Prof40's Group -- Technically full but ... (Page 52)

Watergirl- You are The Goddess of the mountains. I will never complain again when I do A hill ride here in chicago, Now I know what a real Hill is, ours are just bumps in the road. It was a mountain, even though there were no snow or ice it was a mountain.

Pene- Repeat after me.. I love going down hill. I will controll my speed and I will ride downhill!!
In Washington the hill was a mountain and I went to brake every 5 seconds. I made it halfway up the hill, I actually got my asse of the seat and rode standing untill I was going so slow the bike started tipping so I got off and walked the other half of the hill, thatw was a good challenge too.

Prof- How was the alcatraz escape? Did the older guard yell at you? My sister and I were going up and down the same stairs several times while waiting for someone to catch up with us from the next ferry. But this was two years ago. Did you take the self guided audio tour? They fixed the place up compared to 10 years ago. My sister lived there for a while.

Big girl triing- How is the swimming going? I flew and had an ear problem. now its worse and I need to get well for my tri in 2 weeks. I will swim again in 1 more week. right now I am biking and running conservatily.

Andro- My thoughts are with you on your race. YOU GO GIRL!!!

Rob- I was without a computer for 2 weeks, it was hell! I know what your going thru.

Austrilia- How are the Kolas? What kind of beer do you drink after a race? I usally have one glass of wine. Is beer better than wine after a race? CHEERS!

U.K- How are things with you? This morning I was thinking if I were there now it would be night and I could go back to bed and get more sleep. LOL. I will go hit the hay early tonight.

sp3- How is the running?

Talk to you latter!!!!!

Oh Geesh, I'm entering the Pumped, Psyched or Manic phase--whatever you want to call it, I'm THERE!

I'm like enjoying strawberries and hummus with rye triscuits and smoothies. And I needed some new workout music, BAD. The other stuff was starting to annoy me. So I got this new band's CD called Mika. HAD to get that one in honor of my daughter Micah! It's okay. Sort of feel good stuff. Nothing heavy, that's for sure. And the new one by Pink, and Avril Levigne, and the Pu55y Cat Dolls (had their CD but the kids painted it one day with fingernail polish). I like to do intervals to their song, Bite the Dust!

Yep, yep, yep. Didn't talk about anything tri related here. I'll try to hold it in guys, but it's so hard when I'm feeling all manic or euphoric or whatever! I want to go out and run 10 miles, bike 40 and swim across the lake the long way and back (probably a couple miles). But instead I have to hold it in and be good and not hurt myself for this weekend......

Well I did order a digital caliper deal to measure body fat. Have to get serious about this weight loss stuff again. Write everything down and not eat pizza and stuff. (did anyone check out Kanders' new avatar of her skinny butt? Man!) Maybe when the kids are gone for a week! Then I can go do the 10 mile run, etc!!!!! So keep an eye on my log for NEXT week! I may just have to really beat myself up that week while the humiliation of finishing so slow is still with me, and the post tri euphoria is also still with me. Figure I'll do the "intermediate" distance next year, 2 weeks before the High Cliff HIM. (It's just impossible for me to live in the moment. I'm always looking years into the future!).

Here's my new favorite quote: (found it on the IM committments thread)

"There's magic in fighting battles beyond endurance, it's the magic of risking everything for a dream nobody sees but you."

Ciao, arividici, auf wedersehen, good night...... (sorry for any misspellings)

Damn. That's soo annoying. Have to censor a perfectly legitimate band like PCD's on this site. Yet they let me say crap, damn, hell, etc. I wonder what else they'll let me say now......anyone know any swear words in Swahili??? Come on, let's hear some foreign swear words--ya'll will just have to get creative about the translations Mark? Bet you know some!!! (Manic + Rebel Mood = must hide my debit card from myself and sit on my hands so I don't go call some dude that doesn't deserve my attention and STAY OUT OF THE FRIDGE!!!!)

Edited by phoenixrising404 2007-06-07 7:17 PM

I'd say someone needs to lay off the caffeine, but I'm pretty sure this is all her....

It was just a truly great race. I'm glad I had the chance to go. My race report should be up in a day or two.

Why didn't you tell me I'd need a hat and coat on June 1 in the beautiful, but chilly and windy, San Fran weather?

It was, indeed. Sometimes you just need to get the show on the road.

So what did you decide about your race category -- age group or Athena?

Well, I've done nothing since Sunday, but I do feel that lugging the bike case around on Monday should count as some recognized physical activity.

Last night, I put the bike back together. And I also did the laundry. Nothing says I raced in the ocean like the smell of your race clothing after it's been in a bag for 5 days.

It's been a busy week of catching up. My hope is that a long day today will get me back on track, and tomorrow I can go for a nice morning run. Amazing what the body will look forward to.

Mark, I'm taking you up on your challenge of IM distances each week, and if I'm lucky, maybe a little more. There are some races in the fall I'd like to be ready for, so the longer training will serve me well if I decide to do them.

And now some words of advice for our racers this weekend -- plan your race, and race your plan.

You've been working hard for months. Adrenalin will kick in and you'll feel like going all out in the first few minutes of your race. But don't get caught up in it. By now, you have an idea of how fast you want to do each leg. Stick to your plan! Yes, some swimmers will blow you out of the water, and you'll feel vengeance boiling in your veins when you jump on the bike. And you'll hate being passed during the ride. But remember, this is a 3-event competition. You still have the run, and you'll get more satisfaction completing a swim-bike-run than a swim-bike-walk. Stay in your pace, and as you pass those walking early fast birds on the run, give them a big smile. (By the way, it's an especially great feeling when you pass someone 20 years younger than you.)

And don't put on the sunscreen until after you've been body marked! Otherwise, the marker won't write on your skin.

What's that? What body marking, you ask? Usually its your race number on the backs of your hands and one bicep, and your age group on the back of your calf. And then whatever other markings you'd like to adorn yourself with.

Get to the race early. Wear lots of warm clothes. Lay your gear out in the order you're going to put it on as you come from the water or ride back in after the bike. Check it again. Look around. Smile. Talk to others. Ask questions. Yes, there are a few manic competitors dressed in matching spandex who will be just too cool to take time out to chat, but you might end up next to someone like me -- who enjoys the morning and likes talking about the race. And giving pointers about the course. Or offers to zip up the back of your wetsuit.

Remember, this is fun. It's a personal accomplishment. It's about meeting a challenge that not many will ever try.

So get out there, already!

Prof, good to know about the sunscreen and body markings. I'm making a list of stuff to remember to do/take with. We have to park at the high school and put our bag on a shuttle bus and bike to the park. They won't be stopping traffic for the bike part at all. (gulp) There are going to be fellows on motorbikes patrolling for drafters (I'm not even sure if I've ever been close enough to someone to know if it's drafting cuz I bike alone--isn't that a song? No, wait, that's I drink alone......) I just broke a water glass right near my precious bike (gulp, gulp). The kids got into my GU stash last night as they each had a friend over for a sleepover. (my house is even more trashed than usual!!!) I think they finally crashed at about 3:30 this morning. I, however, slept pretty good

See, only one frappuccino this morning so far, and the mood persists!

Kali is just threatening me with these little things to fritter over......

I have to get a one-day USAT membership, so I must remember $10 and my ID. Must find my registration receipt. I'm hoping they finally got in the aero water bottles at the bike shop so I can go get one on Saturday when I pick up my race packet and do the inane pre-race talk. If we haven't been on the course by now, it's like too late..... I've done the bike a couple times, the run once and the swim 5 times minus the buoys.

So, what in the world do I do with all this energy for the next 2 days??? Go for a little bike? Go for a little run? Walk 5 miles? Punch someone??? Take up drinking???

better week, more active. I have a 5k on Saturday, i am hoping to run it all but when I tried to run the other day I got shin splints OUCH!!! so we will see what happend tommrow.
Casey- GOOD LUCK! You have been training hard and you are ready. PS are you doing the OWS at lake george next weekend? I am think I will do the swim and then bike the bike route and the run just so I am ready.
Glad you are all here. Quiana

Stretch and stretch some more = no more shin splints for me. It might work for you.

Stand up tall, hold your right foot tucked up behind you in your right hand. Keep your knees together and stretch the front of your shin by easing back with your right hand. Repeat on the left side. Sit on the floor on your heels with your toes pointing backwards and lean back slightly as if you are gently lifting your knees off the ground (don't actually lift your knees up as this would hurt!). Walk for about 500 yeards and then do them again. Then do your run. After run do your stretches again.

Oh yes, and get your shoes properly fitted. If you are not exactly light on your feet (like my good self) a properly fitted pair of running shoes makes all the difference.

Shin splints are a pain in the derriere so I hope that the above is some help.

I won't be at the OWS...I'll be in Washington DC helping my roommate find her grad school apartment :-P My summer is just crazybusy!!

I hope your shin splints get better. If they don't, I would recommend PT at Impact Physical Medicine on Snelling and University....they are awesome!

Hey everybody.  Sorry for being missing this past while.  I had moved at the end of last month and I still do not have Internet access so I have not been able to log on here.  I also didn't write down my training so I am not even going to guess at my last week of training.

 

I had my first triathlon today!  I will update a full race log on it but heres the short version

 

I showed up nice and early to register and setup.  I was setting up my transition around 830am, with a race start of 10:05.  As I am setting up a realize I didn't have my helmet.  crap....

I couldn't make it back to town and back so I called my mom to grab my helmet and get it to me.  I am standing by the road waiting for her in my wetsuit.  My heart was beating a million miles an hour, as it is 9:30 and she is still not here.  9:45 comes and they ask people to clear out of transition, and I am contemplating doing the swim and hoping my helmet appears.  9:50 comes and she arrives (thank god).

So I go line up in the water, making useless chit-chat while we wait.  I am first wave of course.  We start off and I get to the first buoy,  and I am running out of breath and gulping  so much lake water I have to do the backstroke about 50% of the way.  For some reason this made me very dizzy on my back from the waves I had to take my goggles off.  I get to shore and stumble to my bike.  I grab a towel and put it on my face, and fall down on the grass.  I was so dizzy and full of lake water, I bent over and threw up my breakfast.  *note to self, bring 2 towels next time.

Get on the bike, went well and made up a lot of time I think.  Came back for the run and just couldn't do it.  I had done so many 4k runs before, but I just couldn't move my legs.  Luckily an angel in the form of Helen from this site caught up beside me in the last 1mile and pushed me to the end.   Final time was 1hr 35mins for a 500m/18k/4k sprint.  I was happy to finish and crawled home and sat in the new hot tub for about 2 hours.

 

So there you have it.  Probably the most painful, challenging experience of my life.  Can't wait to do it again.

Oh Rob, you are my hero!! I mean it!! What a great report and fantastic attitude!! I'm proud of you

Helen, you ARE an angel. A powerhouse machine animal angel! God, I don't know how you do it! I peek at your log and just shake my head. Of course, I do that with a lot of people's logs.... Can't wait to hear your report, too!

shins were way better, the acid was still a pain in the . I did the race in slower time but close to the times I have been doing. Casey- I can not want to hear about the MS 150, I know you did great. Will miss you at the OWS but have fun in DC.
Quiana BGT

Cheer up, Quiana! You are doing great! Way to get back into this stuff!!

Androgenie, I'm looking forward to hearing how it went,too. I have a Century over Labor Day and it scares me!

Rob and Helen--love that photo! What a cool thing to find a friend to help you out! You guys are CUTE!! Looking rather buff!

Okay, I'm really and truly going to bed now. (yeah right. I can already feel the insomnia as I worry about not getting up on time.....)

Heh gang- a quick hello- I am beat!!!

-and yes girls Robb is as cute and adorable as you would think!!! (just kidding gang- a true gentleman- in fact- he is the same age as my kids!!)

- talk about a very cool experience- meeting up with someone - during a tri -literally- probably the last mile of the race- that we met- yup really neat. We had a great last mile- pushed each other- no different than we do here- that what it's all about!!!!! Thanks again Robb!!!!

-Helen

Edited by HelenR 2007-06-09 9:33 PM

I know exactly what you mean!

Nice job on your first race. Welcome to the club.

Good job on your race. And nice race photo. You both look strong!

I did my first run yesterday in a week, and I'm stiff and sore. Wow. Everything hurts. And I was only trying to stretch my legs a bit.

Congratulations to our new racers! Get a race report up so we can read about your efforts. (Yes, I finally posted mine from last week.)

My goal for the day is to get on the bike, maybe a short run, and enjoy the day with the Mrs. Hope you all have a good Sunday, too.

congrats Robb and Helen! ITs so cool that you guys found each other! Prof-look what your little mentor group has done, creating new connections in the universe! Robb, getting that first one under your belt is the hardest, and from here out you know what to expect.
Good job, BGT- you are still hanging in theere!

Prof, great race report. I still cant believe you swam in that Bay, what was the temperature?? Isnt San Fran a great city? Not quite as good as Seattle, but almost! I'll be there again in Oct for my half marathon, and have already started my weekly hill training...

Ok, Pene is up next, along with Androgenie for race reports. I dont think anyone else had an event did they??

Im trying to psyche myself up to go for my ride in a minor wind storm. There are sun breaks though that are enticing me, I thinkn I will give it a go.

Hah! I did it! God that was fun!!!! There were a BUNCH of us newbies there--72 out of 275 participants total, a new record for this tri. Can't tell you what my total time/placing is. Didn't really look at my watch. I was having too much fun and just enjoying the fantastically beautiful day!

But here are the highlights:

I met a gal friend to train with! She has kids around my youngest two's ages and lives close and this was her first as well--so I have her name and will definitely look it up in the phone book and get together with her!

I swam 80% CRAWL in the balmy 72 degree water! The 20% side stroke was mainly because of all the bodies I kept trying to avoid and the buoys which I almost missed with my head in the murky water! So I'm happy about the swim!

I just have the most wonderful bike. She just cruises up those hills and I'm so proud of her! People still whizz past me on the downhills, but I stayed on the bike Jeanette! Your voice was in my head: "I will control my speed downhills and stay on my bike". So they cruised past me on the downhills and I kicked butt on the uphills and passed em anyway

I was so euphoric for the run that I was totally silly and kept singing "follow the yellow brick road" to the volunteers on the side of the road (yellow arrows painted on the road) and I found my angel the last mile, too! She was a 59 year old sweetheart and I kept joking around with her and we finished exactly together! Well, okay, I let her pass a few miliseconds ahead of me. She looked great and it was her first, too! But jees--those wobbly wobbly legs right after the bike were really something at first!!! I even practiced bricks, too, but apparently not enough.

The toughest part of the whole thing was trying to bike from the high school a mile away with my big huge duffel bag on my back and not wobble too much. It's really heavy! And then of course you have to duffel on the back to your car after, too! Might have to downsize just a bit or get a backpack. Or let my family come watch.....

Anyhoo, I definitely did NOT finish last. Not even close. But I don't really have the finals yet. My time was a lot slower than my dream time, though. But obviously, if I was singing and talking for the run, you know I wasn't exactly exerting myself TOO bad....There's plenty of future races for me to get Type A and competitive at.

Now for a nap, as I am kidless til next weekend Yeah! I think a friend and I will go have a seance at a haunted school that one of my patients is a janitor at. It's a head and shoulders ghost that likes one particular room at the school and opens and closes doors all the time. (Just thought I'd throw that one in, not tri related, sorry). But I'm not afraid of anything now--cuz I'M A TRIATHLETE!!!

Yes, yes, you are. Amazing how strong you feel, isn't it?

Wow, Prof, seriously cool race report! Loved the part about the people you talked to before the swim, the guy peeing on the bike, and even the calling your lovely wife during T2! Those are the little details that make it all so interesting and HUMAN! Now you are fantastically FAST at about a minute per 100 yard swim!! Especially considering such COLD water and all the bodies to avoid! There were so many newbies that it slowed everyone down during the swim and bike today. You just couldn't help it! People grabbing my foot and me touching feet ahead of me. Had to do different strokes just to navigate the sea of limbs! And it was actually NICE to see women struggling more than me on the bike for a change! I didn't really want to do much passing, as I knew they'd get annoyed when they had to pass me on the downhills. But, I wasn't one of those riders the ambulance had to peel off the road, like on your adventure! I appreciated that little bit, too Anyway, WELL DONE! Ben gay and nappers indeed.....you can be my side kick Tri comedian--maybe I'll let you open for me when I'm famous

Oh, hey, did you end up beating that 12 year old? Sounds like you caught him on the bike, no?

I beat out either an 18 or a 28 year old today. Couldn't tell as her body markings were smeared.....I actually didn't want to pass her as she was pretty cool and I'd talked to her before the race and she had a chain slip out of gear on the bike. Sort of slowed and asked her if she needed help, but she didn't. Then she way passed me on a downhill and for some odd reason, I passed her on the run? I think she just ran out of steam. Beginning to realize I'm sort of one of those nice triathletes that isn't in it to cream people. I'd rather cheer them on and joke with them to the finish line. And enjoy the sites! And speaking of sites--woohoo, talk about some cute fellows!!

But not as cute as our Rob!!!

My race report is done. My official time for a 440y/17m/5K was 2:08. It's lots better than I hoped for, as I had figured on between 2:15 and 2:30. The run surprised me at 36:38. I thought I was walking most of the way and staggering along, but my very best times on a 5K practice weren't much better and that was more perceived effort. I was just sort of out there having fun. The bike was also better than in practice at 1:11, but that is 14mph and very slow for the majority of racers out there. The swim was actually quite slow, but I'm okay with it as graduating to the open water was a lot to get used to--nerves and otherwise! So the good news is that I did better than I thought but the bad news is that I was dead last in my age group for regular sprint females and 74/77 for my division. I did beat out a couple athenas and was even a tiny bit faster than like 2 men. Of course, there were intermediate folks that finished after me, too. So at least I didn't perceive myself as fourth to the last or whatever.

Pene- You did a great race!!!

Robb and Helen- Awesome race and great pics, Thank you for sharing those with us.

My race is in two weeks and I am a nervous woman. I am training but I am scared of the run and my bike isn't working right, I will get that fixed on wend. hopefully they won't charge me twice. I will use the road bike as a last resort but feel better on the mountain one.

My ear is still stuffy but not hurting and I havn't swam in two and a half weeks. That's my strength so I am not so nervous about that. I talked to a woman who has a trainer who asked the trainer if he thought it would be allright for me to do the tri and he said yes.
SO I plan on pacing myself a little slower ( I am allready slow on the run, so I will be super slow run 2 min and walk 30 seconds to a min depending on how I feel.) Plan the race and race the plan.
My friend who is helping me run was very encourging by saying that this is my first one and I have annother in Aug. I can get a base time and next time try and beat it on my next one. I know the course better in the second one as it is in Chicago. This one is somewhere where I have never been. Way Way out in the burbs, almost not considered the burbs of Chicago.
The first on is for women only so I feel a little better. It's also for a good cause.


I hope everyone has a great week!