And we ain't talken about McDonalds! Although I must say it was sheer torture yesterday to ride the elevator up to my gym on my lunch break already hungry with some office workers and their McDonald bags, knowing I was heading for a run and had something much more healthy (boring/bland) to eat upon my return in an hour and half. Oh the discipline I must have sometimes!
So the weather is finally smiling down upon us here in Northeast Ohio! That can only mean one thing! More outdoor training! I am trying to not get too caught up with it all. The sunshine called my name Monday lunch hour so I went outside to catch some rays and ran with Espeed and the boys through the flats run (err ghetto). Then returned to work for a late day before rolling home on the motorcycle ...yes first ride to work of 2010!
Tuesday rolled around and again, more sun, more warm temps! Lunch time came and logic tells me my legs are a bit tired and I know I have the road ride with the boys later. Yet, I feel the need to go outside and run and I had found a sucker to go run with me so out I went. I had made it clear this was to be an easy run and that it was. Wow, it really felt great to run so effortlessly! (Knock on wood) I finally think I can start to run a little more and the tibia is not flaring (getting tender) like it had been for awhile so I am hoping I can continue to integrate some more easy running days into the training because when it is nice, I just need to be outside! More super easy runs, the better!
Last night was a fantastic night of riding. There was a pretty big group that turned out for the Cleve Touring Club Tavern Ride. Turnout has been rather small to date this year between the rain and cool temps, but last night there was a pretty big group with a lot of different abilities on this sunny gorgeous day. I went off with the four boys in the front and it was taking me a bit to loosen the legs up and the heat was definitely pushing my lungs a bit more than usual. Typically there is not much talk the first 10 miles or so but as we hit Punderson the pace eased a bit and my legs finally started to loosen up just in time to outrun a dog and then climb up Butternut. Most of the ride we took turns pulling a pace line. As we pulled into the parking lot 31 miles later, I was pleased to see that even though the second half felt pretty easy, we had managed our fastest average pace of the season by a decent margin. I have developed a lot of respect for these guys that I have rode with quite a bit now between last summer and this year. Many of these guys have years of experience. I have found that pushing myself to ride with them, riding along in the pace lines, taking my turns pulling and climbing the many hills with them has been so very valuable to me and I am thankful every Tuesday when I ride with them! Oh please let this beautiful weather continue!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Past two weekends!
So the past two weekends were a nice change of pace from the prior 4 of being out of town. The timing was perfect as there was sooo much going on. The weather has been rather cold and rainy and has screwed up a fair amount of evening bicycling plans the past two weeks which stinks after the warm sunny weeks down south.
Nonetheless, training seems to be going well and I have been busy.
Last weekend, I hit a tri club social on Friday evening and got to check out a bunch of bicycle demos, Zipp wheels and SRAM components. Saturday, I wanted to get in 60ish on the bike and I rode with the Cleveland Touring Club or rather BL and we managed to make a nice day of it. We even decided to climb Durthick's Hill (a hill that I always thought was pretty big) and just to say I did, I climbed it in my big chain ring. So there! Really this hill is not nearly as big as I thought it was and many hills off river road or in the valley deserve much more respect! Great ride and a nice headwind to contend with on the way back. Ended up with another late night Saturday at a friends bonfire before waking up Sunday early for the next big workout.
On Sunday, I had mapped out a course to leave my place a 6:30 am and take a winding 50 mile route up to downtown Cleveland on my own. Again, this year with the workouts I am trying to fit in, I am learning to get in a fair amount of riding all on my own and have decided that it is not sooo bad! I took a gorgeous route that had me climbing up 168 up into Burton, continuing on and making a left on Butternut and on up the big climb to Wye, L on Rockhaven, R on Fairmount, over to Shaker, took North Park to South Park, to MLK, to Carnegie to my office. Then I switched shoes and commenced a 5 mile run off. The run was FABULOUS as I was running out the Cleveland Marathon Course backwards just as sooo many of my friends were finishing! Great times cheering for everyone! I hung out at the CTC tent for a bit before the gang all headed down to Barley House to hang and then I headed over to the SERC party! Busy but fun day for sure!
This weekend was no less busy, but thankfully the evenings were not as late! Babysat my sister's twins on Friday, Saturday was up early to head to the GCT training day. Upon the 7:50 AM arrival I donned to wetsuit and braved the water with 3 other crazies! Holy smokes it was cold with temps in the low 50's. That swim did not last long as I just was struggling to put my face in the water, let alone how my feet were feeling!
After a change and some BS-ing it was off on the road bike in the rain with a decent sized group of other people on the course. I was covered in road spray and grime but not really minding it too much as the temps were at least warm as I hung with the 3 guys at the front. After the first 23 mile loop I headed out to find the ladies who were heading out for a second loop and ended up doing an out and back to end up with 34 (6 short of the 40 goal) but I wanted to make sure I had time to run before the picnic. I ended up running the 10k course (which was all I had time for) running 1-3 with a harder effort (7:15), easing off for 1.5 and then finishing up stronger to end with just below a 7:30 avg pace. Again I was supposed to get in 9 so fell 3 miles short but sometimes I just need to do the best I can and roll with it. The picnic kicked off at noon and it was nice to get a chance to chat with a lot of new faces.
Sunday was sort of a day that I did not have a planned workout so I decided to head out and support CTC's Crazy Coyote Time Trial Series. What a great idea because this was right up my alley! It was a 12 mile course with 3, four mile hilly loops starting in one minute increments. My legs were not feeling super fresh but after a one loop warm up I was off. I went out like a bat outta hell and was feeling pretty gassed and trashed after loop one...classic me! I think my goal was to not have fellow TLE member, MV pass me on the first loop as he was starting 1 min behind me. That was a success as he did not get me until half way through the second loop and I tried to stay with him but got a little out of rhytym and rolled up beside him and then lost some momentum and he was gone. At least MV was the only one to pass me and I ended up passing 2 others. After crossing the finish line, it was clear I had done a nice job of really punishing the legs on the hills, yet the plan was to head out with the vanuccis for some memorial day course preview riding. This was good times...good roads, beautiful weather and great friends! We ended up finishing the day with 66 miles or so.
The weather forecast this week is looking up and I am stoked, even had to ride the motorcycle to work today. If only I could play outside every day.
The past two weeks have been pretty consistent. I still should probably be swimming more. Running is kept conservative with distance but have been very conscious of hitting paces which has been easier and easier. Biking as much as I can. Time to start the two week taper for Quassy this week! This will be hard with this nice weather! Heading out of town the next 3 weekends, Raystown Lake Mountain Biking, Quassy in CT and then back to Raystown. :-)
Totals past two weeks-
S 9500 Meters
R 50.7 Miles
B 232 Miles
Nonetheless, training seems to be going well and I have been busy.
Last weekend, I hit a tri club social on Friday evening and got to check out a bunch of bicycle demos, Zipp wheels and SRAM components. Saturday, I wanted to get in 60ish on the bike and I rode with the Cleveland Touring Club or rather BL and we managed to make a nice day of it. We even decided to climb Durthick's Hill (a hill that I always thought was pretty big) and just to say I did, I climbed it in my big chain ring. So there! Really this hill is not nearly as big as I thought it was and many hills off river road or in the valley deserve much more respect! Great ride and a nice headwind to contend with on the way back. Ended up with another late night Saturday at a friends bonfire before waking up Sunday early for the next big workout.
On Sunday, I had mapped out a course to leave my place a 6:30 am and take a winding 50 mile route up to downtown Cleveland on my own. Again, this year with the workouts I am trying to fit in, I am learning to get in a fair amount of riding all on my own and have decided that it is not sooo bad! I took a gorgeous route that had me climbing up 168 up into Burton, continuing on and making a left on Butternut and on up the big climb to Wye, L on Rockhaven, R on Fairmount, over to Shaker, took North Park to South Park, to MLK, to Carnegie to my office. Then I switched shoes and commenced a 5 mile run off. The run was FABULOUS as I was running out the Cleveland Marathon Course backwards just as sooo many of my friends were finishing! Great times cheering for everyone! I hung out at the CTC tent for a bit before the gang all headed down to Barley House to hang and then I headed over to the SERC party! Busy but fun day for sure!
This weekend was no less busy, but thankfully the evenings were not as late! Babysat my sister's twins on Friday, Saturday was up early to head to the GCT training day. Upon the 7:50 AM arrival I donned to wetsuit and braved the water with 3 other crazies! Holy smokes it was cold with temps in the low 50's. That swim did not last long as I just was struggling to put my face in the water, let alone how my feet were feeling!
After a change and some BS-ing it was off on the road bike in the rain with a decent sized group of other people on the course. I was covered in road spray and grime but not really minding it too much as the temps were at least warm as I hung with the 3 guys at the front. After the first 23 mile loop I headed out to find the ladies who were heading out for a second loop and ended up doing an out and back to end up with 34 (6 short of the 40 goal) but I wanted to make sure I had time to run before the picnic. I ended up running the 10k course (which was all I had time for) running 1-3 with a harder effort (7:15), easing off for 1.5 and then finishing up stronger to end with just below a 7:30 avg pace. Again I was supposed to get in 9 so fell 3 miles short but sometimes I just need to do the best I can and roll with it. The picnic kicked off at noon and it was nice to get a chance to chat with a lot of new faces.
Sunday was sort of a day that I did not have a planned workout so I decided to head out and support CTC's Crazy Coyote Time Trial Series. What a great idea because this was right up my alley! It was a 12 mile course with 3, four mile hilly loops starting in one minute increments. My legs were not feeling super fresh but after a one loop warm up I was off. I went out like a bat outta hell and was feeling pretty gassed and trashed after loop one...classic me! I think my goal was to not have fellow TLE member, MV pass me on the first loop as he was starting 1 min behind me. That was a success as he did not get me until half way through the second loop and I tried to stay with him but got a little out of rhytym and rolled up beside him and then lost some momentum and he was gone. At least MV was the only one to pass me and I ended up passing 2 others. After crossing the finish line, it was clear I had done a nice job of really punishing the legs on the hills, yet the plan was to head out with the vanuccis for some memorial day course preview riding. This was good times...good roads, beautiful weather and great friends! We ended up finishing the day with 66 miles or so.
The weather forecast this week is looking up and I am stoked, even had to ride the motorcycle to work today. If only I could play outside every day.
The past two weeks have been pretty consistent. I still should probably be swimming more. Running is kept conservative with distance but have been very conscious of hitting paces which has been easier and easier. Biking as much as I can. Time to start the two week taper for Quassy this week! This will be hard with this nice weather! Heading out of town the next 3 weekends, Raystown Lake Mountain Biking, Quassy in CT and then back to Raystown. :-)
Totals past two weeks-
S 9500 Meters
R 50.7 Miles
B 232 Miles
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
My first race with the Trakkers team!
The feeling of a team is truly something special when they come together.
Knoxville marked the kick-off to the Trakkers team races for 2010. What a wonderful experience it was to meet the people I have known in the electronic world for a time now. Team leader, Carole sure deserves a lot of credit for her energy& spirit and taking such good care of us. I felt very fortunate this weekend to be a part of Trakkers and the camaraderie with so many people I was meeting for the first time and much of this all goes back to her efforts.
The Trakkers had a lot of fun Saturday snapping some pictures, working the Trakkers booth, passing out a bunch of awesome First Energy Products, getting in some training and racing and of course cheering for each other out on the course!
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
Gotta like Sonja's photo jump idea!
Gotta like Sonja's photo jump idea!
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
The gang having some fun playing up the team challenge!
The gang having some fun playing up the team challenge!
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
Team sporting our Super Sassy Saucony Shoes
PS...I have taken to the Saucony Tangents and absolutely love them!
PS...I have taken to the Saucony Tangents and absolutely love them!
Can't wait to hang with the group out at Quassy & Cedar Point! Team Trakkers Rules!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
REV3 Knoxville Race Report
Where to start? Well I had signed up for the Rev 3series and I assumed this would be my worst placing of the three races mainly because swimming is always my weakest link and proportionately it counts more in the Olympic distance than the full. So let's hope it holds true and each race gets better...we can hope anyways ;-)
So the week leading up to race week was vacation week which was nice. I was able to hit all key workouts and even get in a bunch of open water swimming...bonus!
Friday and Saturday, I enjoyed a nice mini taper for Sunday's Oly tri. I was very laid back about this race, probably more than I should have been.
Saturday was an early start to a busy day. I actually spent a lot of time making sure everything was laid out and in good order (no more forget the timing chip fiascos or goggles or anything like that this year...fingers crossed). I had wanted to get in a little more course preview time (which I did not end up with any) but was trying to balance my weekend with keeping the husband happy. We had a nice day and I must admit I was not as well behaved with my intake the day before a race as I need to be (especially when it comes to those longer races). Nonetheless, thankfully all worked out and come race time I was all good and had no issues on that front...which most of my friends know me for!
Race morning I woke up and had hotel coffee with a nutrigrain bar as I was trying to make it with what was available. Then as I walked down to the race I sipped on my First Endurance 1 scoop of Pre-Race drink. I set up my transition super easy since my bike was already good to go from Saturday. Then I hit the portopotty which only had a short wait and made my way down to transition.
It was a gorgeous morning but only in the low 40s and I was absolutely frozen. Thank goodness, the husband was there as he could carry my jacket and sandals from waterside. Once I got to the swim area I sprayed myself down with some TriSlide. It was the first time I used it with my wetsuit and I am not sure if I liked it more for how easy it made getting into my wetsuit of getting out! It was actually so painless to get my suit on!
Watching the pros go off for their swim was amazing. Time must have been going slowly for me because I kept waiting for them to come back after heading out to the buoy and although it had only been a short time, it seemed like forever as I kept thinking it was going to take me like double their time which was going to be forever. I was starting to fret about getting in the water because I was so cold. As I made my way towards the start, I chatted with teammates Meredith and Rachel and this seemed to make me feel more comfortable with what we were about to do.
As we made our way down to the dock, I was cold and noticing that our wave of women 30-39 and men 29 and under seemed pretty big. "Oh boy, what did I get myself into," I thought! But it was time to take the plunge and I hopped in the water and it actually felt warm. WAHOOO! I had a chance to take some strokes and position myself about 3 people back on the right next to the buoys and was off. I felt bodies all over but just sort put myself in my comfort zone and pretended it was just another open water swim and felt surprisingly relaxed. I hit the first turnaround buoy pretty effortlessly and had a long swim back. I think I sighted pretty well and probably looked more than I should but I figure that costs me less time to do that than to swim out of my way. I think it helped that I stayed right close to the buoys. I am definitely getting more comfortable in the water as in the past when people infringed on my space I kind of tried to get out of their way...now I feel comfortable holding what was mine. So for the 0.9 mile swim I was thinking it would probably take me 29-30 minutes. I hit the deck and hoisted myself up and looked at my watch which read 25 flat! I was thrilled and it felt easy! That is not to say that I might have heard rumblings that it was short, but regardless I felt good about my relaxed steady swim.
The run up was not pretty. My wetsuit rip cord has disappeared and both arms were reaching back there as I tried to get my legs moving and by the time I crossed the mat my swim split registered a 26.10. Moving into transition my bike was towards the back so I ran back and peeled the wetsuit off and tried to get out of T1 quickly. It took 2:35 which was far too slow. I will practice transitions. Transition=Free time REPEAT!
Out on the bike I wanted to be careful to ease in. I think some tri's I have went out super fast which just resulted in tight hammies and slower overall time. Within a mile or two I was starting to feel a little bit better and after the bridge my heart rate started to come down and then the passing began. Once we got out of the city I was loving the course. Rolling and scenic. I was lucky enough to score a First Endurance prototype gel and I had tucked the flask in my tri-top pocket. On the two bigger climbs I pulled it out and spun up the hills while I took in some gel and water from the aerobottle which worked well for me. I feel very comfortable on the descents and was passing quite a few people on them especially as the downhill speed pushed me up the next hill. All those twisty mountain roads that I rode this past week were perfect little training rides with all their sweeping corners. Oh and of course I love the thrill of the downhills, sort of feels like riding my motorcycle!
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
Again I think I was feeling too comfortable and next thing I know a 17 yr old passed me and we leap frogged some. Then another girl passed who looked pretty strong passed and I kept her in my sights for awhile. As we drew closer to the city the 3 of us had changed positions a few times and all came in pretty close. Overall I felt strong on the bike and very few people passed. I probably felt too good and now regret not pushing a little harder, although it always weighs in the back of my mind that I still have a run ahead of me! I was hoping for a faster bike split which I know I am capable of, but I guess that would have required more pain! T2 was rough too. My feet were so numb and would not go where I wanted them to. It was ugly and after too long I was finally off.
Off on the run, my heavy legs and very numb feet=not a good combo! First mile was 6:55. I was smiling and cheering for Trakkers peeps the opposite direction, heck I was even giving props to the Terrier team (this was deserved as one of their men came up on me with one heck of a pace!) I was passing people but just was not pushing like I know I should have been. I think I was resolved at that point with finishing a steady race and feeling comfortable....ahhh, but that is never enough when I look back!
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
A few things slowed me down like the 5 steps and the U-turn but all in all it was a nice run course and I love getting to see racers on the out and back! I hit one water stop after taking another swallow of the FE gel and cruised into the finish line.
So here are the stats-
Swim
Distance: 0.90 Mile
Time: 26:10
Overall Place 66
Division Place 13
Bike
Distance: 24.8 Mile
Time: 1:48:44
Pace: 18.6 mph
Overall Place 38 (Gotta like those drops!)
Division Place 6
Run
Distance: 6.2 Mile
Time: 47.0
Pace: 7.34 min/mi
Overall Place 35
Division Place 6
Total Time: 2:36:20
All in all, it was probably a solid start to the tri season. However, I think I was not as mentally prepared for this race as I should have been. I knew the competition was so strong that I think I let it get in my head which resulted in me not pushing as hard when I should have just raced my own race for myself. Lesson learned.
Also, while I would have liked to have made myself work a little harder, the Oly distance never was the target race and I take comfort in the fact that I felt very good all day and it was still a respectable time. Not only that, I really enjoyed myself while racing and really liked the course/venue! Oh and I was not even really beat up which was a bonus!
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
My REV 3 Knoxville Experience
So for anyone who was counting, this past trip was 9 days long and got me home late Sunday night and capped off 4 weekends in a row that I have been out of town for the entire weekend (Mohican, Nashville, AL/Chattanooga and Knoxville).
The idea was to get an update out sooner, but I have been plunged into the world of playing catch up. That and the fact that I want to do it justice. So I am thinking a three part series the next three days to get it all down in some sort of manageable way as there is so much to say!
- Part I-REV 3 TRI Experience
- Part II-My Race Report
- Part III- Trakkers and Sponsors
So this past weekend was race one of the new Rev 3 Triathlon Series which I am participating in which includes the big three distances of Olympic, Half and the Full!
I had arrived bright and early after a 2.5 hour drive to Knoxville from Alabama on Saturday morning. No sooner than we park, I hop out of my car to see two of my Trakkers teammates, Sonja and none other than Michael Lovato. This brings me to point number one about REV3...it was sooo cool to get to be around such a large pro presence which led to a big race feel.
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
Photographer, Eric Willis is teammate, Sonja's dad and he took tons of pics of the gang...how cool is that?
The expo seemed to offer a lot to everyone including inflatables for kids, bike support, multiple nutrition vendors , a swim preview, an All 3 Sports booth with a little bit of everything, a REV 3 Booth (I was so in love with the little spaghetti tanks and the sweet REV3 swimming suits and was blown away how affordable the prices were as I could not get a boring swimming suit at the Dicks for the price).
who's that in the green :-)
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
who's that in on the far left...wish it was me that sweet Kestrel in my hand!
who's that in on the far left...wish it was me that sweet Kestrel in my hand!
The volunteers were everywhere and everything was real easy to navigate through both at the expo and on race day. I picked up my packet and headed to get my timing chip where they snapped a picture. Later, I had headed down to the bike transition about a half a mile away to rack my bike. REV3 thought of all the little things like my name and number where I would rack my bike. Not only that, I am a huge fan of this style of bike rack.
This was my first time in Knoxville and I thought it was a great venue. We stayed at the Holiday Inn for a reasonable price offered through REV3 (less than half the cost of hotels for Nashville mary). The hotel was located right next to the expo and the finish line! Bonus! It did seem like most the hotels were pretty close. I really liked that we could park and just walk everywhere!
Outside of the expo, my Saturday was pretty laid back. We hit Downtown Grill and Brewery for a laid back lunch while sampling a couple beers :-) Then for dinner we checked out Oodles at Market Square (Market Square was a cute lil area to walk around with a bunch of shops and restaurants) which was good and even offered some smaller very affordable portions....both places were thumbs up in my book and felt lucky to have found them both...thank you Internet!
The Race! This one had to be fun to watch (which I heard it was) and left me thinking how cool it would be to be a spectator there! Plus the MC's sure kept it interesting and fun all weekend!
First off, the field was deep in talent. Not only where there around 70 pros, there was a number of elite age groupers and also a lot of talented age racers. Needless to say, REV 3 brought out some good competition!
First off, the field was deep in talent. Not only where there around 70 pros, there was a number of elite age groupers and also a lot of talented age racers. Needless to say, REV 3 brought out some good competition!
My wave was set to go off at 8:15, pros at 7:45 and transition was to close at 7:40. I figured I would leave the hotel at 6:45 for the 1/2 mile walk to transition and still have plenty of time so I actually slept in until 5:45 which was really late for a race day which was nice.
I walked by one cop car by the expo stuff...definitely seemed like REV3 had a lot of them on hand everywhere! I continued the walk to transition and set up my area and made my way to the portopotty line. I probably waited 5-10 minutes, so not too bad! Then it was off to the swim start which was probably another 1/2 mile away.
At first glance the 0.9 mi. swim was incredibly scenic! Definitely would have been cool to take in the start over the brunch on Calhouns overlooking deck. It sure had a big race feel with the two helicopters, filming pontoon boat and all the stuff going on like the guy paddling out the pro men!
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
The swim was well marked and seemed pretty easy to navigate. No worries about waves, water seemed clean and the water actually felt warm! Great SWIM course!
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
Next up-the 24.8 mi bike course! I am a fan of a rolling course so this was great in my book! The hills kept everyone honest and there were a lot of fun sweeping downhills like I am used to! I did not think either of the two longer climbs seemed too rough but they will definitely slow ya down a bit. Both the bike and the fun course seemed well marked and never did I have any real issues figuring out where to go. I saw some course marshals out on the course but I did not notice any blatant drafting and seemed like a pretty clean race from my vantage point.
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
(Just checking out the bike setups at this race was friggin amazing all in itself!)
Last up the 6.2 mile run! It was mildly rolling and an out and back for the most part until the end and that was cool to see other racers and figure out where you were at. Looking at the elevation profile, I had expected it to be much hillier than it actually seemed. There were a few areas that slowed you down such as the 5 steps and the u turn. Seemed like plenty of aid stations through the bike and run course with Cera Sport, Water and gels.
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
Just seeing the pros and how fluid while going so fast was INSANE!
*** Photo credit goes to Eric Willis*****
The finish area seemed first class with the jumbo-tron, finish chute, and all the other stuff! They had ART setup, an awards ceremony which went 3 deep in each division! Oh and did I mention the sweet finishers shirt and medal we got on top of the race shirt, visor and Tyr Bag....Super Sweet Swag for sure!
COMING SOON...THE RACE REPORT !
Overall, easily probably the coolest triathlon to date I have done and I am just soooo much more excited for Quassy and Cedar Point!
Friday, May 07, 2010
Tour de Tenessee :-)
First there was Nashville half mary on April 24 which was an absolute blast. Then it was back home for 4 days before getting back in the car to head down to AL. While in AL, we have spent time with the husband's family and have enjoyed relaxing for a few days....I guess in all honesty sometimes I have a hard time with this and start looking around trying to figure out what we can do next!
Lucky for me, I have Tether for my phone so I can still get on the Internet but the connection is slow and uploading pics is not working so ya all are going to have to wait for those!
I have found some good ways to occupy my time though. I have been getting in some open water swimming in the gorgeous lake, playing on 4 wheelers, sunning my chalky OH body, running and riding bicycle of course!
The last two days have included trips up to Chattanooga. Wednesday my husband and I packed the mountain bikes up and went riding at Raccoon Mountain. These trails are beautiful up next to the TN river and have amazing rocks and overlooks. We stopped quite a bit to take in the sites as we traversed all the elevation changes. It was a 85 degree day and the climb up Megawatt about melted the husband but we survived fine and treated ourselves to our own little Cinco de Mayo celebration at a nearby Mexican to refuel with some chips, salsa, food, margaritas and Dos Equis!
Yesterday we headed back up to Chattanooga to see some family, shop and have dinner which made for a nice day. Today is our final day down here before we head up to the last stop on our Tour de Tennessee to Knoxville for the REV 3 Olympic tri. I am SOOO excited to meet my Trakkers teammates and some of our sponsors like Kestrel, Tri Swim, Saucony First Endurance, All3Sports and more. It never seems to matter how many triathlons I have done, I still get nervous and already have some butterflies thinking about Sunday. Why do I want to do these things that are going to force me to deal with such racing pain? Nonetheless, looking forward to seeing where I am at and giving it my best! Bring on the weekend!
Oh and I should also mention the little AG competition going on with Trakkers and the two other teams....time for our Trakkers peeps to bring it!!!!! ;-)
Lucky for me, I have Tether for my phone so I can still get on the Internet but the connection is slow and uploading pics is not working so ya all are going to have to wait for those!
I have found some good ways to occupy my time though. I have been getting in some open water swimming in the gorgeous lake, playing on 4 wheelers, sunning my chalky OH body, running and riding bicycle of course!
The last two days have included trips up to Chattanooga. Wednesday my husband and I packed the mountain bikes up and went riding at Raccoon Mountain. These trails are beautiful up next to the TN river and have amazing rocks and overlooks. We stopped quite a bit to take in the sites as we traversed all the elevation changes. It was a 85 degree day and the climb up Megawatt about melted the husband but we survived fine and treated ourselves to our own little Cinco de Mayo celebration at a nearby Mexican to refuel with some chips, salsa, food, margaritas and Dos Equis!
Yesterday we headed back up to Chattanooga to see some family, shop and have dinner which made for a nice day. Today is our final day down here before we head up to the last stop on our Tour de Tennessee to Knoxville for the REV 3 Olympic tri. I am SOOO excited to meet my Trakkers teammates and some of our sponsors like Kestrel, Tri Swim, Saucony First Endurance, All3Sports and more. It never seems to matter how many triathlons I have done, I still get nervous and already have some butterflies thinking about Sunday. Why do I want to do these things that are going to force me to deal with such racing pain? Nonetheless, looking forward to seeing where I am at and giving it my best! Bring on the weekend!
Oh and I should also mention the little AG competition going on with Trakkers and the two other teams....time for our Trakkers peeps to bring it!!!!! ;-)
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Reporting in from Ider, AL!
This marks weekend number 3 away from home. Thank goodness my doggie seems to like staying at the mother in laws with all the other girl dogs!
This last week had been sort of a whirlwind. We had got back home late from Nashville Sunday night. I did the best I could to unpack right away, get the laundry going and all that other fun stuff right away.
Monday morning, at 4:45 am I dragged my butt out of bed only to find that I had never shut my car lights off the night before and now had a dead battery...ugghh so much for the swim!
The week went pretty much as normal-
Mon noon- 6 mile ez spin to loosen up my tight calves, 40 min weights/core
Tues- AM 1600 M Swim
- Noon, 6 M run with ET (8:30 pace)
-Eve, 31 Miles biked with touring club (I was so tired and cold by the end)
Wed - Noon 18 mile focus bike
Thurs - 1600 M Swim (just not feeling real motivated swimming to get in more distance)
- 7 M run with MB (8:30 pace)
Friday - off ...in the car forever!
Then Saturday started my fun in the south. My husband had been trying to get down here to take a weekend class in AL and stay at his family's place. That was fine by me as I figured we could have a low key week and then head to Knoxville 2 hours away for the upcoming Olympic race and it would work out perfectly! So with the husband and his family tied up all weekend, I had to come up with a way to entertain myself!
Saturday, I had mapped myself out a 68 mile ride which turned into 72. Really it would be most helpful if more of the roads down here actually had signs, but nonetheless I managed with no issues. The threat of storms loomed and it was cloudy all weekend, but all in all I only had a little mist for probably 15 minutes. The real threat in my world was all the dogs that chase me down growling on the road. I had lost count within the first 5 miles of how many had to come see me. Thankfully from prior trips I was beginning to learn where they lived and was getting good at really accelerating past their places!
Saturday's bike was just fabulous. Ider, is the the northeast corner of AL next to Georgia and TN in the Applachian Mountains. I left out early and rode down Sand Mountain and headed into the historic village of Mentone after a long climb up Look Out Mountain. The climb up was rather long but I backed off the pace some and felt rather comfortable the entire way and took the time to stop for a picture. I continued on through Mentone and after missing a turn and realizing I was in Georgia, I turned around and finally figured which of the unmarked roads I had meant to turn on which was Desoto Falls Parkway.
The Desoto Falls Parkway was just gorgeous with winding, tree covered roads and stunning scenery. Now over the last few years I have become such a fan of group rides that I can not even remember the last time I had rode this far myself. Yet, I was actually enjoying myself, especially on the descent down Look Out Mountain as I rode into Fort Payne. Past Fort Payne I started checking my map some and realized I had missed the turn I had intended but thankfully I was able to navigatge back without going out of the way too far and then it was back up Sand Mountain towards Ider.
A couple of notes on the ride. It was my first ride in the aerohelmet I had got for Christmas...and to the husband I did not care if you told me I looked like some alien! (I wanted at least one practice ride before using it to race which was a good thing as I made some adjustments after the ride.). I am not sure if it was the climbing or staying aero for longer (since I was not riding in a group on the hoods or drops) but my back and neck were definitely a bit sore.
After some food and rest, day II of operation Daisy entertain herself and I set out on a new 48.5 mile bike course which was to be followed up with a run. (In all fairness coach had given me a 60-70 m bike and the 40 M bike/ 4 mi brick). I knew before I got started that this course would not have the elevation changes, but I had something else to contend with...A Mighty Strong Wind! And of course with the way I planned the course it was all in the second half. I might have swore at the wind more than a couple of times on the ride, but I managed. Then it was back out on the streets to run 4.5 miles with miles 1&4 at race pace armed with a little horse prod in case of dogs (and of course 5 dogs came and seen me but they did not seem nearly as bothered as they were with me on the bike). I wrapped up the day with a ~600 M open water swim (auntie has gorgeous big lake to swim in). I had planned to swim longer but by the time I put on the wetsuit and got going, I decided I was tired and called it a day. Good enough for one weekend!
So the week ended with-
175.5 Biked
17.75 Ran
3800 Swam
Planning to get in some fun stuff early on this week and taper it off to be ready for Knoxville Oly REV3 tri on Sunday!
This last week had been sort of a whirlwind. We had got back home late from Nashville Sunday night. I did the best I could to unpack right away, get the laundry going and all that other fun stuff right away.
Monday morning, at 4:45 am I dragged my butt out of bed only to find that I had never shut my car lights off the night before and now had a dead battery...ugghh so much for the swim!
The week went pretty much as normal-
Mon noon- 6 mile ez spin to loosen up my tight calves, 40 min weights/core
Tues- AM 1600 M Swim
- Noon, 6 M run with ET (8:30 pace)
-Eve, 31 Miles biked with touring club (I was so tired and cold by the end)
Wed - Noon 18 mile focus bike
Thurs - 1600 M Swim (just not feeling real motivated swimming to get in more distance)
- 7 M run with MB (8:30 pace)
Friday - off ...in the car forever!
Then Saturday started my fun in the south. My husband had been trying to get down here to take a weekend class in AL and stay at his family's place. That was fine by me as I figured we could have a low key week and then head to Knoxville 2 hours away for the upcoming Olympic race and it would work out perfectly! So with the husband and his family tied up all weekend, I had to come up with a way to entertain myself!
Saturday, I had mapped myself out a 68 mile ride which turned into 72. Really it would be most helpful if more of the roads down here actually had signs, but nonetheless I managed with no issues. The threat of storms loomed and it was cloudy all weekend, but all in all I only had a little mist for probably 15 minutes. The real threat in my world was all the dogs that chase me down growling on the road. I had lost count within the first 5 miles of how many had to come see me. Thankfully from prior trips I was beginning to learn where they lived and was getting good at really accelerating past their places!
Saturday's bike was just fabulous. Ider, is the the northeast corner of AL next to Georgia and TN in the Applachian Mountains. I left out early and rode down Sand Mountain and headed into the historic village of Mentone after a long climb up Look Out Mountain. The climb up was rather long but I backed off the pace some and felt rather comfortable the entire way and took the time to stop for a picture. I continued on through Mentone and after missing a turn and realizing I was in Georgia, I turned around and finally figured which of the unmarked roads I had meant to turn on which was Desoto Falls Parkway.
The Desoto Falls Parkway was just gorgeous with winding, tree covered roads and stunning scenery. Now over the last few years I have become such a fan of group rides that I can not even remember the last time I had rode this far myself. Yet, I was actually enjoying myself, especially on the descent down Look Out Mountain as I rode into Fort Payne. Past Fort Payne I started checking my map some and realized I had missed the turn I had intended but thankfully I was able to navigatge back without going out of the way too far and then it was back up Sand Mountain towards Ider.
A couple of notes on the ride. It was my first ride in the aerohelmet I had got for Christmas...and to the husband I did not care if you told me I looked like some alien! (I wanted at least one practice ride before using it to race which was a good thing as I made some adjustments after the ride.). I am not sure if it was the climbing or staying aero for longer (since I was not riding in a group on the hoods or drops) but my back and neck were definitely a bit sore.
After some food and rest, day II of operation Daisy entertain herself and I set out on a new 48.5 mile bike course which was to be followed up with a run. (In all fairness coach had given me a 60-70 m bike and the 40 M bike/ 4 mi brick). I knew before I got started that this course would not have the elevation changes, but I had something else to contend with...A Mighty Strong Wind! And of course with the way I planned the course it was all in the second half. I might have swore at the wind more than a couple of times on the ride, but I managed. Then it was back out on the streets to run 4.5 miles with miles 1&4 at race pace armed with a little horse prod in case of dogs (and of course 5 dogs came and seen me but they did not seem nearly as bothered as they were with me on the bike). I wrapped up the day with a ~600 M open water swim (auntie has gorgeous big lake to swim in). I had planned to swim longer but by the time I put on the wetsuit and got going, I decided I was tired and called it a day. Good enough for one weekend!
So the week ended with-
175.5 Biked
17.75 Ran
3800 Swam
Planning to get in some fun stuff early on this week and taper it off to be ready for Knoxville Oly REV3 tri on Sunday!
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