PirateGirl's group - CLOSED - Pirate ship has sailed! (Page 15)

Will they be making posters for cheering? That would rock!

Good luck!!! Can't wait to hear how it goes. You're gonna do awesome!

Well, what a disappointing weekend! We got to packet pick-up Friday night and checked out the course and pool. It is a beautiful place. The bike and run courses were flat and tree lined. The heat and humidity were lower than they had been.  It was looking to be an incredible time. Woke up Saturday morning and there was a deluge!! It was raining so hard you could hardly see across the parking lot! Got dressed and did my race routine. Got to the parking lot and there we all were...a bunch of drowned rats getting bikes and bags out of our cars and getting to the transition area to set our stuff up in any way we could so it didn't get totally drenched. Got body marked and waited by the pool under a canopy thing, shivering cold from 6:00 til 8:00 when they finally cancelled the race. The bike course was under too much water and there had been lightening in the area. I was so disappointed I could hardly stand it. I was really looking forward to it. But, we had an indoor water park in the hotel so we threw everything in the car, went back to the hotel and put on swimming suits and spent two hours or better having a great time. The grandkids thought it was the best day of their lives! Course, we then go outside and the rain has stopped and it was perfect weather for a race.  AAggghhh!! I definitely plan on signing up for that race again next year. It was very organized even the little bit we got to experience. I don't know if I can find another one close by that I can get in on this month or not. We'll see. 

Major bummer! Sounds like it was some seriously crazy weather. Glad you were able to salvage the day though.

I hope you'll be able to find another race to do close by. Keep us posted on how the hunt goes!

Ahoy Mateys.  I'm getting back into the swing here... slowly.   I've looked at my training plan... but not started to follow it - do I get a 1/4 credit point for that?  ARGH!  Life in the regular lane is SOOOOooo different than 4 weeks of vacation (17 days without the kiddos!).  But I'm getting back.  still not on my bike, but I think tomorrow's "naptime" might find me on the trainer in the hot, stale garage.  While I could get up early tomorrow and ride, I've just finished a wee bit too much wine, I doubt I'd have morning legs for a ride - and haven't checked that there is air in the tires!  We'll see how I feel come morning - certainly I'd prefer a outside ride to the trainer, but ...

The vacation was GREAT.  We had 5 days on the Atlantic coast with the kids and hubby's family.  I did a few morning runs then since babysitters were easy.  Left the kids and headed for Europe - 3 days in The Netherlands was all jetlag but still got a swim and a run.  Then off to a week in Greece.  lovely.  swimming was mostly floating in the delightful sea, no real training.  a few good hikes but no runs.  But oh, the food.  la!  the food and the drink!  (It is a good thing we don't own a scale; my trip to Ireland I lost a stone, this trip I think did me no good) Back to Amsterdam with rental bikes and lots of riding.  Sore legs from the upright position.  Again, good food found most meals.  Back to the US and another few days in MD/VA to see family friends before the trek back West.

It's now 2 weeks since we returned and I *think* I'm mostly recovered. And am figuring out my training.  I will run a 5K this Saturday. It's sure to be a slow one but I need to get back into this training/racing gig.  Tonight I found a moonlight race for mid Sept!!

Tri is Sept 27 and I've signed up for the Sept challenge to keep me honest.  It's the same course as I raced in June so it would be nice to better my time... gotta train to reach that!  I did find another tri for October 11, the swim is twice the distance and likely colder water and requires hotel fees too... haven't decided if I'll do that one. 

Season is ending, eh?  The new fitness club has inexpensive childcare so I might decide to join and train while one is in preschool and the other gets goes to train with me, gotta decide if training and mothering is my "job" and that's what I want to spend my time doing.  Or if I should go get a 'real' job again.  brain hurts. 

Let me go put on my hefty hiking boots to deliver the stiffest KICK!

Get back out there BigMama, it feels good once you're in the game again. 

Okay, I'm back on the train...or the pirate ship, I guess! Back into training, but it's not been easy. I am really struggling with swimming right now...seems like I am gasping for air. I think I've even got my swim coach stumped. I'm gonna really work on swimming more than biking or running the next two weeks to see if I've just got to get back to where I was before I tapered and took a siesta! I was actually kind of nervous when I went with some friends to the lake to practice the swim course for the Sept tri because I couldn't make it all the way. It's a 500m swim but those buoys seemed like they were miles apart. Had to have the lifeguard put me on her board and take me partly back (couldn't stand to have her haul my sorry butt all the way. I HAD to swim it in the last 100!!) I didn't have my wetsuit on, tho, and I wonder if it would have been different if I would have worn it. I'm gonna take my wetsuit to the pool tomorrow for practice and swim in it the entire time and see if that helps. Any suggestions?

I know that when I first started and took a break, swimming endurance was the first thing I lost. It takes a couple of weeks to build back up to where you were. But focus on swimming, like you have planned, and you should be back on track in a few weeks.