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Friday, July 28, 2006
Yes, the vacation started off great...here is us, broke down on the side of the highway and still managing a smile!
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Thursday, July 27, 2006
Wednesday Riding
Last night went to my normal Wednesday New Vision Cycling workout down in Cuyahoga Falls. Last night's workout was 2.5 mile warm up, (4) 5 mile flat-rolling hills TT intervals, followed by a 2.5 mile cool down.
I was not feeling real motivated to go, but I knew if I skipped it, I would feel guilty...so off I went.
Turnout was decent, as usual, around 30 riders or so and it was mid 80's so it did not take long for me to start pouring sweat. They sent us off for our 5 miles at 10 second intervals. Here are my times-
14:08 (21.23mph)-caught up quickly to the rider in front of me and probably should have passed sooner as I probably drafted too long
14:38 (20.5mph)-tried keeping up with pair that passed me but lost them on the final hill
14:43 (20.39)-this one felt lonely as the way the order worked out no one I could catch & just one that smoked me and was gone in no time
14:56 (20.09)-tried like heck to keep up with other female who passed me, but I was running on fumes
My chest and lungs felt very tight and tired after the first 5 miles, let alone the way they felt at the end. When I stood up to get up the small hill at the end of the last 5, I had to sit back down because my legs said no. Definitely not negative splits but fairly consistent. Let's just say I slept well last night!
All in all, another fine workout conducted by this group. I continue to enjoy this structured bike workout and find myself pushing much harder than I would otherwise.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Clev Tri Recap
Well race day driving downtown I was nervous. I luckily found a free place to park so things were off to a good start.
Like usual I overpacked and had way too much stuff to carry so I was real happy after my long walk to finally get to the transition area. Fortunately there was plenty of room on the first rack so I set up my little area amongst many familiar faces. I set my extra bags alongside the fence so they would be out of the way and I was ready to go with plenty of time to spare...this would turn out to be a good thing given the port-o-potty lines.
Prior to the race I had a chance to hang out with some fellow Cleveland Tri Club members and check out the super sprint and sprint races going on. I suited up into my wetsuit and really did not have the chance to get too nervous with all the friendly banter between the ladies in the wave. With the start I was off. As usual I felt good for the first 4 minutes and then I started to slow down and tire some. I had been a little nervous about getting beat around in the water but all swimmers seemed courteous. The floating balls we had to swim around seemed like forever between them.
Last week I had practiced swimming the distance twice while on vacation in Alabama. When I got tired then, I just flipped over and did the backstroke. While I feel a little silly doing it in a tri, I went ahead and did it anyway because I knew it would get me through it. I figure I swam about half the course on my back flipping back and forth trying to not get off course. It was not pretty, but I still saw white caps behind me so at least I was not last. I was so happy to be pulled from the water at the end of the swim course and happy to see our Clev Tri Club president, Andrew with encouraging cheers as on the dock. Total swim time 39:00 min 198/267 competitors...ouch, yes there was much catching up to do!
All down hill from here as the swim is the only part I really stress about!
Into transition one as I try to catch my breath from that exhausting swim. All goes pretty smoothly yet it still took 2:00, so could improve on that. In my defense that was my first time trying to do a quick transition in getting off my wetsuit.
Out to the bike course...as usual it took a few minutes to calm down from my swim and then I started to get into a decent rhythm. The course was not the most interesting. It was essentially an 8 mile loop three times and it felt like there were no flat sections of the bike. You were either climbing or descending, yet none were real steep, which was fine with me. The nice part was the constant crossing paths of you and the other racers. It was good to see all my pals out on the course.
The bad thing was, I was able to tell how far behind I was right away. I guess even though I know I am a weak swimmer, I did not realize just how far behind I was. Luckily, my biking is OK so I was able to make up some ground and pass quite a few people before T2. I could have went faster but I did want to make sure I saved my legs for the run. Another thing I need to practice is drinking on the bike. I kept trying to drink my Gatorade Endurance yet everytime I did I swear I lost so much time and really slowed. I ended up getting 3/4 of the bottle down. I see other racers with the liquid in front by the aerobars and was wondering if that type of setup may be better for me. Thoughts?? Anyway total time was 1:24:15 (164 out of 267 overall).
T2, uneventful, back out in 54 seconds.
Many racers felt that the road surface was brutal and wished for trail shoes. We were running two boring loops on a road that had been scraped in preparation for repaving...I guess it did not bother me as much as most. As usual had heavy legs at the beginning but pushed on. I managed to pass of few, get passed by a few. I was actually disappointed with my run time, yet two things were really bothering me besides the general fatigue at this point. A) I could feel my insides twisting and I was nervous if I pushed to hard that I would be in dire need of a bathroom before the end of the course. B) I was really missing my Ipod. My music really pushes me through races & runs and I just plain know I run faster with my tunes.
I walked through a couple water stops to take in some fluid since I was pretty thirsty. I tried to pick it up a bit at the end and was annoyed I had not started my kick sooner as there was a girl in my age group that finished 6 seconds in front of me and I just ran out of ground to catch her. But with that extra exertion towards the end I knew my fear of possibly needing a bathroom was not in my head, b/c as I crossed the finish line I was in hot pursuit of the closeet bathroom. Hello, when will I learn pizza the night before races is an absolute no no for me???? Enough on that.....anyways..........Total 10K 55:28 (143 out of 267 overall).
After the race, chilled with the other Cleveland Tri members at the tent and watched many of the gang win many awards. It was such a wonderful wrap-up to the gorgeous morning! I ended up 5/13 in my division and 18 out of 58 gender and 150 out of 267 overall which was OK....plenty of room for improvement!!! So no hardware for me but I got my first Olympic tri under my belt!
Like usual I overpacked and had way too much stuff to carry so I was real happy after my long walk to finally get to the transition area. Fortunately there was plenty of room on the first rack so I set up my little area amongst many familiar faces. I set my extra bags alongside the fence so they would be out of the way and I was ready to go with plenty of time to spare...this would turn out to be a good thing given the port-o-potty lines.
Prior to the race I had a chance to hang out with some fellow Cleveland Tri Club members and check out the super sprint and sprint races going on. I suited up into my wetsuit and really did not have the chance to get too nervous with all the friendly banter between the ladies in the wave. With the start I was off. As usual I felt good for the first 4 minutes and then I started to slow down and tire some. I had been a little nervous about getting beat around in the water but all swimmers seemed courteous. The floating balls we had to swim around seemed like forever between them.
Last week I had practiced swimming the distance twice while on vacation in Alabama. When I got tired then, I just flipped over and did the backstroke. While I feel a little silly doing it in a tri, I went ahead and did it anyway because I knew it would get me through it. I figure I swam about half the course on my back flipping back and forth trying to not get off course. It was not pretty, but I still saw white caps behind me so at least I was not last. I was so happy to be pulled from the water at the end of the swim course and happy to see our Clev Tri Club president, Andrew with encouraging cheers as on the dock. Total swim time 39:00 min 198/267 competitors...ouch, yes there was much catching up to do!
All down hill from here as the swim is the only part I really stress about!
Into transition one as I try to catch my breath from that exhausting swim. All goes pretty smoothly yet it still took 2:00, so could improve on that. In my defense that was my first time trying to do a quick transition in getting off my wetsuit.
Out to the bike course...as usual it took a few minutes to calm down from my swim and then I started to get into a decent rhythm. The course was not the most interesting. It was essentially an 8 mile loop three times and it felt like there were no flat sections of the bike. You were either climbing or descending, yet none were real steep, which was fine with me. The nice part was the constant crossing paths of you and the other racers. It was good to see all my pals out on the course.
The bad thing was, I was able to tell how far behind I was right away. I guess even though I know I am a weak swimmer, I did not realize just how far behind I was. Luckily, my biking is OK so I was able to make up some ground and pass quite a few people before T2. I could have went faster but I did want to make sure I saved my legs for the run. Another thing I need to practice is drinking on the bike. I kept trying to drink my Gatorade Endurance yet everytime I did I swear I lost so much time and really slowed. I ended up getting 3/4 of the bottle down. I see other racers with the liquid in front by the aerobars and was wondering if that type of setup may be better for me. Thoughts?? Anyway total time was 1:24:15 (164 out of 267 overall).
T2, uneventful, back out in 54 seconds.
Many racers felt that the road surface was brutal and wished for trail shoes. We were running two boring loops on a road that had been scraped in preparation for repaving...I guess it did not bother me as much as most. As usual had heavy legs at the beginning but pushed on. I managed to pass of few, get passed by a few. I was actually disappointed with my run time, yet two things were really bothering me besides the general fatigue at this point. A) I could feel my insides twisting and I was nervous if I pushed to hard that I would be in dire need of a bathroom before the end of the course. B) I was really missing my Ipod. My music really pushes me through races & runs and I just plain know I run faster with my tunes.
I walked through a couple water stops to take in some fluid since I was pretty thirsty. I tried to pick it up a bit at the end and was annoyed I had not started my kick sooner as there was a girl in my age group that finished 6 seconds in front of me and I just ran out of ground to catch her. But with that extra exertion towards the end I knew my fear of possibly needing a bathroom was not in my head, b/c as I crossed the finish line I was in hot pursuit of the closeet bathroom. Hello, when will I learn pizza the night before races is an absolute no no for me???? Enough on that.....anyways..........Total 10K 55:28 (143 out of 267 overall).
After the race, chilled with the other Cleveland Tri members at the tent and watched many of the gang win many awards. It was such a wonderful wrap-up to the gorgeous morning! I ended up 5/13 in my division and 18 out of 58 gender and 150 out of 267 overall which was OK....plenty of room for improvement!!! So no hardware for me but I got my first Olympic tri under my belt!
The story before the Cleveland Tri
Back about 10 months ago there was a sign at the gym. One of the trainers was looking to get a group of individuals together to train for a triathlon, the Cleveland Triathlon. As one of the gym regulars, the lady at the front desk asked if I might be interested as they were not getting many takers. I thought about it for a week or two because I wanted to make sure that if I signed up for this, that I would see it through. After some time and research I decided that even though I had never done a tri, was not much of a swimmer and did not own a bike, I wanted to do the Olympic Tri. All in all there was 4 us who had signed up.
I spoke with the three others about it several times yet we never ended up organizing any training together. The trainer ended up leaving the gym and there was no group training....but I had made the commitment, so I had to see this through.
I talked to my college roomie, Sara, about getting involved in tri's and she referred me to the Cleveland Tri Club. I joined the tri club and got a great deal with the club discount on my bicycle at Bike Authority, one of the club sponsors. I did not take my new bicycle out for some time due to the weather and not having a trainer. I had not regularly rode a bicycle since I was a kid, and although the first several rides were not pretty, I have come to really enjoy riding.
I started swimming at my gym's 15 yard pool. I went to a swim training with the club which was a reality check. I had thought to purchase goggles the day before but did not think to purchase a swim cap. I had just hoped to not stick out too bad but without a cap it was inevitable. I was so tired afterwards and just felt as though I was really out of my league. My swimming remains weak, yet I know I have come along way from January.
Lastly there was the running....my only comfort zone. I have cut back on my running and did more crosstraining (biking and swimming) in 2006. Somehow this has helped me to drop my running times!
In this journey to complete my first Olympic tri, I have decided to take on a few other firsts such as my first duathlon, & my first sprint tri, a 62 mile bike ride (& a century ride coming up this weekend!!). All of this was set in motion 10 months ago to complete the olympic distance Cleveland Tri, which I finally acheived on Sunday!!! Race details to come.........
I spoke with the three others about it several times yet we never ended up organizing any training together. The trainer ended up leaving the gym and there was no group training....but I had made the commitment, so I had to see this through.
I talked to my college roomie, Sara, about getting involved in tri's and she referred me to the Cleveland Tri Club. I joined the tri club and got a great deal with the club discount on my bicycle at Bike Authority, one of the club sponsors. I did not take my new bicycle out for some time due to the weather and not having a trainer. I had not regularly rode a bicycle since I was a kid, and although the first several rides were not pretty, I have come to really enjoy riding.
I started swimming at my gym's 15 yard pool. I went to a swim training with the club which was a reality check. I had thought to purchase goggles the day before but did not think to purchase a swim cap. I had just hoped to not stick out too bad but without a cap it was inevitable. I was so tired afterwards and just felt as though I was really out of my league. My swimming remains weak, yet I know I have come along way from January.
Lastly there was the running....my only comfort zone. I have cut back on my running and did more crosstraining (biking and swimming) in 2006. Somehow this has helped me to drop my running times!
In this journey to complete my first Olympic tri, I have decided to take on a few other firsts such as my first duathlon, & my first sprint tri, a 62 mile bike ride (& a century ride coming up this weekend!!). All of this was set in motion 10 months ago to complete the olympic distance Cleveland Tri, which I finally acheived on Sunday!!! Race details to come.........
Monday, July 24, 2006
The last two weeks.......
(Pic compliments of cleveland.com)My goodness time sure does fly! My house is trashed, my bags are still packed, and the laundry is overflowing. Just never enough time!
Anyways here are some of the things that have kept me so busy!
-Vacation in AL 7/15/7/21
-Working fulltime job overtime leading up to vacation trying to squeeze in two weeks or work in one weeks time.
-Working side consulting work trying to get ready for vacation and taking much of that with me on the road...thank goodness for lap tops and zip drives!
- Sister's baby shower, graduation party, and a funeral
-Some taper training on vacation....if only I had a lake like that to swim in all the time.
-My first olmympic tri!!!
-------------------------------------------
Quick tri stats, a write-up to come later...hopefully!
Total time 1.5K swim, 24 mile bike, 10K run = 3:01:35 (150/229 overall, 16/47 females, 5/13 age group)
Swim 39:00 (198/229 overall rank) -so much work to do here, not only is my time slow but the amount of energy I need to use on my pathetic splash of a swim really costs me!
T1 -2:00 - not super fast, but trying to regain composure
Bike-1:24:15 17.1 mph pace(164/229 overall rank)- must practice drinking better without slowing so much, started weak after the swim
T2 - :54 uneventful
Run- 55:28 (143/229 overall rank)- fair, held back due to stomach issues and not wanting to have melt down on the course....was in hot pusuit of bathroom at finish.
While the competitive side of me will inevitably focus on what I could have did better...for now I will focus on the fact that I finished my first olympic tri! The conditions and day could not have been better. It was a great experience without any major trouble and the support of the Cleveland Tri Club (which really represented) and all the wonderful people just made the the experience even better!!
Major props to so many other Clev Tri Club members out there who all had great races at both our Cleveland tri and others such as Tri-Eric completing their ironman races!!
Pictures and more to come when I can get to it!
Monday, July 10, 2006
A run to remember....
Slept in a bit Sunday morning and dragged myself out of bed to go for a run. I need to start going longer on my runs in preparation for my fall marathon so I had figured I would hit the Headwaters trail from Garrettsville to Mantua for a leisurely 12 mile run.
I had a clif bar washed down with some Propel on the way. I decided since it was so humid to try on a fuel belt that I had got in one of my race bags some time ago. Good thing I was not bound and determined to use it because as I pulled it out I realized it was a large. Although I tried to make it work after a couple steps I turned around and put it in the car as I knew this was going to bug me.
And then I was off enjoying the scenery which is absolutely beautiful. The bugs were biting (& I have the marks to prove it today!!) and it was bugging the heck out of me but I just cranked up the tunes and trudged on between swatting bugs. For awhile I felt like I was just trying to out-run them. At mile one I was at 7:05. I thought I better slow down as I wanted to make sure I did not fizzle later by going out too fast. After several miles of consistently trying to slow down but continuing to hold the same splits I just gave up and ran whatever felt comfortable. The last two miles I picked it up a bit because I was getting excited for some liquids. The miles were pretty even splits and I finished my 12 mile run in 1.27.15 at a 7:19 pace and felt as though I was not even pushing hard. Perhaps it was the scenery, perhaps it was the sheer enjoyment of blowing off some stress, the nice path, the good tunes...whatever it was I will take it. Felt great the whole time and afterwards....Hopefully I will feel this good come next race day!
I had a clif bar washed down with some Propel on the way. I decided since it was so humid to try on a fuel belt that I had got in one of my race bags some time ago. Good thing I was not bound and determined to use it because as I pulled it out I realized it was a large. Although I tried to make it work after a couple steps I turned around and put it in the car as I knew this was going to bug me.
And then I was off enjoying the scenery which is absolutely beautiful. The bugs were biting (& I have the marks to prove it today!!) and it was bugging the heck out of me but I just cranked up the tunes and trudged on between swatting bugs. For awhile I felt like I was just trying to out-run them. At mile one I was at 7:05. I thought I better slow down as I wanted to make sure I did not fizzle later by going out too fast. After several miles of consistently trying to slow down but continuing to hold the same splits I just gave up and ran whatever felt comfortable. The last two miles I picked it up a bit because I was getting excited for some liquids. The miles were pretty even splits and I finished my 12 mile run in 1.27.15 at a 7:19 pace and felt as though I was not even pushing hard. Perhaps it was the scenery, perhaps it was the sheer enjoyment of blowing off some stress, the nice path, the good tunes...whatever it was I will take it. Felt great the whole time and afterwards....Hopefully I will feel this good come next race day!
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Good bye, my beloved shower!
Good bye old office and good bye to my bad ass bathroom!
It is with sadness that we relocated offices across the highway. No more shower which I am thinking means no more lunch time workouts. I have been doing these lunch time workouts through out all weather conditions 95% of my working days for the last 4 years or so. Now I am at a loss as to what I am going to do on my lunch breaks. Can't afford to shop or go out to lunch everyday. I feel like I need to get the blood flowing and see some daylight still. Walk maybe?
On top of losing that time slot for working out, I have taken on some independent consulting work in addition to my full time job. This too is really eating into my workout times lately.
So my goal for the week is to re-evaluate my schedule and try to come up with a way to maximize the hours in my day while keeping my sanity and still getting to spend some quality time with the hubby...lately it seems he just sees me on the computer!
It is with sadness that we relocated offices across the highway. No more shower which I am thinking means no more lunch time workouts. I have been doing these lunch time workouts through out all weather conditions 95% of my working days for the last 4 years or so. Now I am at a loss as to what I am going to do on my lunch breaks. Can't afford to shop or go out to lunch everyday. I feel like I need to get the blood flowing and see some daylight still. Walk maybe?
On top of losing that time slot for working out, I have taken on some independent consulting work in addition to my full time job. This too is really eating into my workout times lately.
So my goal for the week is to re-evaluate my schedule and try to come up with a way to maximize the hours in my day while keeping my sanity and still getting to spend some quality time with the hubby...lately it seems he just sees me on the computer!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Tag
I'm It...
I have been tagged by Lana...so here goes:
four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Marketing Manger
2. Financial Analyst
3. Rec Center Coordinator
4. Geauga Lake Lifeguard
and an extra #5 for Lana, Kmart clerk...not so fond of Kmart either!
four movies I watch over and over:
1. Old School
2. Heat
3. Super Troopers
4. most comic book movies, Xmen, Spiderman, Superman, Blade
four places I have lived:
1. born & raised in Ravenna OH
2. 4 yrs college in Oxford, OH
3. several suburbs in Cleveland/Akron Area..North Royalton, Parma, Shaker Hts, Stow, Kent
4. settled out in the Amish boonies of Parkman township
four TV shows I love to watch:
1. 24
2. Prison Break
3. CSI-all
4. Hogan Knows Best
four places I have been on vacation:
1. Mexico-Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City, Cancun, Mazatlan, Ixtapa
2. Great Smoky Mountains - NC, TN
3. Canada-Niagara Falls, Toronto
4. Florida-Miami, Daytona
four websites I visit daily:
1. http://blogger.com
2. http://clevetriclub.com
3. http://yahoo.com
4. http://newsnet5.com
four of my favorite foods:
1. Ice Cream
2. Cheese
3. Seafood
4. Steak
four places I would rather be right now:
1. The beach
2. Riding motorcyles
3. Beach Volleyball court
4. Hanging with friends
four favorite bands/singers:
1. Korn
2. The Used
3. Dropkick Murphy's
4. 50
four bloggers I’ll Tag
1. qcmier
2. Elizabeth
3. trisaratops
4. Jodi
I have been tagged by Lana...so here goes:
four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Marketing Manger
2. Financial Analyst
3. Rec Center Coordinator
4. Geauga Lake Lifeguard
and an extra #5 for Lana, Kmart clerk...not so fond of Kmart either!
four movies I watch over and over:
1. Old School
2. Heat
3. Super Troopers
4. most comic book movies, Xmen, Spiderman, Superman, Blade
four places I have lived:
1. born & raised in Ravenna OH
2. 4 yrs college in Oxford, OH
3. several suburbs in Cleveland/Akron Area..North Royalton, Parma, Shaker Hts, Stow, Kent
4. settled out in the Amish boonies of Parkman township
four TV shows I love to watch:
1. 24
2. Prison Break
3. CSI-all
4. Hogan Knows Best
four places I have been on vacation:
1. Mexico-Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City, Cancun, Mazatlan, Ixtapa
2. Great Smoky Mountains - NC, TN
3. Canada-Niagara Falls, Toronto
4. Florida-Miami, Daytona
four websites I visit daily:
1. http://blogger.com
2. http://clevetriclub.com
3. http://yahoo.com
4. http://newsnet5.com
four of my favorite foods:
1. Ice Cream
2. Cheese
3. Seafood
4. Steak
four places I would rather be right now:
1. The beach
2. Riding motorcyles
3. Beach Volleyball court
4. Hanging with friends
four favorite bands/singers:
1. Korn
2. The Used
3. Dropkick Murphy's
4. 50
four bloggers I’ll Tag
1. qcmier
2. Elizabeth
3. trisaratops
4. Jodi
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