Englewood Triathlon

July 13, 2013

Carolyn and I are on the road early, heading down to Englewood. It's raining most of the way down to the race, but weather forecast shows the rain will move out by race start. Hope they are right! We get to the race location faster than we thought. It is super dark out still. There are two guys trying to set up the fencing around the transition area. Not sure how they can see what they are doing. There are no lights for them! We head over to a table that looks like packet pickup and learn we have almost half an hour to wait. Pickup was a little later than we had thought. We go back to the car to hang out for a bit. At 5:45, we walk back over to get our packets. We get our bibs and shirts, but learn that the company in charge of timing is not there yet to give us our chips. So we head back to the car to hang out, get our stuff ready and grab our bikes. By the time we get done with this, we see that a long line has formed near the packet pickup. We head over and find out it is for body marking and chip pickup. I have never seen a single line that long before for body marking! After waiting for about 10 minutes, a woman comes over and tells people to form 3 lines for the body marking. Finally I get my numbers marked and head right over to get my chip. We head into transition and find our spots. I get everything set up, then we head to the bathrooms before going on to the beach.

Swim (400 meters): Carolyn and I were in the last of 4 swim waves, so once we got on the beach, we had a few minutes to wait as we watched each wave go off. The water was pretty choppy, but it looked like we were going to be swimming with the current. We got lined up just behind the first row of swimmers and soon were off! Right away I realized it was a mistake to start so close to the front. I could not stretch out and swim with all the people around me! I stopped, while I could still stand, and let the mass go ahead. Finally I was able to swim, with just a few people left around me. I made it around the first bouy, turned to the right and headed north. I had one lady swimming right behind me. She kept hitting my foot with her hand. This was very annoying because there was NO ONE around us! I picked up the pace a little to get some space from her. Soon, I could see a the majority of the swimmers way ahead of me, no one around me and just a small group behind me. I got off course briefly, swimming our a little to much, but got it corrected, soon making my way around the second buoy and swimming into shore. Just off the beach, we hit the timing mat. We then had to run through the parking lot into transition. There were little tiny gravel pieces to run over that did not feel good on the feet. ouch! Once I got to my bike, I dried off my face, put on my sunglasses and helmet, dried off my feet and then put on my socks and shoes before grabbing my bike and heading out of transition. Swim - 11:44. T1 - 2:10 (#10 out of 12 in the swim! yikes!)

Heading out to ride 13 miles.

Bike (13 miles): Heading out on the bike, I got a good pace going pretty quick. I kept checking my garmin to see my speed, but realized since I had changed it to multisport, it wasn't showing my speed, but my overall time. :( I wasn't sure how fast I was going, but I was going fast enough to start passing people. I managed to pass over ten people before getting to the turn around! There were a couple of giant puddles we had to ride around, but otherwise the course was pretty good. The first few miles were on nice, smooth road. Then we got to an older section of road, which was not as smooth. We got to the turn around, which was a very sharp turn. The three riders ahead of me actually got off their bike and walked it! I rode it slow, then picked up the pace and passed all 3 of them right after the turn. :) By now I am super hot and just dripping in sweat. Yuck! We had a bit of headwind going back, but not too bad. I managed to pick off a few more riders before turning back into transition. I racked my bike. Took off my sweaty tri top and swapped it for my lighter tank, that already had my bib attached. Switched my helmet for a visor and headed out of transition. Bike - 45:51, T2 - 1:00 ( moved up to 4th out of 12 on the bike!)

Run (5k): We pass by the finish line as we head out of transition. Some of the first athletes are finishing as we head out! We run out of the parking area, cross the street and then turn left at the corner. Across the street, I can see runners heading in the other direction. I yell out to Ren and then Patti. They are way ahead of me! I am feeling pretty good and passing people who are struggling in the heat. Just a bit before the turn around, I see Carolyn on the other side of the road. I hope to catch up to her before the end of the race. I make the turn, and pass by the water stop, since I have my hand held bottle. It's about half a mile back to the main road, where we turn left, away from the finish. I pass a few more runners, before I need to slow down myself. I am getting cramping in my side. We head south for a bit, then turn to the right, running down a side street, before joining up to the main road again. I stop at the last water stop, refilling my water bottle and dumping a cup of water on my head. It was nice and cold! It felt great. It gave me a little boost to pick up the pace again. I managed to pass a woman who was in my age group, about a block before the finish. I powered it in and finished strong! Run - 29:47. Finish 1:30:34. 4th overall finish!

I find Carolyn just past the finish line. We grab water bottles and find a shady spot near her bike. The woman I had passed a few blocks before the finish comes in and is not looking good. Her friend takes her over to another shady spot and is soon yelling for medical. I go over the the finish area and yell for medics too, but it takes 4 or 5 times of me yelling at people for someone to actually come over! I show them where the woman is and they rush to her. She seems to recover after a while. Didn't find out what happened. But since it was so hot, I'm sure the heat was a big factor. We head out of the transition area looking for food. The only thing that looks any good is at the Smoothie King table, where they have little sample cups. I end up with two of those before we head over to check results. I see that I have 4th in age group and Carolyn gets 6th in hers. We take a few photos before the rain hits. Happy that it held off! The rain lasts for only a few minutes. It's time to pack up. We head to transition, which is not being watched by volunteers! Anyone can walk in a grab whatever they want! Thankfully, all our stuff is still there. We pack up and head home. A good day of racing. :)

Tracy's Fat Ass Marathon

The small group of runners for the marathon and half marathon.

June 17, 2013
Marathon day 2.

I got to sleep in a little this morning, which was nice. I had gotten everything packed and ready to go last night, because I needed to check out when I left. I was not going to be able to come back and shower before driving back to my mom's house. I got dressed, grabbed my bags and headed downstairs. After checking out, I went across the street to get a cup of coffee from Starbucks, then picked up my mom's car from the garage next to the hotel, plugged in the address for the race and headed out.

I arrived at the park just before 7 am. The race start was 8am. Normally I would probably want to be earlier than this, but today, I could have taken my time, because race set up/bib pick up started at 7:45! It was a small race, so this worked out fine. Everyone got their bibs, we gathered for a few group photos and then went to the start line, which was next to the aid station. Tracy gave us the go ahead and we were off!

Trent, Lesley and May. Both Lesley and May were
on their 3rd marathon in 3 days!

I started at the front of the pack. I don't know why, because I soon realized I was getting caught up in the speed of the faster runners and should slow down. I told Lesley, who I had just met and who was running day 3 marathon!, that I was going to pull to the side and take a photo. Quickly I was one of the last runners of the group.

Surprisingly, I only felt tight for the first mile or so. There was a long downhill in the first part of that loop, which my quads were not happy about, so I ran down that slowly and gently. Soon, I was in a nice, easy paced run. I had my camera with me, so I just enjoyed taking photos of the lake and the other runners. Since most of the runners were going to reverse direction every lap, before I got to the end of my first lap, I saw runners coming back towards me. I took more photos, then put the camera away for a while. I probably took too much time at the aid station (12:58 mile), but I enjoyed chatting with the other runners and the volunteers. I was pretty much running on my own out there, only seeing other runners every once in a while. Very different then the massive crowds of the day before! The second lap went well. I didn't even bother trying to run up the long, steeper hill, but I was able to run some of the lower "hills". Hills for me, probably not for the locals. :)

Miles 1 through 9 - 10:38, 10:47, 11:54, 11:08, 12:58, 11:56, 11:21, 13:17, 11:39

I met Lance before the race. He was wearing
a Half Fanatics skirt! :)

It wasn't until about mile 10 or so, that I started to feel like I was stiffening up. But, I was able to keep at it, even though my pace started to slow down a lot. Once the half marathoners finished, there were not many of  us racers out there. There were, however, other runners doing their own thing. I had one older couple stop and ask me what we were doing. They were very impressed when I said we were running a marathon!

Lap 3 and 4 came and went. Just getting slower and slower, but determined to finish! I enjoyed seeing other racers when they would pass by behind me or from the other direction. It felt like I was running a trail race, a lot of solitude. And once you see the surrounding area a few times, not much new to see. During the middle of lap 5, I had to stop at one of the porta potties. I had seen the truck stop and clean it on an earlier lap, so I managed to have a semi clean potty spot. :) Just before going in there, I had crossed path with Leslie and another runner. We seemed to be on the same pace during the entire race, but when I got up to the aid station, they had already been through. I had fallen behind. Trent, Marathon Man, had just finished the marathon, so I hung out for a couple of minutes and took a photo with him. I did have to hurry him along, letting him now I still had a lap left. :)

Miles 10 through 21 - 13:44, 12:19, 13:10, 12:30, 16:30, 13:08, 12:35, 15:57, 13:10, 16:34, 13:58, 15:51

As I headed out for my last lap, I saw others coming towards me, about to finish up. May gave me a high five as she powered up her last hill. Amazing pace she had going for day 3! This last lap was by far my slowest lap. I pretty much walked the entire time. I did managed a very slow shuffle early in the lap, but my muscles were pretty stiff and it hurt to get in the running motion. Walking didn't really seem to hurt, though, so I tried to keep my walking pace faster. I pulled the camera out and took a bunch of pictures along the course. I just enjoyed the wonderful weather and great views. My last run in the cool temps, since I was heading back to humid Florida in a couple of days. I walked up the last big hill, saw the finish line in the distance and decided to try and run it in. Finally I finished! So happy to be done with day 2. A few people were still there hanging out. So I got to chat and take photos with them, before Tracy and the volunteers started packing things up.

Miles 22 through 26.2 - 14:56, 15:57, 16:47, 16:22, 16:08, 7:04 (I had 26.5 on garmin)
Finish: 6:02

With May (left) and with Race director Tracy.

What a great weekend in San Francisco. So happy to have completed my goal of running two marathons in 2 days, which has made me a 4 star maniac. Not sure I'll ever advance higher than that, but you never know, I may try 3 in 3 days next time. :)

4 Star Maniac!

San Francisco Marathon

June 16, 2013

Double race weekend was finally here! I was so excited and nervous as I drove up to San Francisco Saturday morning. Of course I realized as I was driving that I had forgotten the battery for my little camera I was going to carry with me during the race. It was still charging away back at my mom's house! I decided that if I saw a Best Buy or Target just off the highway, before I reached S.F., I would go buy a new one. I've been wanting one for a while anyway. Mine is a few years old and the battery doesn't hold a charge for very long. So, just before S.F. I see a Best Buy in a shopping center to my left. I end up going in and finding a nice camera with tons of battery life and that takes higher resolution pictures for a great price. And it's pink! :)

A few miles after the start.

I head into S.F. after that, finding a parking spot near the running store that is offering shuttle service to the expo. This was more of a sporting goods store. It was huge! 5 floors! I got on a shuttle right away, and a few minutes later, we were at the event. I went for my bib first. Thankfully I looked at it as I was walking away from the table, because the name on it said "Ted". Um, that's not me!! I took it back and got the right bib. Mine said "Go Maniac" :) Next, I headed over to the shirt tables. Not a good sign when no volunteers are at the table for large and xl shirts. I ask a girl at the size small table about the shirts. She said they were out of med, lg and xl! Shirts had run small, so they let people size up the day before. They would mail me one or I could choose a mens shirt. They looked the same, so I got a men's. It fits ok, the sleeves are short though. Next, I walked through the official race gear shop. I bought a visor and a purple shirt with the race logo. Then I headed out to the main shopping area of the expo. Crazyness! I bought a rubber race band with  my future goal time of 4:30. I wasn't going to wear it for this race, but it would be great for a future race to help me set a pace. :) After wandering around a bit and trying samples (I forgot to get lunch!), I headed back outside and caught the shuttle back to the Sports store. I wandered through there a bit and bought a couple of things. They had pretty good prices and they were items I can't get at my local running store. Finally I was able to plug in the address to my hotel and head on over there.

I got checked into my hotel, got everything unpacked and then went in search of food. I walked down to were the race start was, the Ferry terminal building, which has shops and restaurants. I ended up finding a gluten free shop. So, I ordered a sandwich and headed back. Since I didn't have any lunch, I was pretty hungry. I was a little worried about getting enough carbs in, the sandwich was kind of small, so I stopped at McDonalds and got a large order of fries. :)

I enjoyed my dinner while looking out at the great view I had from my room and then went down to the lobby to meet my brother, who was in town from Portland to volunteer the next morning with his dad. It was great seeing him, it's been a couple of years! We went to Walgreens, to buy a pair of long socks for me, which I was going to wear on my arms the next morning. I forgot to bring a pair of arm sleeves. Then we went back to the hotel bar and hung out and talked for a while. Got back to my room and was in bed by 9pm. I didn't sleep very well, so I was feeling pretty tired when I got up at 3:45 the next morning. I went down to the loby to wait for Jeff and the other marathon maniacs staying in the hotel, but they hadn't showed by 4:35, so I walked over to race start by myself. I didn't want to miss the pre race photo! They ended up making it in time for the photo then we all started making our way to the corral area. I had over an hour to wait until my corral was going to start, so I ate my power bar and then stood in line for the porta potty. I then headed to the corral and hung out with a marathon maniac from WA and another lady from Portland, who was on a quest to become a Maniac. It's such a beautiful morning out, clear and cool. No fog at all yet. Finally our corral made the walk to the start line and then we were off!

The first few miles are along the water front. We pass by the Coit Tower on our way to Fisherman's Wharf. Within a couple of miles, we are in the Presidio area and soon, making out way up the first big hill, mile 5. I plan on walking most hills. I don't want my legs to be shot before tomorrows race. We finally get to the top and start running over the Golden Gate bridge. You would think the bridge is flat, but I can feel a slight up hill for a little while. The space is tight for the runners. We have one lane heading over the bridge and the runners coming back have one lane. It gets hard to run around runners at certain spots. finally we make it to the other side and hit a water spot at the Vista Spot, which is mile 7.5. I stop to snap a photo, grab water and a snack and also refill the bottle I am carrying. Then, head back over the bridge.

Heading back over the bridge, we have a slight down hill and then it's right back up again. You can kind of see it in the photo. I plug away, running the flat sections, so that I can walk the up hills. Some of the grates on the bridge are covered with rubber mats. They are not flat, so you have to watch your step when running over them. One woman almost falls on her face right next to me when she trips on a mat. Thankfully she catches herself and is OK. We head off the bridge, turn to the right and then turn left and run up a huge hill! I run a little bit up it, because the water station is just before the middle, walk through the station and to the top of the hill. As we are running back down the other side, I see Jeff and his girlfriend ahead of me. It takes me a while to catch up to them, but I do. They haven't trained for this run, so are walking a lot of it. We wish each other luck and I continue on.

Miles 1 through 10 - 9:07, 9:24, 10:27, 9:39, 9:58, 12:52, 9:55, 10:35, 10:17, 11:05

Cute doggies cheering us along. :)

We then turn away from the coast, heading toward Golden Gate Park. Lots of uphills, with very few downhills. I remember this from the time I ran the half a few years ago. I feel bad for the halfers. The last 3 miles are mostly up hill with a little bit of flatness! We head into the park, where the half marathoners split off. We have a wide road to run on now and a much smaller marathon group of runners. About a mile in, we pass by the start line of the second half marathon. The last corral had just started. So we have the slower runners/walkers on our left. We split from them briefly, when they add a loop, and then join again. We run in the park until mile 19! Finally we pass the finish line of the first half group. I would have loved for someone to toss me a banana. We see the finished runners with their food and mylar blankets. That is no fun!

Miles 11 through 19 - 10:04, 11:59, 11:42, 10:11, 12:41, 12:15, 13:44, 11:05, 13:07

Then, we run down Haight street. Lots of interesting shops there. :) The course is fairly flat for a while, so I am able to run more. But my quads are feeling pretty sore from running all the downhills. I decide to slow the pace more and walk even more. I want to be able to complete the marathon the next day!

I look forward to getting to mile 23. My brother had said he should be between mile 23 and 24. So, for the entire mile, I am looking closely at all the volunteers, but unfortunalty, I don't see him anywhere. :( That was a bummer.

Miles 20 through 24 - 11:59, 12:13, 11:46, 13:04, 14:13

Just past mile 24, we are running along the waterfront again. We pass some cool bands. The rest of the course is flat, so I am trying to run as much as I can, but my legs are hurting! All I can think about are my 110% compression tights waiting for me in my room. Not food, but compression! That's how sore my muscles were feeling!

Soon, I see the AT&T ball park in the distance. We turn to the right, run around the backside of the park and head towards the Bay Bridge, which was near the finish line. I get to the mile 26 sign and take a look at my Garmin. It reads 26.5! I was way off. So rough running a longer distance than 26.2. I used what little kick I had left to run the last quarter of a mile hard, finishing with a big smile on my face. Day 1 was completed!

Miles 25, 26 and .8 - 16:00, 12:57, 8:50

Finish 5:19

Aptos Women's Five miler

June 7, 2013
Forest of Nisene Marks State Park

Cool and foggy morning greeted me and Aidan as we entered the park. Aidan was going to be my helper today. I was going to have a table set up for me so that we could hand out samples of Aquaphor and Kidz ZonePerfect bars. We got set up and then hung out for a while. Since this was a women's race, there were mostly women there, but husbands, boyfriends and fathers were there to cheer on the women. My Florida friend Kim was vacationing in the area and decided to come out and run the race. So we chatted a bit, then I waved good-bye to Aidan and headed to the start line. Soon we were off!

The race starts in a park that is located at the bottom of a very steep hill. We head up that and then turn left out, heading towards Nisene Marks. About a quarter of a mile later, we run down a very steep hill, turn to the left and run right back up another steep hill. Thankfully the next couple of miles are mostly flat dirt road. We cross over a bridge, run down and up a small hill and then find the turn around. Just passed the turn around is a water stop. I grab a quick drink and keep going. I am feeling "OK" I could tell I wasn't as hydrated as I should be. It's harder for me to tell when I am in cooler conditions. I've been drinking a lot of coffee since I've been back in CA. :)

We run back over the bridge and then head off to the left to finally run on the single track trail portion of the race. I've got one woman right in front of me and one on my tail. There is no way to get around the woman in front of me. This is an up and down trail with lots of tree roots to look out for. I watch my step closely. I don't need a fall with just a week until my double marathon race weekend! Finally, I am able to pass the woman in front of me. I catch up to another runner and then have to wait until just before the trail ends to pass her. Finally, we hit mile 4. We head down the steep hill, turn right and head right back up that other steep hill. We've got flat paved road for a bit and then finally enter the park were we started. We make the run down the hill. It's hard not to go fast. Gravity wants to pull you down! We hit a nice flat road all the way to the finish! Aidan is there cheering me on.

Finish: 45:47

I ended up getting third in my age group! What a great day! Overall, not my best time at all, but happy with my effort. :)

I recently was picked to be part of Team X-1 Audio! These headphones and cases are sweatproof and waterproof! Perfect for sweaty, Florida running. I plan on swimming more this summer and now I can take my music in the pool with me. I look forward to trying them out in the pool!

I did try out the little ipod case during my run this morning. I attached the case to the back of my visor. It worked great. No bouncing at all. I loved not having the cord swinging around. I always catch my arm on it. The earbuds fit perfectly in my ear. They come with 4 different sizes. So I was able to find the right size. So happy that they stayed in for the entire windy run!

Ipod case attached to my visor.

Florida International Triathlon (F.I.T)

May 5, 2013
Benderson Park, Sarasota, FL

My first tri of the season! I wasn't initially going to do this race. The race organizers (the Storm Tri Club) moved the event from Siesta Beach to Benderson park this year. So, it's a lake swim, instead of Gulf swim. I don't really like swimming in murky water! A few months ago, there was an in-store sign up party at Fit2Run, and I decided to sign up, via Carolyn, since I was in Ft Lauderdale getting ready to run a marathon! In the weeks leading up to the race, I heard many stories about how there are gators in the water and how gross it was. That didn't help at all! Also, I was so focused on running training, I didn't get out on my bike much, so I knew that part of the race wasn't going to be as good as it could.

I brought Kidz ZonePerfect
Bars for the girls to enjoy post race.

The Girls on the Run 5K, was held the day before the Tri. I ran at an easy pace with a third grader. She was so focused and determined to do well. She took a few walking breaks, but then got right back to running again. It was a fun time. I hung around for a while after the race, because I had to wait to get my packet and to rack my bike. I got back home and took it easy for the rest of the day.

Race morning: Carolyn and I arrived at the race venue at around 6:15 am race morning. I figured 30 mins would be plenty of time, but it wasn't! We gathered the gear we needed in transition, went to get out chips and body marking done and then went to transition. I got everything set up before realizing I had left my race bib and belt in the car! I had 5 minutes left! So, I ran out and over to my car, grabbed the bib and belt and made it back into transition just in time. Of course, about 10 minutes after they closed the area, I realized I had forgotten to put my sunglasses in there! Not a big deal for the run, but I needed them for the bike ride! We now had a long wait. The international distance triathletes would go first, starting at 7 am. My wave was the last one and set to go off at 7:50 am. Carolyn and I hung out and watched the other races start. I wasn't aware of how the swim would start until now. It was different than all the other triathlons that I've done. You had to swim about 60 meters out to a buoy where the start was. This meant treading water for about 5 minutes before it was our time to go!

The Swim (400 meters): Finally it was my turn to swim out. I got in and slowly made the swim over. I wasted so much energy  trying to keep from drowning. Thankfully, my swim wave only had 8 people, so I had some room to move around. I would NOT have liked it if I had a lot of people around me. Soon we heard that we could go and I was off. We had a long swim south, turned left for a 50 meter swim and then turned left again for a long swim back north. The wind was pretty strong, which made the water pretty choppy and not easy to swim in. I was so happy to make the last turn around the last buoy and then run out of the water. I made my way to transition, dried off my feet, but on my socks and shoes, grabbed my helmet and bike and made my way out of transition. Swim: 15:13. Transition: 2:23

The Bike (12 miles): Heading out of transition, we had a gradual up hill to get over the bridge and off the little island we were on. Thankfully we rode south first, with the wind at our back. I was able to catch my breath and try to get into a rhythm. We rode a couple of miles south, before u-turning and heading back north for a bit. That was rough! Right into the wind! I changed gears, tried to get low on my bike and just plugged away. I was really missing my sunglasses, but thankfully, I didn't get anything in my eyes during the bike portion. This was the small loop portion of the course, so we made another U-turn, just before the bridge, heading south again. We passed the first U-turn and then a little past that, we turned right. Up until now, the course had been closed. Now cars were sharing the road with us. Thankfully, there were not many cars out. We rode through a few neighborhoods, changing directions every once in a while, so the wind was never in our face consistently. Finally, we made the turn onto DeSoto Road, which took as back towards Benderson Park. There was a little up hill and then the turn right to get back on the island. I rode past the finish line area and into transition. I racked my bike, took off my helmet, grabbed my race belt and headed out. Bike: 42:12, Transition: 0:55

The Run (5k): I headed out of transition, running up that little bridge to get off the island. My legs felt like lead! Didn't need that "hill" right then! :) There was a water station just before the bridge, so I grabbed a cup, slowed to a walk while I drank it, then got running again. I was really happy to have the wind at my back for the first half of the run. My legs had a chance to loosen up before the challenging windy run. I tried to push the pace a bit, knowing I would slow down for the second half. I saw Carolyn, just after I passed the one mile mark. She looked strong and ready to finish! The run was on the sidewalk running parallel to the lake. We ran all the way to the end of the lake before turning and heading back. The run into the wind was as hard as I thought it would be! I just kept plugging away. I was very excited to make the left turn back onto the Island. I took advantage of the down hill, picking up speed, I made the left turn and there was the finish! I actually decided to try a jump in the air as I crossed the finish line. I don't think I got much air, but I did it. :) (Later, I asked the finish line photographer if he got the shot. He said I jumped to soon, so he just got the landing. Bummer)
Run: 28:27

Total time: 1:29:09
First place Athena age group

The pros: Loved having my Storm top on. I got lots of encouraging words from fellow Storm racers. That was great. Plenty of water stops for the run. Good directions for bike and run. Pretty good post race food and the shirt was much better this year.

The cons: the swim out to start was by far the biggest con. I actually would not do this race again if they have the same swim out start. Also, we had to bring our bikes the day before. I can see how it would be helpful for a big race to have everyones bikes in transition the day before, but this race had a little over 200 people. I don't think it was needed.

Looking forward to a better race in July. Next sprint triathlon will be in Englewood on July 13th. I plan to train better for this one! But first, I've got back to back marathons to get ready for next month. :)

Team Aquaphor

So excited to have been picked to be part of Team Aquaphor this year! I look forward to spreading the news about this great product and staying chaff free! :)