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7/26/2006

Cleveland Tri Finish Pics




The pictures are up! All my photos are finish line photos of me in the same pose, so I just posted these couple.

Overall, I was not happy with my time (3:30). Am I really that slow?? I thought for sure I would post a better showing than that. But I guess for not really training on the bike as much as I should have, I should be happy. I am convinced now, that it is truly all about the bike. Even more convinced that I will never do an IM - because for me it is so NOT about the bike. I do it to be able to participate in tri's, but I don't enjoy it as much as swimming and running, so inevitably, I will not put the time into training in the saddle. That being said, I can see myself doing my sprints, and maybe a few olympics again, but I think that is my max.

Also disappointed with my swim time. 30 minutes? I would have liked to come in under thirty. I think that I was slow because after the final turn around the last buoy, we came back into the harbor, and that was heading into the sun, there was glare off the lake, and I couldn't really see where I was going, so I did a fair amount of breaststroke, which increased my time.

As for the bike, what can I say. No technical difficulties...always a plus for me. I didn't fall off the bike, even though it was a loop course with tight turnarounds. I came into transition under 2 hours, which to some of you cyclists is laughable, I am sure.

The run was tough. It was hot, and my legs were tired. Another loop course until the last mile or so, which ended near Cleveland Browns Stadium.

I have mixed feelings about this race. I am glad to get my first olympic under my belt. It was a lot tougher than I anticipated. I am not happy with my time, but in reality, considering the lack of cycling training I put in, the time is probably about right. I know if I want to trim 30 minutes, I need to do more bricks, and spend more time in the saddle.

Up next...Saturday is my first open water swim race. I am excited for that. Hopefully I can go all out, knowing that I won't have a bike and a run to contend with. Stay tuned...

7/23/2006

First Olympic Tri - Check

I finished my first Olympic tri this morning. It was tough. It ain't no sprint, that's for sure. Race report to come...my watch time is 3:30, but the official results aren't up yet. I have a WHOLE new respect for you serious triathletes out there...half-IM, IM...unbelievable.

P.S. Don't forget to check out Eric's progress in Lake Placid IM.

***

Official split time:
swim: 31:34
T1: 4:09
bike: 1:43
T2: 1:53
run: 1:09

3:30:08

7/16/2006

Blogger, May I Finally Post Some Pictures?



Compliments of Eric. This is the 10.5 mile race we ran earlier this month. Eric's wife Aimee ran it as well.

Post-race transition area from last week's sprint tri.
Argh. These are the only photos that for some reason blogger is letting me post. Sorry I know they are boring. I hope to have better ones next weekend after my first Olympic tri!

7/11/2006

Tagged

by TriEric. Here goes:
four jobs I have had in my life:
1. X-ray technician at a doctor's office
2. hostess at a restaurant
3. stockroom assistant in the chemistry department while in college
4. lifeguard

four movies I watch over and over:
1. Rocky IV
2. Mr. Mom
3. Nine to Five
4. Office Space

four places I have lived:
1. Pittsburgh, PA
2. Gambier, OH
3. Westlake, Ohio
4. Norfolk, VA

four TV shows I love to watch:
1. The Closer
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Best Week Ever
4. King of Queens

four places I have been on vacation:
1. Maui, HI
2. Grand Cayman
3. San Francisco, CA
4. Stowe, VT

four websites I visit daily:
1. Yahoo mail
2. My Regular Reads blog list
3. Google News
4. Go Fug Yourself

four of my favorite foods:
1. Pizza (deep dish or pan)
2. McDonalds
3. burritos
4. tiramisu

four places I would rather be right now:
1. on a beach with a pina colada
2. in bed napping
3. at home vegging on the couch
4. hanging out with friends

four favorite bands/singers:
1. Beastie Boys
2. Journey
3. Norah Jones
4. Coldplay

7/09/2006

First Tri Of The Season

This morning was my first sprint triathlon of the season. It was great fun. The weather was perfect, and I didn't have any technical difficulties on the bike, I got third (out of three) in my age group, and there was cake at the end. All in all, a productive and fun morning.

We were running a little late in the beginning, so I didn't get a chance to take photos of all the competitors prior to the race, so all my photos are from after, but that's ok. You can get the idea. The first photo is a picture of Lake Erie and the swim course.

We started at the far right of the picture, at the end of the first breakwall, and swam out around breakwall #1, and breakwall #2, and exited at the left of the picture, where the sign is located. See below:

The swim went well - I was sans wetsuit, and the water temperature was ok. The only problem with this race course is when you swim past the breakwalls, the water is fairly choppy, I could get motion sickness swimming out there! I don't know how people do it in the open ocean, for 2.4 miles!! I had to break my stroke a bunch and do breaststroke in order to sight, and just get my bearings, as the water was pretty murky. But the swim portion was good - I exited the water, and glanced at my watch -it was around 7 minutes. Up the hill and into transition. I was breathing pretty heavy, so I did take my time (in both T1 and T2). I put on my shoes and socks, grabbed a drink and my helmet and walked out of transition. I glanced at my watch again, and it was around 11:58.

The bike course was nice. All wide roads, not too much traffic, and then slight rolling hills thorough some small neighborhoods. No mechanical difficulties (always my worst nightmare), and before I knew it, I was entering T2 at around 58 minutes (This is time from the start of my wave of the race. I didn't take splits, but just glanced at my watch at each critical stage.) I walked my bike in, and boy did my legs feel like rubber!! It was like I was a merchant marine out at sea for the last 12 months, and it was my first day on land - totally wobbly.

Another leisurely transition - my legs were definitely not used to biking, let alone grinding out a fast 5K after 14 or so miles, so I grabbed some Gatorade, stretched, put on my hat and sunglasses and walked out of T2. Grabbed some more water from the aid station, and kept on walking. I walked until 1:03 on my watch, and started jogging. Run was hard because it took some time before my legs felt good, and then my stomach was a little crampy because I chugged so much liquid at T2, and I hadn't really hydrated much while on the bike - I think it was too much liquid in a short period of time, so I really felt it sloshing around. On the course I saw TriEric, who was on a 3 hour training ride in his taper for Lake Placid.
Brought the run in a finished in 1:28:46. I felt good about that time, because last year for this same course, my time was 1:31:40, so I bested my time for this course.
Blogger isn't letting me post anymore pictures, so they will have to wait until next time...as well as my answers to the tag from TriEric...Until then.

7/08/2006

Not A Post About Running

Forgive me. This week has been somewhat of a sluggish week for me in terms of running and working out. Last weekend, I ran a 10 mile "race" (in quotes, because for me it wasn't so much of a race as it was a death march), and ever since, I have felt bored with running, and just plain tired. That really has to change, because tomorrow is my first triathlon of the season, a sprint tri - 1/4 mile swim, 14 mile bike, and 5k run. Let's see how I do, considering I have not swum in the open water yet this year, and have not been on my bike in a sadly long period of time.

In other news, I am on the cusp of change in other aspects of my life - which I believe is the cause of my lack of interest in training over the last couple of weeks. The changes are all job-related, but oftentimes, those changes can create real dilemmas in a person's life - not dilemmas on the scale of terminal illness, death, or other real and genuine loss, but dilemmas, nonetheless.

I passed by a bookshelf this morning in a preoccupied state, thinking over my options for the umpteenth time, and I caught a glimpse of a small book given to me from a dear friend another lifetime ago, on May 19, 1996. The inside dedication reads "...perhaps this book will bring you advice, laughter, and thoughts of our friendship." There are pages that were earmarked for reasons that are now unknown to me, but somehow still resonate with me. Because I am a big believer in the sustaining power of words, please indulge me while I share some of my favorites with you:


"I do not ask to walk smooth paths, nor bear an easy load. I pray for strength and fortitude to climb the rock strewn road. Give me such courage and I can scale the highest peaks alone, and transform every stumbling block into a stepping stone."
-Gail Brook Burket

"I have always grown from my problems and challenges, from the things that don't work out, that's when I've really learned."
-Carol Burnett

"I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me. I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change, the fear of the unknown; and I have gone ahead despite the pounding in my heart that says: turn back, turn back, you'll die if you venture too far."
-Erica Jong

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face...You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

"Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity."
-Gilda Radner

"You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down."
-Mary Pickford

"I am old enough to know that victory is often a thing deferred, and rarely at the summit of courage...What is at the summit of courage, I think, is freedom. The freedom that comes with the knowledge that no earthly thing can break you."
-Paula Giddings

"Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be."
-Clementine Paddleford

7/04/2006

Happy Birthday, America!