my wife.  I'm getting back in a routine and I feel the best I've felt in a while.  When the time is right, you'll get back at it.

Sorry I went missing.  I hopeeveryone is doing well.  Thanks for the Inspires!