tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6116539862525539332024-03-13T09:18:37.431-07:00Jen's Gotta TriUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-70224877908638118182021-10-05T13:13:00.001-07:002022-08-29T13:22:30.183-07:00Waterman's Olympic Relay - Picking Myself Up Again<p>This wasn’t the post-Covid comeback season I thought it would be, be closed out the year on a positive note. I had trained hard for Musselman, only to end up participating as a cheerleader. Originally wanted to train up for that distance again this year because of all the hard work I’d put into it this spring. The fact is though, jumping back on that bike wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. One day on a winery outing (cause the best ideas come together over wine!), I tossed around the idea of Waterman’s triathlon as a relay…. Long course. Kelly kind of looked at me with a raised eyebrow. Interested but not sure if her goals aligned with running a half marathon. She’d think about it. Still, I hadn’t been back outside on the bike - on the trainer and once on the W&OD trail - but not on the roads. What was I thinking I would be able to ramp back up to 56 miles if I couldn’t get any real training rides in. Went back to Kelly with the idea of Olympic distance and she was enthusiastically in!</p><div class="Ar Au Ao" id=":3if"><div aria-label="Message Body" aria-multiline="true" class="Am Al editable LW-avf tS-tW tS-tY" g_editable="true" hidefocus="true" id=":3ij" role="textbox" spellcheck="false" style="direction: ltr; min-height: 416px;" tabindex="1"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiYVQSfgG7cVQQAa85KYbAZ8_zheb1A_V0o6Maipj5jHz5480dj5GBN0QmkLaZtkpivf6tgoxTCJYhFrcfnmSjFEqaIyuggQjSHfwt0u6gc6Ov4WY31c33rEZRhGHbDgGLlKNYBmincIq0jT_wOTK0zecQaAGKXNJR9B-v9IY5SnpGZLR0FBnv1wfp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiYVQSfgG7cVQQAa85KYbAZ8_zheb1A_V0o6Maipj5jHz5480dj5GBN0QmkLaZtkpivf6tgoxTCJYhFrcfnmSjFEqaIyuggQjSHfwt0u6gc6Ov4WY31c33rEZRhGHbDgGLlKNYBmincIq0jT_wOTK0zecQaAGKXNJR9B-v9IY5SnpGZLR0FBnv1wfp" width="180" /></a></div>I decided to go to a team ride in nokesville. Time to get back in the saddle (pun intended) my plan was to join up with the beginners in a no-drop easy pace ride. 26 miles. We set out and immediately I felt the anxiety building. I figured as I kept going, the encouru would eventually ease up. Except it went the other direction. I dropped from my 2nd position spot and was now the last of our little group. The panic set in as cars were wizzing by us… coach Ed came and retrieved me after only 6 miles suddenly I’m unsure of even Olympic distance But I was committed. I’m grateful I had signed up for a relay because if it were only for myself, I might have backed out… and I feel like nobody would have questioned me.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheQC7Q17xIKzZw5NbDBL8ngvZMqeJudWjcCk0B8HNjE9-R8Gp65vdX_gy4GEpHWZ_MdVRFE4DjVOEQHMOHRF5xemhqYhkbLo270pl6XjNIJEHLyG2KhhRsu-0XcSWo0eF-ynlpXbfXUvrknrAgN1LRP7-4ClfM4whBWotjqCn19zD-jyVb8de_bpSY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheQC7Q17xIKzZw5NbDBL8ngvZMqeJudWjcCk0B8HNjE9-R8Gp65vdX_gy4GEpHWZ_MdVRFE4DjVOEQHMOHRF5xemhqYhkbLo270pl6XjNIJEHLyG2KhhRsu-0XcSWo0eF-ynlpXbfXUvrknrAgN1LRP7-4ClfM4whBWotjqCn19zD-jyVb8de_bpSY" width="319" /></a></div>Still confining most of my rides to the trainer, I checked in with Laura who had recently gotten herself a new bike and was up for some training rides. Outside! We stayed in and around Herndon, biking from our neighborhood and exploring the area…. On roads, with traffic. It’s not quite the same as open country roads, but it was a start.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5WcMtJaJnbDGc0XLCtuGcwImMXVX9NZrh8GGyTz8qEdmYZSE7rMiMwCW9pQgoKlrHfzn0PaiKmfEIksMsiv_7ECprzkW2yaPOf5ZQXoWioQCjqUTezSEy3cPQnLKcM-YEpUWJQ9ljSpjXrsNZy1DHX5YrdyreFQiQna4J1FGXVQnYsVnk7vxDopD0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1445" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5WcMtJaJnbDGc0XLCtuGcwImMXVX9NZrh8GGyTz8qEdmYZSE7rMiMwCW9pQgoKlrHfzn0PaiKmfEIksMsiv_7ECprzkW2yaPOf5ZQXoWioQCjqUTezSEy3cPQnLKcM-YEpUWJQ9ljSpjXrsNZy1DHX5YrdyreFQiQna4J1FGXVQnYsVnk7vxDopD0" width="320" /></a></div>Race morning. The nerves are there. I made my iced tea and Kelly, Sweeney and I set out from our rental house to the race site. Easy check-in, xena racked (new bike replacement is still on Covid back order), and made our way over to the team z tent. I grabbed a banana which would later prove to be not enough, but there wasn’t much I felt like eating. Socializing with the team, wetsuit and all the other things…. Somehow in that hour(ish) I heard about 500(ish) various bike crash stories. Awesome, thanks for sharing.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgY7rm4ruTkZV0aohGSNPHM71OVOhLAe1yQKJ2aWqjH1mJMHql7Hz2BgRDSezlnw3Xw85GBRRE-ITEti56jlgNoxl-JLqsqPTEne2Ijp1iIHXkUAymnSnVVxSP4AwCB3dfDmj076-JRRyG68nbnI8VOGtiUuLnF22jfJ2PirUBhXjg0ZRNJttOxHMQU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="1533" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgY7rm4ruTkZV0aohGSNPHM71OVOhLAe1yQKJ2aWqjH1mJMHql7Hz2BgRDSezlnw3Xw85GBRRE-ITEti56jlgNoxl-JLqsqPTEne2Ijp1iIHXkUAymnSnVVxSP4AwCB3dfDmj076-JRRyG68nbnI8VOGtiUuLnF22jfJ2PirUBhXjg0ZRNJttOxHMQU" width="320" /></a></div>We all made our way over to the swim start. It was a time trial start vs wave start. Took my ginger pills and albuteral tab (instead of inhaler - works better for me). Lined myself up, made my way to the dock, gave my race number to the official and jumped in. Cold! It didn’t take me long to settle into a rhythm. The water was choppy! It would soon become apparent that I spent way too much time focusing on the bike and not too much time in the pool. Slower than I would have liked, but I was moving along. Along the final stretch of the first of 1.75 loops I felt a sting on my arm… jellyfish! They were everywhere! I can’t recall if I’ve ever been stung by a jellyfish before, but if so, it was nothing like this. The damn thing must have attached itself to my arm and hung out for a bit. Ouch!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjh_mb4cg9HqFFHtaIBhrZ8oQr5MRMFbyg38CTQkWHhRQvhucs-RwX5F1X2jx3xLHCNM5kMklkretYmLVb2wtHngQYrcW7kVyxGTfD6nKegUQqkjHc8qoEGmCpR1N9n3MZ91H4xbUK3lkRlKYH9gxOICgFj4ikgoRhxlSuCunx5DoHXkDdfJQN0aFtb" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1436" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjh_mb4cg9HqFFHtaIBhrZ8oQr5MRMFbyg38CTQkWHhRQvhucs-RwX5F1X2jx3xLHCNM5kMklkretYmLVb2wtHngQYrcW7kVyxGTfD6nKegUQqkjHc8qoEGmCpR1N9n3MZ91H4xbUK3lkRlKYH9gxOICgFj4ikgoRhxlSuCunx5DoHXkDdfJQN0aFtb" width="320" /></a></div>I felt my Garmin alert twice, which is set to go off every 500 yards. For a 1500m swim I should be over 2/3 done. Except I wasn’t. I had at least half a loop to go. I’m not sure if the course was measured long, or if I was swimming way off course…. But based on my log map, I held a pretty good line to the buoys. Finally on the last stretch, I made my way to the finish. How long can I stretch this out so I don’t have to get on that bike? Not long enough, soon it was time to climb up the ladder for T1. Heading up the dock I passed Sweeney and Kelly cheering…. It was time.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7HF9lfuySa85Pw5gtgJcidLfHnSjBs4jZ_Dn4OKd4VD9EFGLvGkz6_cgfYG7V8TFrltqCkVrnWg1t-76Pl3bHU_eZIxRD2Jm5FNKxRn-3DZ4qO0Ss976i-ePUxWsPkjl-0VaYRv_jmOR93Mw-t6G8wQBE_xrdzOkCaukdHsXdDxmfCNF4kdvAiajs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="1471" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7HF9lfuySa85Pw5gtgJcidLfHnSjBs4jZ_Dn4OKd4VD9EFGLvGkz6_cgfYG7V8TFrltqCkVrnWg1t-76Pl3bHU_eZIxRD2Jm5FNKxRn-3DZ4qO0Ss976i-ePUxWsPkjl-0VaYRv_jmOR93Mw-t6G8wQBE_xrdzOkCaukdHsXdDxmfCNF4kdvAiajs" width="320" /></a></div>Socks on. Bike shoes on. Helmet on. Sunglasses on - not cycling sunglasses since I failed to replace those. I glanced around but there was nothing left to do. It was showtime.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Heading out of transition Kelly was there telling me to just stay calm. It took me a few extra seconds to get clipped in, but was then able to settle down a bit. I gave myself permission to settle into a low gear, who cares how long this takes. Easy does it. I glanced down at my Garmin and not even a mile had elapsed. Breathe. Luckily the shoulders were wide and the traffic was light, though my hands and wrists started hurting a lot from my tight grip on the handlebars. I caught myself holding my breath every time I heard an approaching car (or in some cases a cyclist with noisy disc wheels). But I was doing it.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7wBcGy271Q849NAxDmtGJekCFnM30JWzmX82vD8yJw-in3zrC7GVBevy-m8dHz9F5cmZ8VNE7Zmzxfj9JcCZopa8H5yuu6GDp5TvNwgS-HtzE9nSR1LMFvjdptESDCkf4PEezc9NTqZCWSbhbUbMZjd-Z3d3jVAx15G24ZWSdEInxxOYkSytxNYcL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="1424" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7wBcGy271Q849NAxDmtGJekCFnM30JWzmX82vD8yJw-in3zrC7GVBevy-m8dHz9F5cmZ8VNE7Zmzxfj9JcCZopa8H5yuu6GDp5TvNwgS-HtzE9nSR1LMFvjdptESDCkf4PEezc9NTqZCWSbhbUbMZjd-Z3d3jVAx15G24ZWSdEInxxOYkSytxNYcL" width="320" /></a></div>The Olympic distance separated from long course at mile 13 and once I made that turn I was pretty confident I would make it. The “hill” that I had been nervous about was nothing; maybe I had some muscle memory from all my hard work earlier in the season…. Though to put it in perspective, the net elevation gain over the 25 miles was X, so pretty flat overall.<br /><br />A few women who had passed me in the first 15 or so miles were all still within sight. I felt that if I could keep it that way, I wasn’t as alone out there on the roads (which if you think about is kind of silly because they were well out of earshot). Then we turned into the headwind. OMG the headwind. My hands and wrists hurt. My arm was stinging from the jellyfish sting. I will also point out the last time i rode in a tri-suit (i.e. minimally padded bike shorts) was Nov 2019. Those last 10 miles were so hard, but now I knew this was going to happen. Barring a mechanical issue, I was going to be OK. In fact, that realization pumped me up to really pick it up in the last 5 miles. I ended up passing all 5 of the ones who I’d been eyeing.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7L63eYE2dB21hujexT4rU1q_RdrFYr7uAfkWpu39CcRMEOYY0VPEWjxh_5WI_xQfE-U1Q-NIxUYj_UMOTunkghZDLkJjdlJluifFf7XJ7Imf4_7Q3Ow811H9UrxivCbdRASnnazfz3CY83kjS26wyCoc7fskRhPFjbvfRUWqUOvhY3zOkDk4uvNE2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1538" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7L63eYE2dB21hujexT4rU1q_RdrFYr7uAfkWpu39CcRMEOYY0VPEWjxh_5WI_xQfE-U1Q-NIxUYj_UMOTunkghZDLkJjdlJluifFf7XJ7Imf4_7Q3Ow811H9UrxivCbdRASnnazfz3CY83kjS26wyCoc7fskRhPFjbvfRUWqUOvhY3zOkDk4uvNE2" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Last mile!! I was so ready to be off the bike, not because it was an awful ride but because I couldn’t really say “I did it” until I was back in transition. Got to the dismount line and Kelly was right there. I have never been so happy to see her and have her take that timing chip from me. She was off and I was done! Hooray!<br /><br />Sweeney met up with me and we wandered over to the team Z tent for some medical ointment for the sting. It was still stinging and in fact seemed like it was getting worse… maybe because now that my race was over I was concentrating on it more. Then it was cheer time. We walked over to the impromptu team cheering area with our cowbells.</div><div aria-label="Message Body" aria-multiline="true" class="Am Al editable LW-avf tS-tW tS-tY" g_editable="true" hidefocus="true" id=":3ij" role="textbox" spellcheck="false" style="direction: ltr; min-height: 416px;" tabindex="1"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkr0SFE0yBr3eEgt0uUBA-bDCEK4FFkPNsB5rKdF3ekomqfobmB8rcSiCmVrxunlfl-hsRl58IgHPWyj_fQNt9Ic8w--dzho4FwKnaO1N889KvMPj1FRCkE2jUdd4sk3ZtGFZoCVryM8d1bXaBL7jteaECYxYPmXcCLL1KfsS0xyE7JF2zla0deAbr" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="748" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkr0SFE0yBr3eEgt0uUBA-bDCEK4FFkPNsB5rKdF3ekomqfobmB8rcSiCmVrxunlfl-hsRl58IgHPWyj_fQNt9Ic8w--dzho4FwKnaO1N889KvMPj1FRCkE2jUdd4sk3ZtGFZoCVryM8d1bXaBL7jteaECYxYPmXcCLL1KfsS0xyE7JF2zla0deAbr" width="117" /></a></div>Kelly was fast! She came around well before expected as we cheered her into her second lap, and equally as fast heading into the finish 3 miles later. We all met up at the finish line for some “after” photos and collected our medals. We joined Joann and Dan out for lunch and back to the rental house for a couple days of laughs and shenanigan. So happy to have done this race, and as part of a relay team!</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-21544055047665951162021-07-17T16:15:00.001-07:002022-08-29T16:20:42.583-07:00The Aftermath<p> <b><u>Sunday, June 27:</u></b></p><p>I woke up and started to assess the situation. Bruises were starting to form pretty much everywhere. Joann showed up pretty early with donuts and a ton of medical supplies. We started cleaning out all of the wounds - there were a LOT. I feel like I'm mostly covered in bandages.</p><p>Linda and Chris (recovering from his own bike crash a month earlier) from Team Z came over that evening and brought food and treats - so nice!!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpzUPiH8pHnLawapyalIbThVoqgMBkII_wMbTW3hHOFKEg3PA1JfriHYHfgAmZUs0WcC4sC7Nko69alnEtUim-O9VyfwTPMs-YdhowRdqQf_G2nWsXKMyWD_sHAx5HDHKG8wlE6dT50SpSINKuzuB6sn5tJa2CNSzCfnR0vH8xVcxUxNuPXtwCIPgs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpzUPiH8pHnLawapyalIbThVoqgMBkII_wMbTW3hHOFKEg3PA1JfriHYHfgAmZUs0WcC4sC7Nko69alnEtUim-O9VyfwTPMs-YdhowRdqQf_G2nWsXKMyWD_sHAx5HDHKG8wlE6dT50SpSINKuzuB6sn5tJa2CNSzCfnR0vH8xVcxUxNuPXtwCIPgs" width="180" /></a></div></div><br /><b><u>Monday, June 28:</u></b><br /><p>My discharge instructions told me to visit my primary doctor as a follow up, and while Dr. Lee was not in the office, one of his associates was able to see me same day. No new information. I am to clean out all of my wounds several times per day. What a tedious and obnoxious process, and I was going through so many medical supplies. Bruising looked pretty bad.</p><p>Travis and Jasmine came over with a bunch of food that my office had brought in for what should have been a "good luck at Mussleman tri" potluck for me. Nice to hang out with them for a few hours.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisPe0I3lbH2_KcKOWubNN_OX_iE2R30OPKbLIZaqU2tYvbLMLJzbrA0kT3C-AA5Hu7xgawGcOxhM2GO2osUNuWVY7I2N2v9aZMvwdNF8PZdQg52VdjORCBjqeHxUVeNSzcktt6qF86ncXYx7DUtays7s6vf2K-KqPcjEQqZ-yrPA-jL_a1EEuSAA54" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1935" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisPe0I3lbH2_KcKOWubNN_OX_iE2R30OPKbLIZaqU2tYvbLMLJzbrA0kT3C-AA5Hu7xgawGcOxhM2GO2osUNuWVY7I2N2v9aZMvwdNF8PZdQg52VdjORCBjqeHxUVeNSzcktt6qF86ncXYx7DUtays7s6vf2K-KqPcjEQqZ-yrPA-jL_a1EEuSAA54" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><b><u>Tuesday, June 29:</u></b></p><p>Last year, while I was goofing around with my nephew, I managed to hurt my knee. I'd had several ortho doctors check me out (mostly because I didn't care for the diagnosis of osteonecrosis; an incidental finding), and the one I really liked asked me to come back for a 6-month follow-up. Unfortunately, that doctor had left the practice, and I'd been meaning to cancel the appointment, but hadn't... I decided to keep it and get my bones checked out. What a quack - as soon as this new doctor saw all my bandages and heard the word "accident" he saw dollar signs. He didn't listen to anything I had to say, didn't examine me at all. He asked to see the road rash... huh? I'm asking about my hip, knee and leg... what an awful, awful experience.</p><p>Then, since I had a bruise on the side of my face, I visited my dentist to make sure there was no damage. Sure enough, one of my crowns was loose and he had to fix it.</p><p>So sick of doctors.</p><p>That night, I noticed a rash starting to form on my back and right hip. I texted Joann, thinking it must be an infection. I survived the Ford Explorer but mersa was gonna take me out. She told me to watch it for a day or so, and we'd reassess later. Fine...</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYFI_04RGqrHApNH-EJhPejz4JqAe_bAjemwkUPG3zgE1Jzd05btGdtZDDwTWMVzZPmuSu1V7skoviekB5IOYiXPG6t9YchKNQZLDtQhe4MthRLH1lcnx_5bReoM-NWFFrlKzebG7qPm1LeYaHI_TZJ2ixfCJqWXg2DhOUJWHSdW48v61hhA9ZUjos" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1935" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYFI_04RGqrHApNH-EJhPejz4JqAe_bAjemwkUPG3zgE1Jzd05btGdtZDDwTWMVzZPmuSu1V7skoviekB5IOYiXPG6t9YchKNQZLDtQhe4MthRLH1lcnx_5bReoM-NWFFrlKzebG7qPm1LeYaHI_TZJ2ixfCJqWXg2DhOUJWHSdW48v61hhA9ZUjos" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Left hip was the point of impact. If you look close you can see the imprint of the SUV's grill.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><b><u><br /></u></b><div><b><u>Wednesday, June 30:</u></b><p></p><p>Rest day, finally! Except not so much rest as starting to collect all of the initial documentation the lawyer is requesting. It took the whole day. I was at the computer all the way up until Travis and Brandon showed up with Thai food for dinner. Exhausted!!</p><p><b><u>Friday, July 2:</u></b></p><p>OK, yea, so remember that rash I had noticed? Now it was perfectly obvious to me, I was dying of mersa. Of course I waited until 9pm to decide this, but I promptly drove myself to urgent care. I explained my situation, and he took a look.... "Well this isn't mersa. It looks to me like poison ivy." And suddenly I had flashes of memory of all the paramedics and passers-by on the side of the road talking about me lying in a bunch of poison ivy. D'oh!</p><p>The doctor also took the opportunity to check out the rest of my wounds. Turns out the puncture on my leg is severely infected. He sent me home with a round of fairly strong antibiotics, special ointment, and firm instructions not to participate in Musselman in any fashion (it had crossed my mind to do the swim).</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjipGRBpx95qezxJbviyN-1HRcr7pb_fEgXDmuAcm8puv6qITdF8fTd628jgBvyxRPgMhSg2WwmG5fxIhweTBD_Uw8nYzyvKcvueLsMPY9f6NHDWq2slMbvrtTwRLYNtPem9C9fjXqFetG3ux6UxOkCN2E9JCquvFXrhSzdqrkc8p7lTvCUOLyXYPZf" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1935" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjipGRBpx95qezxJbviyN-1HRcr7pb_fEgXDmuAcm8puv6qITdF8fTd628jgBvyxRPgMhSg2WwmG5fxIhweTBD_Uw8nYzyvKcvueLsMPY9f6NHDWq2slMbvrtTwRLYNtPem9C9fjXqFetG3ux6UxOkCN2E9JCquvFXrhSzdqrkc8p7lTvCUOLyXYPZf" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Trust me, this is the PG version of the poison ivy... No pics from when it got really bad!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><b><u><br /></u></b><div><b><u>Tuesday, July 5:</u></b><p></p><p>Return to work with my seat cushion since my hip was still not interested in being seated. </p><p>The poison ivy patches were looking pretty ugly, and I was all bandaged up (and re-bandaged several times thanks to Jason and Travis). You could say I was a walking hot mess. </p><p><b><u>Thursday, July 7:</u></b></p><p>New ortho! Joann referred me to her ortho surgeon who took a much closer look at my knee.... and in the process, discovered a hematoma on the outside of my leg. More meds and a scheduled PRP injection - highly recommend over cortisone!</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwZo5aJ7vajjartcV_5DsAXH7AJmljUVJtbTzFuz3jsUsPXMICg_sqkYuUHu5tvWaoSksRsXAZNexTwrxt4BLtlfeoSMAZksVUu6sQl9ivwAOIH8hKoBHhRFGSdstukjwJhz5pd2blVUnvRXCTgfB6fJnVxrFUjM5vtO4P-NEhaq0Vj4RWKWES21QO" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwZo5aJ7vajjartcV_5DsAXH7AJmljUVJtbTzFuz3jsUsPXMICg_sqkYuUHu5tvWaoSksRsXAZNexTwrxt4BLtlfeoSMAZksVUu6sQl9ivwAOIH8hKoBHhRFGSdstukjwJhz5pd2blVUnvRXCTgfB6fJnVxrFUjM5vtO4P-NEhaq0Vj4RWKWES21QO" width="319" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hematoma on my leg - didn't even know that was a thing!</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><b><u>Friday, July 9 - Wednesday, July </u></b><p></p><p>Road trip! Dan picked me up from the office and we started the drive to New York. Even though I wasn't racing, we were still making the journey to Musselman. Met up with Mere and Andre and checked in with Team Z. We were about to walk less than 1/4 mile to get to ~mile 50 of the bike course, so easy to cheer. Otherwise, it was exactly the relaxing weekend with friends that I needed.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjn1I2nPMMA7lnEBZH6SLziOajlVevhmHBmvrHvjbqfyTShpfIUsibClshUb_J7s25gqP5rUc3iG3bgq66IdDnpSti6aOd7tXg6FLMLNKg1Vwubczq4492UYIQjITPfSkT1Yksl-rhevqusDDScNQwyBOhTi1MS_GIxZgq2OAQKZhAyCLavjaJR7BF_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjn1I2nPMMA7lnEBZH6SLziOajlVevhmHBmvrHvjbqfyTShpfIUsibClshUb_J7s25gqP5rUc3iG3bgq66IdDnpSti6aOd7tXg6FLMLNKg1Vwubczq4492UYIQjITPfSkT1Yksl-rhevqusDDScNQwyBOhTi1MS_GIxZgq2OAQKZhAyCLavjaJR7BF_" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div>Lots more follow-up visits and knee injection and all the legal stuff was still lingering, but life was going to start looking more normal.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-58562416144979995102021-07-16T13:55:00.001-07:002022-08-29T15:55:06.479-07:00Built Ford Tough<p><b><u></u></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><b><u>Saturday, June 26:</u></b><p></p><p>It was a typical early Saturday as I headed out to Riley’s Lock (in MD, north of the city, along the Potomac) for my last big training day before Musselman. The majority of the team was in Williamsburg for the other mid-season “A” race, so at first this was to be an unsupported ride - no sags, no sign-in sheets, etc, etc. Luckily enough people showed interest that we had a few volunteers agree to come support.</p><p>Many of those doing this ride were doing a brick workout. The 70.3 distance folks were doing 3 hour ride + 1 hour run. For Debbie, who I'd been training with much of the last few months, this meant 40 miles on the bike. I was training for aquabike though (no run) so I felt it made more sense for me to do a longer ride vs a brick and grabbed the 50 mile cue sheet. Debbie and I set out together and over the first 20 miles had conversations about our personal achievements so far this season. I was especially proud of myself for getting up a series of steep hills earlier in this ride. We came to a rest stop where sag, Lynisa, was hanging out. The 40 and 50 mile routes diverged within the next mile, so Debbie and I said goodbye and I was on my own.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRsB8S6hd7PjbiDqu00J2VIEqn7c6Q26K972uYg84uWsLi0E-k9QxCwfSMWgSJICbIk1cJFr72edRj_a1LxMkDxOGCteGPYw-LNPvUTgrv7Z2ftKdi6f1Wtkari_m-ajSCeULR3kVF7Tbwx9gu9xlDOjnZUhN0UZB47MWIpBIo04-E0sDOk2gZCsEZ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2208" data-original-width="1242" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRsB8S6hd7PjbiDqu00J2VIEqn7c6Q26K972uYg84uWsLi0E-k9QxCwfSMWgSJICbIk1cJFr72edRj_a1LxMkDxOGCteGPYw-LNPvUTgrv7Z2ftKdi6f1Wtkari_m-ajSCeULR3kVF7Tbwx9gu9xlDOjnZUhN0UZB47MWIpBIo04-E0sDOk2gZCsEZ" width="135" /></a></div><br /></div></div>There was another hill that I remembered from previous years riding this same route. It was only a mile or so after I parted ways with Debbie. And I made it up so easy! I felt this was going to be a good ride. I was still smiling to myself as I felt a weird “bump” on my back tire. It felt as though I was tubing on a river and another tube bumped into mine. What was that??!! I had this odd sense of floating or being in the air…. But that’s it.<p></p><p>I was suddenly lying on the side of the road, on my right side, facing back the direction I had come. What had happened? I kinda screamed out, but it wasn’t a scream like I was startled or even in pain. It was a confusion scream, scared scream, not sure what to do scream. I felt what I could with my hands and found a huge hole ripped out of my shorts. I didn’t see anybody around. How did I end up here? And then a voice… “are you ok?” The voice was coming from behind me. I knew enough not to move and try to look, nor could I formulate any words. So I “screamed” again. Then a woman was standing over me. I heard her call 911… “I hit a cyclist”</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8tw51K1HZ6cGcuQOGoRbdKrvvN7-9NjwJH8Qy4XuyCDBZgEi_hLGLRskYGLa9N8P2tBCsXEIXummtl2Za5oSIabPX-nR0KCBWxCnyhJSnkqT32ujy05FeYb41k8liXNJSbSGB-XWAmCRASvPluZV0IpoQcIFadinxkcNCdfcqNSyzgkocPkGlzQB4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8tw51K1HZ6cGcuQOGoRbdKrvvN7-9NjwJH8Qy4XuyCDBZgEi_hLGLRskYGLa9N8P2tBCsXEIXummtl2Za5oSIabPX-nR0KCBWxCnyhJSnkqT32ujy05FeYb41k8liXNJSbSGB-XWAmCRASvPluZV0IpoQcIFadinxkcNCdfcqNSyzgkocPkGlzQB4" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">“Joann?” … “I’ve been hit by a car” …. Literally the hardest conversation I’ve ever had, after I’d asked the lady to call her. Several passers-by had stopped at this point, looking me over, holding a towel up to my elbow. Joann was on speaker (the woman was holding the phone), and the strangers let her know what hospital was closest. She would meet me there. Then I was able to scroll to Debbie’s number. Somebody on the team should know what happened. As I was on the call, Lynisa pulled up. She knelt beside me telling me ambulance was on its way, that she would make sure all the things were taken care of. I was worried about my bike and how that would get back to me. Somebody commented that I wouldn’t be using that again…. No silly, not today, obvi… but I’m going to want that back! I now know that the person meant my bike was no longer ridable, frame cut in pieces. I stopped my Garmin.</span></div></div><p>I heard sirens. It sounded like a lot. Suddenly there were so many paramedics standing over me. Discussing how to get me on the backboard (I had landed on an incline next to the road). Discussing which came first, C-collar or taking off my helmet. Also, somebody wanted to take my helmet. Lynisa reminded them I was likely still attached to the bike. I still didn’t know what was wrong with me. I had heard the strangers gasping but nobody said a word. So many things going on, so many conversations, such chaos.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsajb-pF_aRgGJ9601Hi36er2s43aDyYKWZL-7cqQ2VVeZ-LjfAvU--TNwkwklivr18QRG6w9f74GCk3W6Ej7FjQ5RxYWbqru1s1WfKO7fG899ry6fcuZlMxwLVNZLdiQ0U7-Ka_w3pSa6cwekvjWc_sD5WWca2EmB2ja2zDaQmt53klei7V8auWdz" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsajb-pF_aRgGJ9601Hi36er2s43aDyYKWZL-7cqQ2VVeZ-LjfAvU--TNwkwklivr18QRG6w9f74GCk3W6Ej7FjQ5RxYWbqru1s1WfKO7fG899ry6fcuZlMxwLVNZLdiQ0U7-Ka_w3pSa6cwekvjWc_sD5WWca2EmB2ja2zDaQmt53klei7V8auWdz" width="180" /></a></div><p></p><p>I’m in the ambulance. It was weird being kept so still with the backboard and c-collar. I could only see the roof of the ambulance. The EMT with me hooked me up to a couple machines and took some stats. She talked me through everything she was doing. I had a lot of questions, not about me, but the process and how things work. “Category B”, “Trauma Level 2”, “ETA 18 minutes”, “Suburban” were all things she was calling into the radio. Wow, 18 minutes! Wait, what does “suburban” mean? I asked… it’s where we were going. Wait. Not shady grove? Umm, can you call my friend? I asked her what the various noises meant. We only put on sirens when there was traffic around. Loud echo-y sirens were when we went under and overpass. Weird beeping noises meant that we were pulling into the hospital.</p><p>Trauma surgeons everywhere. Everybody shouting and yelling commands. Nobody talking directly to me. They expected the worst. I asked the nurse if she really had to cut off my favorite jersey - can I try to shimmy out? No, it has to go. Everything has to go. X-rays. Scans. I was cold. A surgeon asked if I needed pain medication.. no, I was ok. I didn’t feel anything (not in a way that I couldn’t wiggle my toes, but I was numb). He told me I would change my mind and to let him know when I do. CT scan. As they are wheeling me out of trauma bay, I hear the radio for the next arrival. “ETA 7 minutes, GSW to the chest, through and through.” Wow. I was their easy case.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIcNoCbLTETnOJ3BrZQw4Rmx0U92OFomGyrabVJjfugEfdsyOwH4eXNBe0wd3eygBZfP1NJ2hBVtRgC22KPtKoifGlJU4Bp1AB_Tb3-rGna39Wvkw_WU8wG6PdihMXPFm1kb7o6RqOoUJvbKvtZVQ9P7lWujhAWsgMiCAi2shYJjF5IHQgb--2yX4o" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2208" data-original-width="1242" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIcNoCbLTETnOJ3BrZQw4Rmx0U92OFomGyrabVJjfugEfdsyOwH4eXNBe0wd3eygBZfP1NJ2hBVtRgC22KPtKoifGlJU4Bp1AB_Tb3-rGna39Wvkw_WU8wG6PdihMXPFm1kb7o6RqOoUJvbKvtZVQ9P7lWujhAWsgMiCAi2shYJjF5IHQgb--2yX4o" width="135" /></a></div><p></p><p>Trauma patient Quattro Forty. Cyclist vs SUV. That’s all anybody knew me as when the wheeled me into a corner (which turned out to be a room, but what the hell did I know, I was still positioned to only look up). This meant that neither Joann nor Lynisa could get any information because the hospital did not know me by my name. I was there for awhile. I could hear talking, but they were to other patients, other nurses and doctors. I was there for a long time. </p><p>A police officer came in to talk about the case. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me that the police were called also. The lady who had hit me stayed on scene. I am thankful she stayed. There wasn’t much for the cop to say. He had looked at my clothing, noted the clear weather (not a cloud in sight), had talked to the woman and also Lynisa. He told me there was a good bit of damage on the Ford Explorer that hit me. I had been rear-ended so there wasn’t much I could contribute. The driver never saw me, never hit her brakes and struck me at about 45mph. He gave me the report and left.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9elzWtNmHtdGPPYfriQxn41P2cBnafR_K5Y8ojZLvDHonL4dTLVq9ow5YcPgqPzgaG1xuu1gu8dItjhlrDnpC4RXz6P20PapIZfpuHJdv5EV3bEoS9X34K0FNsLxXJRjNINIrhK9e4w4HBzW2FKNafUHKoiXCqJUCPkHIVHCLyQLmz-2_ipIZ_5LM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9elzWtNmHtdGPPYfriQxn41P2cBnafR_K5Y8ojZLvDHonL4dTLVq9ow5YcPgqPzgaG1xuu1gu8dItjhlrDnpC4RXz6P20PapIZfpuHJdv5EV3bEoS9X34K0FNsLxXJRjNINIrhK9e4w4HBzW2FKNafUHKoiXCqJUCPkHIVHCLyQLmz-2_ipIZ_5LM" width="180" /></a></div><p></p><p>So much time passed. I was getting uncomfortable. No, I was starting to hurt. Everything hurt. Finally a nurse came in and I asked her to reposition my shoulder. She cleaned out some glass from the wound. I also got those pain meds. The nurse didn’t know anything else though and they couldn’t remove the backboard yet. She did loosen the c-collar. I asked her if she could go find Joann and update her. She tried, but no luck, she couldn’t find Joann. I was confused. I raised my arm up to try to see what time it was… my Garmin was gone! I was worried I would be late to meet the crew for Dan’s birthday drinks. I was worried about how I would make it home to feed the dogs before meeting my friends. I asked the nurse to hold the room phone up to my ear and dial Joann’s number. No answer.</p><p>Finally, finally, finally, they could remove the backboard. To everyone’s surprise, there were no major injuries. There were some deep cuts and contusions, but nothing too serious. How can that be?! One fracture appeared in the scans, so I was to wait to talk to the doctor about that. I was starving but afraid to eat or drink because how would I be able to use the bathroom on a broken ankle. It didn’t feel broken though? Oh but also… I was naked, draped only in the bed sheets. How was that going to work for leaving the hospital? I was now able to use the phone myself and called Joann again. Voicemail. In the middle of my message, somebody brought a bag of my belongings. I had my phone and my Garmin back! Holy hell it was after 2pm! I called Heidi and she answered. Lynisa (who Joann had recognized cause of her Team Z shirt) and they went to retrieve my car and get my bike loaded up. Heidi and Joann were en route to my house to drop off my car and they would feed my pups. I told them my status and that I expected to be able to leave once I spoke with the ortho doctor.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_-_6TSYF4OgM5H-TCPjGOA_pCJdHtTBEigj91qJaGHcPCc6t_sVSQosRLvyxRql9AooO8DNRveDJ0NT231FyTvaLxxmqf3nydumuVXPiq3Aj6RF1XvWp3FSgUTtdYGwWRYDeW7FLRGYbBiBwg1rvFydpFNGdFNcCpMfCJtiNs8BpCZpfcfkY0_-8r" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_-_6TSYF4OgM5H-TCPjGOA_pCJdHtTBEigj91qJaGHcPCc6t_sVSQosRLvyxRql9AooO8DNRveDJ0NT231FyTvaLxxmqf3nydumuVXPiq3Aj6RF1XvWp3FSgUTtdYGwWRYDeW7FLRGYbBiBwg1rvFydpFNGdFNcCpMfCJtiNs8BpCZpfcfkY0_-8r" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I had to be told explicitly that I could not participate in the Cicada Swim the next morning - the 1.7 mile open water event in National Harbor. I texted Dani with the bad news. I think I left out the part about the accident? Joann sent me a photo of my broken bike which I forwarded out to some friends and family, with an "oh by the way, the reason my bike is broken...."</p><p>Coach Ed called me. He asked if I was still planning to do Musselman in 2 weeks. My answer wasn't "no."</p><p>An hour later Joann showed up with clothes for me. I had gotten out of bed by now (wearing paper scrubs) and was able to use the bathroom and get a snack. Still no ortho doc. Joann and I started looking at all the cuts and scrapes. “No major injuries” does NOT mean unscathed. Everything still hurt. Joann helped clean me up and get me out of my paper outfit and into my sundress. Still no ortho doc. We waited another hour for him to show up and spend 2 min explaining that the fracture was actually old and unrelated. I was free to go. Seems anti-climatic... like all that and now I can just walk out of the hospital? </p><p>Joann got the car and we met up with Heidi for dinner ( I was STARVING - not much breakfast and I hadn't gotten through most of my bike nutrition... and scared to eat/drink anything since I couldn't get up for bathroom). Then Joann drove me home. I spent the next few hours catching up with some folks on the phone and then crashed. So many mixed emotions of being scared, and angry, and confused... but definitely thankful because I know it could have been so much worse.</p><p>Thankful for all the visitors, food deliveries and gift cards, flowers, and all the get-well messages!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-24677068641051875092020-03-19T13:04:00.000-07:002022-08-29T13:05:42.574-07:00Atlanta Half MarathonI was very proud of myself this winter for getting in my long runs almost every week leading up to the half marathon. The exceptions were weekend trips to see my brother and skiing.<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgr1_L22mWrTH9gajhwx5dc-eVQemaNVJRwaJw2HQcFXpdbgMR6XnH61ptrcKfm-4CgPSNbLgNMlMRDevDzOtJs8HuDpFSeeXOIkApwyKb1Ly4cSgWOmd58dFzq06qZ3sukBraIheE4ZSv52bXILAyRVI6YSVtGSoZp6iXR9z54127z0YYbrs4pquBH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgr1_L22mWrTH9gajhwx5dc-eVQemaNVJRwaJw2HQcFXpdbgMR6XnH61ptrcKfm-4CgPSNbLgNMlMRDevDzOtJs8HuDpFSeeXOIkApwyKb1Ly4cSgWOmd58dFzq06qZ3sukBraIheE4ZSv52bXILAyRVI6YSVtGSoZp6iXR9z54127z0YYbrs4pquBH" width="180" /></a></div>
I flew into Atlanta on Friday afternoon and Chris picked me up. We spent the afternoon lounging, drinking wine and catching up on his front porch. I love front porches! Romeo got home and we went to dinner. Fun evening with two good friends. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiA25ziC0bBZ5LvNP-bqS1vbxYwngig9xPrPOMGdg8prKrHtZFSvxyTGAo0xOsTox0lvTNan9T1HSCO0DreKSpgDEaRamuqnBOm2tuEPC-l2InHxPWOxLciwc6kcOuZTK1028J6v6oNvWZtLDPADaaXjUxBbN2g1B8ukCHWCaGMmh6Dn6VEd2NSO9p3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiA25ziC0bBZ5LvNP-bqS1vbxYwngig9xPrPOMGdg8prKrHtZFSvxyTGAo0xOsTox0lvTNan9T1HSCO0DreKSpgDEaRamuqnBOm2tuEPC-l2InHxPWOxLciwc6kcOuZTK1028J6v6oNvWZtLDPADaaXjUxBbN2g1B8ukCHWCaGMmh6Dn6VEd2NSO9p3" width="320" /></a></div>Saturday was a busy day! We met up with my cousin who lives in Atlanta (Chris made me drive!), ran a few errands, packet pickup, and lunch to meet Lisa (from <a href="https://beginnertriathlete.com/" target="_blank">BT</a>) who also lives in Atlanta and was doing the race. Then, back at the house, I got my stuff all ready for the race before dinner with Chris, Romeo and one of their friends, and then off to bed!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrsyGz2F8NttjoO_NxUxioyu05Y9cPTCVPjisZNF6IYSaTTsKWF2ZfS6Up97LqtH7CFIb_5wqyHhUZUJ6JN8bvsUo6vk_JVSRBgYbDt_pEt7ueuo7cbtMW40tum2IeEEd1fjLUH5RQAuMEx3oIQUGOtGwZ-08YQbQsY2MG0qftoGkWWCzPO9NUzhKD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrsyGz2F8NttjoO_NxUxioyu05Y9cPTCVPjisZNF6IYSaTTsKWF2ZfS6Up97LqtH7CFIb_5wqyHhUZUJ6JN8bvsUo6vk_JVSRBgYbDt_pEt7ueuo7cbtMW40tum2IeEEd1fjLUH5RQAuMEx3oIQUGOtGwZ-08YQbQsY2MG0qftoGkWWCzPO9NUzhKD" width="320" /></a></div>
Chris had offered to get up early and drive me to the race start, but I told him to sleep in since the race was only a short uber ride away. I made some iced tea, ate a little breakfast and headed to the race start. It was chilly and I'm glad I borrowed Chris' long sleeve shirt and Romeo's gloves -thanks guys! I walked around, stretched a little and the mandatory port-o-potty stop. When I got to the starting corral, I ran into Lisa. We chit chatted and made our way up to the start line to begin the race... still dark!</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGOX3p-IxS396c3xC0wmh4izy3Nc-3Pc3UiFt2XP9VuvGnR0Rck_Ejw6ZcUKpRsbOCVasOeaw3PmLVDqPrAo-oCm6694-dlBRTl5HTwk3p2oEwkCC7DVi-cWIxgUxULd_lO8rmBGB4cAho7hfy3GIekuWNCDAMZHunzUvyBSwT2WR6qc7yqEM44QY8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGOX3p-IxS396c3xC0wmh4izy3Nc-3Pc3UiFt2XP9VuvGnR0Rck_Ejw6ZcUKpRsbOCVasOeaw3PmLVDqPrAo-oCm6694-dlBRTl5HTwk3p2oEwkCC7DVi-cWIxgUxULd_lO8rmBGB4cAho7hfy3GIekuWNCDAMZHunzUvyBSwT2WR6qc7yqEM44QY8" width="180" /></a></div>
I started out doing 30/90 intervals (same as Laura and I have been training) but my head just wasn't in it.<br />It seemed to take forever to get to the first mile marker, then the second. There are more hills in Atlanta that I had imagined. I heard some bells behind me as I passed the first water stop and I turned to look. It was the race sweepers! Mind you, I am nowhere near the end of the race, and I am well within the pace required to make the time limit. They caught up to me and told them I had the option of keeping up with them, or else moving to the sidewalk. What?? I was literally right next to the 3:15 pace leaders (race limit was 3:30). I told them thanks for the info just as my watch beeped indicating my run interval, so I left them.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbTgYMPphj16RvRHaWWDKiT5Varvs6aJVrbDnLVpxwE-6y4t8JVJo48-j4Dz0KSURQC1XYTpxHOi0X7gIk4YIhe-dyw8xit5NjDoLH9xqMRS2Og3RUGUggxDlG5x-Mfhw1dQ3Zp1KlNEw6XqAD2o0EEq4sPS6JYB3xBm9jVl_qgD1R-UcbnK-LhjmD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="664" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbTgYMPphj16RvRHaWWDKiT5Varvs6aJVrbDnLVpxwE-6y4t8JVJo48-j4Dz0KSURQC1XYTpxHOi0X7gIk4YIhe-dyw8xit5NjDoLH9xqMRS2Og3RUGUggxDlG5x-Mfhw1dQ3Zp1KlNEw6XqAD2o0EEq4sPS6JYB3xBm9jVl_qgD1R-UcbnK-LhjmD" width="159" /></a></div>
It was super stressful trying to stay ahead of them with the constant sound of bells in my ears. I asked the 3:15 pace leaders to confirm the time limit again, and they reiterated 3:30 and that they were also shocked the sweepers were so close. I found the energy to pull ahead by a bit, looking forward to mile 9 where I knew Chris and Romeo would be out cheering. The miles seemed to really creep by and I started to get some weird hot spots on my feet. But for now, I got far enough ahead of the sweepers that I couldn't even see them when I turned around.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZ53BboPvcQI6aN47LwY4BoyqLADEV_WkaGG6ftbxBxTp2quPgbNSM1-TYmU2L-JIO5CyswR5sUkEY9oun-N_lqb9p8LjqlQNCCccCvEpp4aPknLkFzkpF9P_FVDTY-1qCqbp4_HJmGqxHHu-4_i5JecntUQD1pgmGHpfClyFBGUl2riQ-rHiL3LlH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZ53BboPvcQI6aN47LwY4BoyqLADEV_WkaGG6ftbxBxTp2quPgbNSM1-TYmU2L-JIO5CyswR5sUkEY9oun-N_lqb9p8LjqlQNCCccCvEpp4aPknLkFzkpF9P_FVDTY-1qCqbp4_HJmGqxHHu-4_i5JecntUQD1pgmGHpfClyFBGUl2riQ-rHiL3LlH" width="180" /></a></div>Finally I found myself entering Piedmount Park, approaching mile 9, and sure enough there were Chris and Romeo cheering along all the runners. Of course I stopped for a selfie, and Chris walked with me for a bit. By this point the hot spots on my feet had altered my run/walk intervals, but I was still running whenever I could. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnXXnjG_oRtz-G74igTyYcU7I4SG2caaIlEOTcaJ0BlW0IhrrW2Doorthz_PFI9n05TSZCaz6UO40trhfRfa5gFFEH8OvOHQD-zNah2h0YxUAmyc9ueMlsbdmtLz3Y91MyAyO5aKRM2I66xIPehwCWmOKmQ3Z2WDgs0wIEM4IXpp6HcNBLHNRrcxy_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnXXnjG_oRtz-G74igTyYcU7I4SG2caaIlEOTcaJ0BlW0IhrrW2Doorthz_PFI9n05TSZCaz6UO40trhfRfa5gFFEH8OvOHQD-zNah2h0YxUAmyc9ueMlsbdmtLz3Y91MyAyO5aKRM2I66xIPehwCWmOKmQ3Z2WDgs0wIEM4IXpp6HcNBLHNRrcxy_" width="180" /></a></div>It was really a struggle to get to the finish line. By around mile 10 my intervals went out the window and I was walking the entire time. I felt like I finally understood how people's legs can just give out towards the end of a race. It hurt every time my foot hit the ground, and those final 2-3 miles were miserable. Finally, the finish line! I collected my medal, some food and water, and tried to look around for a good place to sit. Chris had been following my location online and immediately called and offered to pick me up. Yes!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFuEiSv7bNnPrlnJW0XklgBA4xFZhY5KK1UABkBzeWjoItn8ALGiXS4m5tpEJv2pjhZTyWWh7pGKzVWgMHXzfFEfXVmg2v3yD_UhiRBFeTYRZ_wv_OTVujK1cU7NxzUzK-pIOuXKRl6JGp8pJJzGq-vka1uFGW73OesvctSONTavU7BmGMChW8-xmv" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFuEiSv7bNnPrlnJW0XklgBA4xFZhY5KK1UABkBzeWjoItn8ALGiXS4m5tpEJv2pjhZTyWWh7pGKzVWgMHXzfFEfXVmg2v3yD_UhiRBFeTYRZ_wv_OTVujK1cU7NxzUzK-pIOuXKRl6JGp8pJJzGq-vka1uFGW73OesvctSONTavU7BmGMChW8-xmv" width="240" /></a></div>I could barely walk to an accessible area for Chris to pick me up where streets weren't closed. When we got back, it was hard to get out of the car.... Hard to walk into the house.... hard to take a shower... etc, etc. Finally clean, I sat down to breakfast. Romeo had made french toast with banana fosters topping, eggs, fruit and of course a couple ciders.
Yum! And by 1pm we were on our way to the airport. Of course I got a middle seat b/c I was too cheap to pay to select a seat. All the walking and waiting and people movers (in Dulles) and waiting for Lyft (which canceled on me 3 times).... ugh! I got a ride to dog daycare and picked up my pups (leaving my car there was the best idea I had in a long time) and finally got home. Luckily the dogs were wiped out from playing and we all napped in my bed until it was time for actual bedtime. Half marathon in state #13 is in the books, but I do wish I'd had more fun time with Chris. Next time...</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-21346426155536120422019-11-15T14:39:00.001-08:002022-08-29T14:42:16.428-07:00MiamiMan Aquabike<p>First time doing back-to-back races! I was awake early (in part due to terrible temperature control in our rental house), and hit the road back down to the race site. This is the race I've been focusing my training on most of the year, ramping myself up to longer rides for the first time since Ironman. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYPPXKhj3cQS8nd_xrTmjdDbo5nf7vFMnudwby-7-XuxuEQZlr-Dh62ASl0349LiRM05ujlXBdGh2JOGHH7A-hb2ITxckHhRzZPzP4jFOeOs4sPsvo422oa9rQWUNrUSumorT3wssKto6JDyZKwng71OTLs9zBM1mv3g7RzjwlFOwY5I_MQKL1boPF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYPPXKhj3cQS8nd_xrTmjdDbo5nf7vFMnudwby-7-XuxuEQZlr-Dh62ASl0349LiRM05ujlXBdGh2JOGHH7A-hb2ITxckHhRzZPzP4jFOeOs4sPsvo422oa9rQWUNrUSumorT3wssKto6JDyZKwng71OTLs9zBM1mv3g7RzjwlFOwY5I_MQKL1boPF" width="180" /></a></div></div><p></p><p>I felt ready but was super anxious about cutoff times. Like super anxious, kind of like I was for Ironman. I knew I had a good chance of qualifying for Worlds since there weren't even 16 people signed up on my age group, but in order to qualify, I'd have to finish within time limit. </p><p>I met up with Laura, who was doing the Olympic distance, not the half (long course). Had breakfast at the team Z tent. Set up my transition area. Anxious to get started.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZuCUUjj8F0t-fWE3cRn2TVDDxXvRWyejDU-4Rlx1i3KsipqAWsnkH4aWzx8XACCdTsG5otZKeTUBWJLwADtgYIhWO59r4R8Cl00oA8AQnDXqxRsWjiZhu4Mg3KRTUFt-YrVXY9xL_wCE2UMK_3UXwJdyuygy2MYNKPlx_a9GjHM85rnNgk3595phs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZuCUUjj8F0t-fWE3cRn2TVDDxXvRWyejDU-4Rlx1i3KsipqAWsnkH4aWzx8XACCdTsG5otZKeTUBWJLwADtgYIhWO59r4R8Cl00oA8AQnDXqxRsWjiZhu4Mg3KRTUFt-YrVXY9xL_wCE2UMK_3UXwJdyuygy2MYNKPlx_a9GjHM85rnNgk3595phs" width="180" /></a></div><p></p><p>The swim was about double what I did the day before. We'd start at the same spot, do the same loop, but then get out and re-enter the water and do the same loop over again, finishing at the same spot we started the 2nd loop. The current wasn't quite as bad, and I was able to settle into a good pace. 0:52:44 for the 1.2 mile swim. Not my best, but I'm good with it, esp considering I'd done a race the day before. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-dPuEuXypZaN3F44nlBib0Gpw0sQHBBmvQCslB4ldxHZkbXKKFNJZH9X_VusZs3SvVBBW4y8KB8Iw8iIsedagqLMXemt_1lXC4rb3_FtJ4fTz30r_dNDDpPSKedEbAk_3WzvtttyV1ZWmAmEMo9wHZQl9P9zCvwVudTAau-nD84DFSHlJBdKO65sw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="2016" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-dPuEuXypZaN3F44nlBib0Gpw0sQHBBmvQCslB4ldxHZkbXKKFNJZH9X_VusZs3SvVBBW4y8KB8Iw8iIsedagqLMXemt_1lXC4rb3_FtJ4fTz30r_dNDDpPSKedEbAk_3WzvtttyV1ZWmAmEMo9wHZQl9P9zCvwVudTAau-nD84DFSHlJBdKO65sw" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Off on the dreaded bike. I wasn't nervous about the distance, only my pace. I got a good start, but knew better than to be too optimistic. Winds change all the time and it affects my speed drastically. I decided to take what I could get as it comes, and tried to push it as much as possible while I seemed to have a tailwind, but still saving something in the legs for later. The course was a lollipop course, about 10 miles out, and then 2 loops of 15 (or close enough for a total of 56 miles). The point is, the cutoff time I was most concerned about was to start that 2nd loop before they closed the course. So far, so good.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh26YxZsa8Fc5dIgiwbrz61G5hejVU8rMY3xcaVDft1Fw8pb9x-NhZ5RwGsc5R2yOkpsOr8pg8idd7wqHEJmtdwwYpUkJo1mbZZP_nfyBabgn7-q4Yu9roqH-JAkkYKkhRiTO5_rlteWDWtO0wYDXrUtug2WOc6KPhfUQW6m57ioa60TO6fH8PyHmgR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh26YxZsa8Fc5dIgiwbrz61G5hejVU8rMY3xcaVDft1Fw8pb9x-NhZ5RwGsc5R2yOkpsOr8pg8idd7wqHEJmtdwwYpUkJo1mbZZP_nfyBabgn7-q4Yu9roqH-JAkkYKkhRiTO5_rlteWDWtO0wYDXrUtug2WOc6KPhfUQW6m57ioa60TO6fH8PyHmgR" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div>Amazingly, I was still doing OK, and waiting for that headwind to hit me, which it did. There is a long stretch in the middle of that lollipop loop and it wasn't super exciting scenery, but I was excited that I was ahead of my predicted pace and was feeling better about that cutoff time. Sure enough, I was not even close to missing the time when I made the left turn to start that loop again. Phew. Such a load off to know that I made it and now, no matter what, I would finish. I still needed to finish within the time frame allotted, but I wasn't super worried about that. <br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd5zGRSL1eL2Wa7otToldilcbXm7C8Fk7xt4_AsLCS71JBS6vMbLxRprcvgq0pbH5HT4kStgsMYsNXqXz2Z4uUNxfWxTWTp_WIRlG6s3Sj1E5SmsSVFj_57zrpCJpjeEZqLqPTukcjtsyOsasp9wJYBvGDUGjvGIbUzsHl83GJq2Z1h3947nfR3w6A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd5zGRSL1eL2Wa7otToldilcbXm7C8Fk7xt4_AsLCS71JBS6vMbLxRprcvgq0pbH5HT4kStgsMYsNXqXz2Z4uUNxfWxTWTp_WIRlG6s3Sj1E5SmsSVFj_57zrpCJpjeEZqLqPTukcjtsyOsasp9wJYBvGDUGjvGIbUzsHl83GJq2Z1h3947nfR3w6A" width="180" /></a></div><br />Soon I found myself in that long stretch again, just kept plugging away. Then, I started smelling smoke. As I continued on, the smell intensified and soon I was breathing it in. There were no emergency vehicles or anything so it must have been a controlled fire somewhere, but it sure was making it hard to see and breath. I pushed a little harder to get past that section, and soon enough I made the right turn, back on the stick of the lollipop on my way back to transition. OMG, the headwind though!! These last few miles were going to kill me, a sentiment that seemed to be shared with all of the other cyclists I was leap-frogging back and forth. <br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKlM9C3PpTw2gqK11R39ri9PGzgvxlGHcvKuPlhQRdhRMZfSQHjaByRpvGEzbi8Ol8Qwpmr0J6f12mNrS2csJRVSmh-ZJkCxdCvKT5AsJoMD_uVjMLA6dsrElItsVyDqlxDS0MNYGq8LcJeDSXL7TkaQ2b_soMlIA-k_lPZ5Ma6s26jbTsu0AxGpPi" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKlM9C3PpTw2gqK11R39ri9PGzgvxlGHcvKuPlhQRdhRMZfSQHjaByRpvGEzbi8Ol8Qwpmr0J6f12mNrS2csJRVSmh-ZJkCxdCvKT5AsJoMD_uVjMLA6dsrElItsVyDqlxDS0MNYGq8LcJeDSXL7TkaQ2b_soMlIA-k_lPZ5Ma6s26jbTsu0AxGpPi" width="320" /></a></div><br />Finally, I made the turn into the park and knew I was in the final mile. 3:48:16 total. So funny to think about how anxious I'd been about cutoff times - this was close to a PR for this distance for me. In fact, I was so much faster than I had anticipated, my friends missed my finish! They were there for some post-race photos though before we got Xena ready for her ride back to VA (in the Team Z truck), and headed out to lunch, football and rest.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJD2FkZ0obSMJD09w7uSfaMQPAkunqIRG2MR4XcbDPTp1xH6erGemU7re-qtXNkKg4YMi3To_D-qwxPxmqB8qW_ERQtzu-25JKi7cTiDPkZpSFBh4QAenzmrVtNRu7NDtIXIxEHXekTbygFC-x8cF3EIZa6_sAvgg7FmTGWpKJ3B3o3czLPd64Qxbz" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJD2FkZ0obSMJD09w7uSfaMQPAkunqIRG2MR4XcbDPTp1xH6erGemU7re-qtXNkKg4YMi3To_D-qwxPxmqB8qW_ERQtzu-25JKi7cTiDPkZpSFBh4QAenzmrVtNRu7NDtIXIxEHXekTbygFC-x8cF3EIZa6_sAvgg7FmTGWpKJ3B3o3czLPd64Qxbz" width="180" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-60621520099683625862019-11-14T14:37:00.001-08:002022-08-29T14:43:02.552-07:00MiamiMan Aquathlon<p> <span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;">As soon as I stepped off the plane in Miami and was blasted with an incredible heat and humidity, I questioned my decision to a) race, and b) race 2 events in 2 days. Yikes!</span></p><p><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2ZT1lfixi0G9pHIBp1pEgl3gF70b_eQAO7mm3S-P6uj01wK7h3_uQKRYJT6h6eIBkAekBwjHEBNk7TauaS-bt_krHIp55CA8Mh2eJW5ihSMyuIXJ9EOBU3MokiaOaPECHxtQaSfRMtAOFq2uFQksMya2-WbGO3vwRP-yCQa4212os2pz78hNWGy7b" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2ZT1lfixi0G9pHIBp1pEgl3gF70b_eQAO7mm3S-P6uj01wK7h3_uQKRYJT6h6eIBkAekBwjHEBNk7TauaS-bt_krHIp55CA8Mh2eJW5ihSMyuIXJ9EOBU3MokiaOaPECHxtQaSfRMtAOFq2uFQksMya2-WbGO3vwRP-yCQa4212os2pz78hNWGy7b" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;">Easy rental car retrieval and made my way to the rental house. I was on my own for the day as Dan was stuck in … Chicago? Charlotte? Point being, he was having a hell of a travel day and Chris wasn’t due to arrive until late. I got myself settled, did a grocer run, and found a place for a mani/pedi… cause who doesn’t get a pedicure the night before a race! Then it was time for the team dinner and drinks and then back to the house to wait up for Chris. When he arrived we spent a couple hours catching up before heading to bed. Sounded like Dan would not arrive until the middle of the night.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUFsTsuOADA2q97g1GnaZEHSOVq8YwKyEfFB0IYJwzFfPIlknWiQTvscMK1hxBZq7qkZcvyteZIbJWGEfosr3-DKcYkHcWxRCVr8y91K2fh-bQBPlcC6NRJjOqDSQwA0pkL5SD4JeOfjMLNfOdr9-osi3tXIEaLT2Ra-wG41oJIoP2EYNe0wwfOvCb" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUFsTsuOADA2q97g1GnaZEHSOVq8YwKyEfFB0IYJwzFfPIlknWiQTvscMK1hxBZq7qkZcvyteZIbJWGEfosr3-DKcYkHcWxRCVr8y91K2fh-bQBPlcC6NRJjOqDSQwA0pkL5SD4JeOfjMLNfOdr9-osi3tXIEaLT2Ra-wG41oJIoP2EYNe0wwfOvCb" width="180" /></a></div><br /></span></span><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;">The aquathlon race start was not until mid-morning, so no super early alarm clocks. Chris opted to go with me and we made the relatively long drive to the race site (this was semi-on purpose so that we were closer to things we wanted to do after the races). We checked in at the Team Z tent, met up with Laura and her family. The aquathlon transition is very different from a triathlon transition with the most notable difference being the lack of bikes and racks. Instead, we had buckets where we put everything we need. Run shoes and socks. Race belt. Visor. It felt like I was missing a ton of things, but it was the lack of all things related to biking. I was set. </span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQ8uLsEEYurHFPBvHO74X1ghWLplb9y6KnNwHxin6tDWfVhWlZCH6xTYnYSF6mRdsJpTukSp2NuLzWTPo5lbuE4bx7j7I9cdStVkYDrM1e59F9VpI_mRP6zDkPyfSEbHcxP0BbgzPEb5ZC4RWDg-2qG2IRhgmxG6VNRGXERiaj6XxmO9tB4WYZUavG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQ8uLsEEYurHFPBvHO74X1ghWLplb9y6KnNwHxin6tDWfVhWlZCH6xTYnYSF6mRdsJpTukSp2NuLzWTPo5lbuE4bx7j7I9cdStVkYDrM1e59F9VpI_mRP6zDkPyfSEbHcxP0BbgzPEb5ZC4RWDg-2qG2IRhgmxG6VNRGXERiaj6XxmO9tB4WYZUavG" width="180" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;">We headed down to the water and were assured by many people (we kept asking; can't have too many sources of information) that the lake had been swept that morning and there were no alligators. Still nervous... in the way that I wasn't really scared, but also it was south Florida and we were getting in a lake. We hung around and took some photos and then it was time to get on with it. </span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPwiPNshsznRrE7vRP9bFrv8yv4QYNs6-eD2Ay05sOhnb0VJeyLkF2A0NAxF8Yxjjv0FLrg9iJyuMFm-6e1-BAF8ZRvMYrkpaAyQqLF_GPUIB4kZ2K0mPtycPdfNU7Id7hFFQgyvAef5GhmcXBfR-olaqtZKfHxj_nNAPd0VMqevGAbeemgrdKuD2G" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPwiPNshsznRrE7vRP9bFrv8yv4QYNs6-eD2Ay05sOhnb0VJeyLkF2A0NAxF8Yxjjv0FLrg9iJyuMFm-6e1-BAF8ZRvMYrkpaAyQqLF_GPUIB4kZ2K0mPtycPdfNU7Id7hFFQgyvAef5GhmcXBfR-olaqtZKfHxj_nNAPd0VMqevGAbeemgrdKuD2G" width="180" /></a></div></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;">1000K swim, and I had to keep telling myself that this was race day #1 of 2 and I needed to pace accordingly. I felt good in the water, feeling only seaweed on my skin (no wetsuits). The water was warm but had a pretty decent current. Chris actually caught a video of the buoys moving! We basically did a loop of the perimeter of the lake, and I do think the current changed midway through the swim, not in our favor. I settled into my stroke and just kept pushing through, knowing I would have the same swim, plus a little more the next day. 27:18 for the 1188.6 yards (per Garmin, so I overshot the course a bit). </span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_jQq63Xl3vCWBqzYBvbp8-BZbENY-6TwwRptsriHGKhoVXve7TAuW4YrWPBT4-z3SMNKaz2O3KALbnKbfBagCsqqrV042APNQkmvrFGsCnsmnZOUoJhu3-9jeU6QIrlHyIspo_GTFju86-l6udQNjFalQ9PZ29KUEd8LPeBQEXxlMDCZgiGYtccJ4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_jQq63Xl3vCWBqzYBvbp8-BZbENY-6TwwRptsriHGKhoVXve7TAuW4YrWPBT4-z3SMNKaz2O3KALbnKbfBagCsqqrV042APNQkmvrFGsCnsmnZOUoJhu3-9jeU6QIrlHyIspo_GTFju86-l6udQNjFalQ9PZ29KUEd8LPeBQEXxlMDCZgiGYtccJ4" width="180" /></a></div></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;">Got out of the water and ran to my transition area. I was pretty quick putting socks on my wet feet (luckily most of the sand had come off), and then shoes, race belt, visor, and I was off. I jogged some. I walked some when I needed to. Laura caught up with me with about a mile left to go, and we pep talked each other into keeping it up. The goal was to qualify for Worlds, or at least know we did our best and didn't slack off. It was cool finishing up with Laura after a full summer of training together. 0:44:14 for the 5K.</span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgm7lybxjCXds2zurjy_jnCmaVLsYaveKdCzZITYqRTTtbqTM8bpKKOKA6qt10PRx1PPWsVpKtnxNZyeXqdKKDsi_U7OIOR-U3oczriyt8_SMPWwrkdIbhjgqyZ5uX2lsAorqwbVsDcTYgLsiEy6hRXhqTqnEVlSOaT_8ycGYLyHtPQ8TXONjip2nl-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgm7lybxjCXds2zurjy_jnCmaVLsYaveKdCzZITYqRTTtbqTM8bpKKOKA6qt10PRx1PPWsVpKtnxNZyeXqdKKDsi_U7OIOR-U3oczriyt8_SMPWwrkdIbhjgqyZ5uX2lsAorqwbVsDcTYgLsiEy6hRXhqTqnEVlSOaT_8ycGYLyHtPQ8TXONjip2nl-" width="180" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I knew I was on the cusp, and it would all depend on who was aging out (moving to the next age-group) and who was aging in (from the previous age-group). As it turned out, I came in 23rd of the people who would be in my age group for 2020, so it will be a waiting game as only 16 get into the race.</span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd9yOAEfhn1WCTrP5gu-lrgsq2aS_N88_5lPxdlxLqCJuKuJgvCPqBe0x-EUhcPuuoYVEtzwDSFhSpzTECZrfMMuRjc5aeupNQxWky45UIozxvyfaBwPj5siN2hoCFjXvpED8pf3x7BzgeNKz4a1DUMOBlBh9bfXyPB892VviLliHCbNWukEMQo1ta" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd9yOAEfhn1WCTrP5gu-lrgsq2aS_N88_5lPxdlxLqCJuKuJgvCPqBe0x-EUhcPuuoYVEtzwDSFhSpzTECZrfMMuRjc5aeupNQxWky45UIozxvyfaBwPj5siN2hoCFjXvpED8pf3x7BzgeNKz4a1DUMOBlBh9bfXyPB892VviLliHCbNWukEMQo1ta" width="180" /></a></div><br />Chris and I ate lunch and got all of my stuff ready for the bigger race (long distance aquabike) the next day. I'd sent my bike down on the Team Z trailer, and unfortunately, Coach Ed had been in an accident. Only a couple bikes were impacted, but Ed had us all go for a little test ride just to be sure. Everything seemed fine, so I checked Xena in for the night. Chris and I made our way back to the house and hung out with Dan (arrived sometime during the night) and Joann (arrived that morning during the race). It's another race night, so no huge celebrations yet!</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-91077079393593429712019-05-17T04:53:00.000-07:002019-05-17T04:53:21.598-07:00Kinetic Sprint AquathlonI love the later start time of the Kinetic sprint races! A 9:16 wave start means that I can make it a day trip without waking up super super early. So I did exactly that. I had dropped the dogs at daycare on Saturday... they were very high energy and I was very low tolerance, so I used the quiet time to get some chores done and relax. I started the keto diet earlier in the week and was suddenly second guessing my decision to start such a new [and drastic] diet so close to a race.... but I felt pretty OK. I packed my bags (thanks to Laura for posting a social media pick of her outfit... it reminded me of my race belt and visor that I would have forgotten otherwise!!) and headed to bed early, ready for the 5am alarm.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvH4IgmtFcslzK3S6y5WxLtsbYccauH9SfJ0J3TYuExVcj2rZgsmFnEIZ2aeYJ_3niva0W7B93H5nG5lUNExJA1ZZOD0ceUOZbaFlBJ8MJDSoTAEAftjNHVgzzrxei9YOgVChIBvKldg/s1600/IMG_8758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="915" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvH4IgmtFcslzK3S6y5WxLtsbYccauH9SfJ0J3TYuExVcj2rZgsmFnEIZ2aeYJ_3niva0W7B93H5nG5lUNExJA1ZZOD0ceUOZbaFlBJ8MJDSoTAEAftjNHVgzzrxei9YOgVChIBvKldg/s320/IMG_8758.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>That's not my bike! My transition areas is the two small white bags, and that's it!</i></td></tr>
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I slept pretty well, and while 5am is a little earlier than normal for me (dogs get me up 5:30 everyday), excitement for the race got me moving. I grabbed my pre-packed breakfast and snacks from the refrigerator and packed them. It's challenging to plan ahead for keto. I hit the road and had no issues getting down to Lake Anna. It rained off and on, but was OK when I pulled into the park. Still, I took my umbrella as I made my way over to the Team Z tent. The parking lot was pretty empty, and coach Ed commented that he predicted it would be a quiet race day given the weather. I made my way over to registration and then met up with Laura to set up transition. Most minimal transition I've ever had. It seemed really weird to only have two small bags sitting on the ground: one contained my socks and shoes, and the other a long sleeved shirt, race belt and visor.<br />
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When I heard that the water temp was 74 degrees, my first thought was to go without my wetsuit. I don't hate the wetsuit, but.... one less thing. As time went along though, hanging out with teammates, somehow I went from 100% sure I didn't want the wetsuit... to 80/20... to 50/50... and then the determination that I would wear it. I can't even recall my reasoning. So, on went the wetsuit, remembering to generously apply the tri-slide on my neck. Time to walk down to the beach. A few of us walked into the water to test it out - warm!<br />
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The aquathlon was in the final wave along with the novice athletes, aquabike and relays, quite the mix! I found a spot towards the outside and was ready to go when they sounded the horn. I walked in until the people in front of me started swimming, and I dove right in. I felt good despite only having been in the pool twice so far this year (oops!). I had to swim around a few people in the beginning and avoid some breast stroke kicks, but overall didn't feel too crowded. I did get kicked once in the wrist... not hard, but enough to make me nervous my garmin had stopped (luckily it hadn't). I was slower than I would have liked, but that goes with the territory when I didn't put in the pool time.<br />
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When I packed my bag, I couldn't find any ear plugs, but figured with only a 750m swim, I'd be OK. I'd completely forgotten about the ginger pills I usually take before OWS. These omissions became painfully obvious as I came out of the water and made my way into transition. I had that intense dizzy and light-headed feeling so I took my time. I saw Laura and waved as she made her way out to the run. I got my wetsuit off and my shoes on and slowly made my way to the run start, thankful there was a water station within the first 100 yards.<br />
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Still not feeling 100%, I gave myself permission to walk the first mile which was almost entirely uphill. To be honest, it was a struggle, but as I neared the top, the dizziness went away. It was definitely misting, but the rain wasn't too bad and I was comfortable. I hadn't even bothered to put on my long sleeved shirt. The run course was deserted. I had seen one woman in front of me, but since I was walking, she'd separated from me pretty quickly. I was surprised that Laura was the next person I saw on the out-and-back, after she'd made the turn around. We high-fived and I realized I was half done with the run. My 2nd mile was definitely faster than my first and I was feeling good. The woman I had seen earlier was the only other runner I saw until the fast triathletes started catching up to me (and passing, obvi).<br />
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With about a mile left in the run, I was getting hungry. I was pleased that my energy levels hadn't felt depleted due to the keto diet, and I am thinking the hunger I felt was because I hadn't eaten enough calories, not necessarily lack of carbs. My last mile, which was mostly downhill, went pretty fast and soon I was coming out of the woods at the water and to the finish line!<br />
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I collected my medal, water and hand towel and made my way back to the Team Z tent. It started raining pretty hard as I was getting my stuff out of transition. Luckily I had brought a dry towel and clothes to change into for the drive home. My keto diet didn't allow me to eat any of the Team Z food, so after an "after" photo with Laura and hanging out for a bit, I started making my way home. I did have some good snacks in the car which tided me over for the long (traffic and rain-wise) drive home. I picked up the dogs from daycare, took a shower, made some dinner and relaxed. Glad to be back in race season!<br />
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Oh, and apparently I got an award! 3rd place Masters Female Overall! <br /><i>(don't ask how many people there were....) </i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-30566243302785002122018-06-20T15:51:00.000-07:002018-12-03T15:53:02.580-08:00Escape from AlcatrazAlarms went off extra early for Dani and me... Race Day!! Race morning is a bunch of weird logistics. Walk to shuttle. Shuttle to transition. Bus to pier. Ferry to Alcatraz. It was still dark when we got to transition and didn't spend too much time setting things up - after all, I wasn't biking so I didn't even have that much to do! I decided to head to the bathroom once before putting on my wetsuit and the strap of my garmin broke - uh oh. I searched around unsuccessfully for some duct tape and wasn't sure what else to do so joined Dani on the bus to the pier. I did not want to lose my garmin! As I was putting on the various parts of my swim ensemble, I realized that I could pull the neoprene sleeve down over my wrist and that would hopefully secure the watch. Hopefully. Time for the ferry. It was an hour from the time the boat pulled away from the dock until the time we'd be jumping into the water. Luckily time passed fairly quickly. I turned on my garmin while keeping it tucked under the wetsuit, but it never found a gps signal. I am not sure if that's from being inside the ferry, or being under the wetsuit material or both. I heard from several others that they were having trouble finding the gps also. <br />
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Then... it was time to jump! There was absolutely zero time to second guess yourself as you stepped to the edge of the boat. In no time at all I found myself dropping 6 feet into the San Francisco bay again, only this time I was getting tossed around... <span style="font-size: large;">a lot</span>. I remembered the tips from my <a href="https://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2018/06/getting-ready-to-escape-and-practice.html" target="_blank">practice swim </a>and only spotted the towers for a few minutes before shifting my focus to the piers. I kept slamming into people and people kept slamming into me. I suppose it was normal given how many people were doing this swim, but in the wide open bay, how was I on top of people so much? It really started annoying me. It also occurred to me that my watch had not buzzed at all alerting me of my laps - did I remember to hit start? <i><b>Was it still attached to me? </b></i> <br />
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At one point somebody passed me perpendicular on their way to Japan. I paused to yell at them but by the time I got my bearings in the middle of all the waves, the person was too far away to hear me. The good news for them is that there were a ton of boats out there. In fact, Dani reported that the race directors didn't feel they had enough watercraft support given the conditions (small watercraft advisory and 2 foot swells, which I didn't find out until later) and had solicited the help of a bunch of fisherman who happened to be out. I kept going, still getting tossed around pretty good. I realized that I was probably more than a football field away from that rocky shoreline. I tried with all my might to adjust my course but was no match for the current. I overshot the finish by about 20-30 yards and rather than try to swim upstream, I got out on the beach and ran back up to the finish. I was not alone as there were a bunch of people running up the beach. 45 minutes for the official race time. My garmin was indeed still on my wrist, and the timer was going, but the gps signal never picked up. <br />
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There was a half mile "run" to transition from the swim exit. I chose to skip the gear bag that we had been allowed to store at the swim exit in favor of walking in my neoprene booties. I had thought I would jog part of this but the booties just didn't provide very much padding on the cement. I walked up until we got to the edge of Marina Green where transition was located and was able to run the last portion that was on grass. I yelled to Lucy who was ready with her bike. She asked someone to take a quick picture of us and she was off! I grabbed some water and stood there for awhile to cheer in case Tommy or Dani as behind me. As luck would have it, I got to cheer for both of them as they came in from the swim and headed out on their bike. I took off my wetsuit, got my run gear together, had a couple snacks and generously applied anti-chaffing cream. Luckily the chaffing wasn't much worse than I'd started off with.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>T1 - out of the water and Lucy is about to head out on the bike</i></td></tr>
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Lucy had predicted her time to be about 2 hours, but I wisely got ready much earlier - good thing too since it only took Lucy about 80 min to return to transition. I grabbed the timing chip from Lucy and headed off on the run. There were crowds lining the streets for the first half mile so I jogged. It was getting warmer and I knew this was going to be a challenging course, so I slowed to a walk as the crowds thinned and I headed towards Golden Gate Bridge. It was a slight downhill and I was a little worried how it would feel on the out and back course going uphill for the last mile or so. At least I'd be almost done. I trudged along, walking some, jogging some, and then we turned a corner and I saw a staircase. A steep staircase. I knew there was going to be a staircase and I recalled the documentation saying that it was narrow and not to try to pass people. I didn't want to be a hindrance for the people behind me so I made sure to keep going as fast as I could and no breaks. I got to the top and the run course continued to go uphill. <b>Then more uphill.</b> <i><span style="font-size: large;">And more uphill.</span><b> </b></i> Geez! I was at about 3 or 3.5 miles now and glanced up to see Tommy coming the other direction. I'd somehow missed him coming back through transition on the bike - he must have done really well on that bike course! I yelled at him and he looked absolutely drained! <br />
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What goes up must go down, right? The downhill finally arrived. We went down and down and down and I ran the whole thing. May as well take advantage of gravity! The course popped us out on the beach and I made my way close to the water edge where the sand was harder. I grabbed some water or electrolytes or whatever they handed me at the turn around, which was also in pretty deep sand, and headed back down the beach. There were piles of sand in my shoes now! <br />
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And then.... the dreaded sand ladder.... There was a timing mat at the bottom and a timing mat at the top and I know that it took me 6 minutes and 23 seconds to painfully drag myself up, using every bit of the cable that I could to pull myself along. Finally at the top, the course continued uphill. I recognized this part of the course as where I'd seen Tommy when I was going the other direction. No wonder he looked so drained! <b>I'm sure I looked near death.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sand ladder! Photo taken from race facebook page.</i></td></tr>
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I was walking along and got to talking to some other racers. I jogged when I could and honestly I jogged a lot more than I thought I would, especially after how grueling the course had been so far. There was another staircase, some very steep downhill sections that I considered getting on my butt and scooting down, and back on that long gradual uphill that signified the final couple miles. It was getting pretty hot but the knowledge that I'd soon be done kept me going. Lucy and I had discussed crossing the finish line together, and she was waiting for me with about a third of a mile to go. To be honest, I hadn't planned on running the final third of a mile but the excitement was too much and I just kept going! We ran down the finishers chute and high-fived as the announcer called our name - <b>so much fun!</b><br />
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We got some water and made our way into the bleachers to cheer for Dani. She had passed me going the opposite direction when I had about 2-3 miles left. We didn't want to risk going back to transition and missing her. It was really cool watching people finish and we cheered for every person. Once Dani crossed the line we started the tasks of cleaning up our transition areas, dropping off Lucy and Dani's bikes, and most importantly taking pictures! We escaped! There was no nap for us as we headed back to the hotel for lunch, shower, drinks and then to meet up with Lucy and Paula for a celebration dinner. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Oh yea... that's me... climbed onto the dump truck :)</i></td></tr>
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I was exhausted as we finally turned in for the night, and I dreaded the extra early alarm I'd set for my 5:20am flight back home. The flight change required a layover in Chicago and I was lucky that all my flights ended up on-time. Jon picked me up from National airport and we proceeded directly into DC for game 4. We had such a good time watching that win, it was nearly midnight when Jon finally dropped me off at home. We'd made plans to get together with some friends to go to the viewing party for game 5....... and to fast forward a few days......... <span style="font-size: large;"><b>we won!!</b></span> The Caps won the Stanley Cup!! What a week!! <b>#ALLCAPS #ALLOURS #WEBELIEVE #THECUPISOURS</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-437080466753799102018-06-14T05:43:00.000-07:002018-09-10T10:56:03.922-07:00Getting ready to escape! And the practice swim!I didn't necessarily mean to throw all my bucket-list items in consecutive years. <a href="http://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2015/10/ironman-maryland.html" target="_blank">Ironman </a>was planned. Then Andrea convinced me to sign up for the <a href="http://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2017/06/great-chesapeake-bay-swim.html" target="_blank">Chesapeake Bay swim</a> lottery. I honestly wasn't expecting to get in on my first try; it takes many people multiple years to get selected. But then in the 4th of 4 rounds, my name was selected. I knew the Alcatraz swim was lingering there on my list, and I had <u><b>no intention</b></u> of going after that goal this year. <span style="font-size: large;"><i>Then.. </i></span>I was talking to Dani who had gotten in off the lottery for the triathlon. The triathlon was never my goal - there are a lot of areas I want to challenge myself, but biking San Francisco hills is just not one of them. There are a few opportunities to swim from Alcatraz throughout the year and that was what I had planned on doing. On a whim though, I looked at the relay option and realized you don't have to go through the lottery to sign up for a relay. Hmm.... OK, but who would bike? And run? Suddenly the stars aligned and I reached out to Lucy, the bike leader for the Wakefield rides I had done through Ironman training. She's living in Houston now, spending summers in Colorado, and happened to be free and interested in joining me! I checked with a few people about the run but didn't find any interest, so I decided to do that part myself. I mean, <b><i>how hard could 8 miles be???</i></b><br />
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During the week or so before the race, we got an email solicitation about practice swims they were holding where you could swim all or part of the race course. <b>INTERESTING!</b> Last year, the swim portion of the triathlon was canceled. I know it would have been rare to have the swim canceled two years in a row, but this was a bucket list item and doing the practice swim would give me 2 chances to complete it. I opened the link and they wanted <span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>over $200</u></b></span> for the luxury of torturing yourself! I hesitated. That's a lot of money and I was somewhat worried that I may be too traumatized from the practice swim for the race the next day. <br />
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But then... the stars aligned once again. The Washington Capitals made the Stanley Cup playoffs. I received a text from Jon during game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals that they had released the schedule and we'd have home games on Saturday (the day before the race) and Monday (the day I was flying home....due into Dulles at 8:30pm). Yikes! There was no way I was going to miss my first chance at going to a Stanley Cup playoff game. I knew I couldn't go on Saturday but I quickly jumped online and changed my Monday flight to arrive in DC earlier. <b><i>Do you know how much money people will spend on a Stanley Cup playoff ticket?</i></b> Let's suffice it to say that the sale of the Saturday night ticket not only covered my flight change fee, but it also covered the ridiculous price of the practice swim (with money to spare!). So I signed up.<br />
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I met Dani in the San Francisco airport around noon on Friday. We checked into the hotel, ate lunch and then made our way to board the boat for our Alcatraz tour. This would be my first of 3 trips to Alcatraz Island.....with only one of those being a round trip. We spent the afternoon walking around Alcatraz and by the time we got back were too tired to think about doing a quick run (me) or swim (Dani), so settled for eating dinner and heading to bed early.<br />
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I woke up early on Saturday and headed down for the practice swim. The email update suggested arriving in your wetsuit, so I put mine on in the hotel room and then grabbed an uber. People were definitely staring at me walking around in a wetsuit as if it were normal clothing, and it turns out that most people put their wetsuits on right there at the dock. Oh well, glad my [brand new] wetsuit is pretty comfortable <i>(and that's only semi-sarcasm)</i>. The boat we took for the practice swim was much smaller than the ferry we'd be taking for the race. It only fit about 25 people and it was a pretty bumpy ride. Nervous! <br />
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When we got to Alcatraz, we practiced jumping off the way we would on Sunday, and when you get to the edge, there was no time to think about it, you just had to jump! And then there was no time to think about the shock of the coldness of the water because somebody else was about to jump on top of you. I swam away from the boat, happy that I'd decided to put on the neoprene sleeves and neoprene booties. My hands were <u><span style="font-size: large;">freezing</span></u> though. The coaches did a little in-water briefing and most of us treaded water with our hands out to keep them from going numb. Then we were off.... <b>it wasn't so bad!</b> I did start to acclimate to the water temperature as I started swimming. We were to sight the towers at aquatic park, and then the piers, and then this white dome thing, and finally the red-roofed building. A coach kayaked up to me and told me that I'd been sighting the towers for too long and it was time to switch to the piers. I glanced at my watch and it had only been 7 minutes - that was fast! Less than a minute later my watch buzzed indicating I'd gone 500 yards. Really? In 8 minutes? It must be broken.<br />
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I kept on swimming and swimming trying to spot the piers and then the dome. I was alone except for some kayakers but tried to follow a group in front of me. Finally another kayaker told me that I was too close to the rocky shoreline - should have stayed about a football field away - and I'd have to swim back out to get around the yellow buoy and head to shore. I reached the beach and realized I was so happy to have done the practice swim. And my garmin wasn't broken - just under 39 min total for the 1.5 miles. That's a fast swim; compare it to my 47 mins for a 1.2 mile swim! Now, no matter what happens on race day, I can say that I have completed the swim from Alcatraz! <br />
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I headed back to the hotel to meet up with Dani who had done her own swim at aquatic park. We set up my travel fan in front of our wetsuits, hoping they would dry in the next 24 hours, ate breakfast and set out for the expo and to pick up Dani's bike. We did the 45 min walk to pick up her bike, grabbed a few necessities from the sports store and then got to the expo where we spent a lot of time checking in, collecting our race goodies and buying a couple extras. We met up with Paula and Tommy, and Lucy, the cyclist of my relay. <br />
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Exhausted from the full day in the sun, Dani and I returned to the hotel where we met up with Lucy for dinner and to watch game 3 of the Caps playoffs. Thankfully the 8pm EST start time meant a later afternoon time on the west coast. After the game, we headed to bed knowing we had another early wake up call in the morning.... race day!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-65404747845072802562018-06-12T08:14:00.000-07:002018-06-12T08:14:19.712-07:00St. Mary's Sprint TriathlonFirst triathlon in almost 3 years! Since Ironman! Not sure how the time went by so fast. <br />
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My "A" race for this year is Ironman Maine 70.3, so I signed up for this Olympic triathlon and Williamsburg Olympic in July. As we got closer to the date and I realized I have not been on my bike even ONE TIME in months, I made the wise decision to switch my race to the sprint. It was literally the best decision I've made in a long time.<br />
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My original plan was to drop the dogs at daycare on Saturday around 5pm and make my way down to Cindy's house for dinner and to spend the night since she lives much closer to the race. It had been raining consistently for an entire week though, and the dogs had been cooped up in the house for too long. I ended up taking them to daycare Friday morning and would let them stay until Sunday. This meant that I could leave earlier on Saturday and make the team's scheduled practice swim. It rained for the entire drive down to Southern Maryland but Coach Ed assured us the swim would go as scheduled. Well, he didn't show up, but there were several other teammates who didn't get that message either and we decided to swim anyway. There are definitely easier things in life than putting on a wetsuit in the pouring rain! This was a brand new wetsuit though and I absolutely wanted to get in once before the race. I only got in about 500 yards, but that was ok - loving the new wetsuit!<br />
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I got to Cindy's and took a quick shower before we headed out to dinner, watched a movie and then early bedtime. The worst thing about racing is the early alarm clocks, and before I knew it I was packing up my stuff and on the road back to the race site. I parked, checked-in, set up my transition and hung out at the Team Z tents. The sprint race started about 30 min after the Olympic distance, so we had a few extra minutes to get ready before making the 1/4 mile trek down the hill to the swim start. By the time we got there, the race had already started and the energy was strong. <br />
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My only hesitation in switching from the Olympic distance to the sprint distance was that I wouldn't get in as much swimming - 750m vs 1500m - and I wanted the swim practice for Alcatraz. Alas, the swim course turned out to be long and I got in 1000 yards. Perfect. I was at a 2:20/100yd pace which is a little slower than I was last year, but then again I was swimming a lot more last year preparing for the Chesapeake Bay swim. Then it was back up the 1/4 mile hill into transition to get Xena for her first road ride since...... June 2016...... not kidding.<br />
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The bike was pretty much as expected for not having been on a bike in so long. So very glad that I switched to the sprint distance. There were a few times I had to drop to my lowest gear and felt like I was going up the side of the mountain, but the elevation chart from my garmin would disagree. This was a pretty flat ride. Definitely need to start up the bike training (but probably not until after Alcatraz). I sure was happy when we made the final turn back into transition!<br />
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Off on the run. It had rained the entire week non-stop, yet now, as I am starting on the run, the clouds parted and it was scorching! What are the odds?! I walked a bit but then started throwing in more run intervals. I ran a lot more than I thought I would and am quite pleased. It was really hot with only about half mile in the shade. I feel that I finished strong and was happy.<br />
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I collected my stuff and started the hour and a half drive back home. In the car I made some last minute plans with Joann and Sweeney to hit a winery to celebrate. I realized than when I removed the stress of cut-off times, my ability to make the distance, etc, etc, I actually had fun racing! I do love pushing myself to the bigger goals, but I think maybe after this year I may take some time and concentrate on smaller goals and improving my times.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-38926458251815973792017-11-29T06:18:00.000-08:002017-11-29T06:18:03.807-08:00Tour de Mount VernonA couple summers ago, I met Dani through Team Z and we did a lot of training together. Then, I kinda took a break from training and she left the team, though we got together last year for the Luray Swim. We got in touch earlier this year and realized we have a lot in common and decided to get together..... and why not for a bike ride?! Uhh.. except it's been since June 2016 that I was last outside on my bike. And before that, Ironman. But you never forget how to ride a bike, right??<br />
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I had a grand plan of getting my bike dusted off and taking it for a spin to get my sit bones reacquainted with the bike seat before our 35 mile ride. The weather was unseasonably warm and it would have been perfect riding weather. Except... I didn't. I found myself the day before the bike ride thinking, meh, I'll be ok.. I know exactly where my bike is, no problem, I'm set. Oh but wait... I also need to find my bike shoes! And helmet! And sunglasses! And bike pump! And bike shorts!
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I arrived at the bike start promptly at 7:30 (ugh... early weekend wakeup times) and took my bike (road bike, not Xena since this is a road event and tri bikes are not always allowed) to the on-site mechanic. I only really asked him to check out my brakes but when I mentioned I hadn't been on that bike since 2014 he told me to give him a minute... ha! I wandered back to my car and got the rest of my stuff prepped and met up with Dani. Luckily there was nothing wrong with the bike, and after a little air in the tires and oil on the chains, it was ready to go! But it was cold!
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All bundled up, we started out on the scenic (mostly) ride through Mount Vernon. Dani and I actually started out with the fast group! And kept up! Doesn't matter that it was a recreational ride with plenty of non-cyclists, we were front of the pack! Might be the only time we can ever say that... It wasn't flat, and I was happy to have the granny gear of my road bike to help with the hills. For the first half of the ride I was fine, but slow, on the elevation gains, but then we got into Pohick Regional Park and had a mile of downhill to the Occoquan River. I knew I was gonna be in trouble on the way back out, and sure enough, I stopped about halfway up. I never walked, but I did stop. I am attributing the stop to my lack of cycling and hope to get back to where I was during Ironman training... never loving hills, but getting better.<br />
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It was a really nice ride, and our only complaint was that every 7-10 miles, the ride organizers forced everyone to stop and wait for everybody else in the group. I understood why, because they needed to control the road closures, and this was not a race. But it was so cold! Standing around and waiting made it even more frigid. I won't say I was miserable, and the ride was really pretty with all the leaves still changing colors, but I was cold and getting hungry. There were a few more hills on the back half, and I dropped my chain twice, which I had forgotten was an issue with that bike. The last few miles seemed to go on forever, mostly because we circled around the start/finish spot and I thought we were done at least 3 times before we actually pulled into the lot. Time for food!
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We went to Dani's house for a shower and then hit the Clarendon Halloween bar crawl. We spent a couple hours hanging out, chatting with strangers and checking out the various costumes. I am pretty sure we were among the oldest people in the bars. After dinner it was back to Dani's for another wardrobe change and off to the Kennedy Center!<br />
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It was already a long day, but I was excited to see Book of Mormon. We realized we had been standing for 90% of our day and were looking forward to sitting down. What we didn't realize was how painful it would be sitting in those tiny seats for 3 hours...ouch! The sit bones were feeling it, and the muscles were tightening up. It was a good show, but by the end we were exhausted. Back to Dani's to collect my bike and dirty clothes, and then a drive home in the pouring rain. I was glad I finally have a garage to park in, and I have never been so happy to crawl into bed. Full day of activity!<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-26073926333849845042017-11-03T07:42:00.001-07:002017-11-03T07:42:16.622-07:00Gansett Half MarathonI swear, this sounded like a good idea when we all signed up! Heidi W needed to find a race in Rhode Island (on her way to all 50 states). It had been awhile since I'd been to visit Heidi T and she agreed to the fall race also. It was mid-summer when we registered but planned on a nice crisp fall day come late November in New England. Wrong. I joined Heidi W for a few long runs, but ran into some achilles pain in one of our last training sessions and we ended up taking uber back to our cars (part b/c of my achilles... part b/c we mis-judged the circumference of the lake...would have been over 20 miles!). This meant my last meaningful run was a full month before the race. Then I made the rookie mistake of taking brand new running shoes out of the box and putting them in my weekend bag without even trying them on. Bad idea.
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The weekend started out well enough. I had an uneventful flight into Providence and hung out with Heidi T for a low key afternoon and evening. Heidi W arrived Saturday and we did the trip to packet pick-up, ate the most amazing pretzels in Westerly (yep, if the afternoon snack makes it into my blog, you know it's good!) and got ourselves ready for the event. A 10am start meant no early alarm clocks - yay!<br />
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Race morning, we lined up at the back of the pack and were literally the last people to cross the start line. It was a position I would be well familiar with for the entire race, less a couple minutes here and there. Heidi T went ahead to semi-join her pace group and Heidi W decided to run the first mile with me. I jogged most of that first mile until the right turn which I knew was a pretty big hill based on our driving course preview the day before. I have a pretty fast walk though and stayed with Heidi. <br />
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We noticed the sweeper cyclist right behind us - like literally right on our heels - and Heidi asked him if he intended to stay that way the entire course. "Yes, unless somebody else falls behind you" - Ugh.<br />
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When we made it to the top of the hill, which was a little longer than I had thought it would be, Heidi decided to pick up her pace a bit. That left me all alone with the cyclist who was still maintaining less than a car length of space between us. He was also announcing, rather loudly, to each volunteer that I passed, "this is the <strong><em>last</em></strong> runner, you can <strong><em>finally</em></strong> go home..." -- umm, I can hear you!! There were a handful of people I could see in front of me and my goal was to keep pace with them and not fall too far behind. I spotted Heidi T on the first out-and-back portion and she seemed to be running at a pretty good pace. I kept trucking along, jogging and walking, not in any particular interval set. We were on the shaded part of the course and I was trying to enjoy it....for a late October day in Rhode Island, it was pretty hot!
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I was getting a little [more] irritated with the cyclist right on my ass, so when we got to the downhill section, I let gravity take over and picked up my speed. I passed about 3 people and was feeling pretty happy to have finally lost my escort. We made the turn onto Ocean Drive and I knew I had to try to keep up a slightly faster pace because these people were not too far behind me and could easily catch up and pass me again. Normally I don't care about my position in a race, but that cyclist was so annoying! Of course, about a mile later I heard the familiar sound of tires on gravel right behind me... "You really picked up some speed and passed a bunch of people......but they all dropped out so now I'm with you again". ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Hard to see but the cyclist is in this photo! He's so close to me it looks like I'm the one wearing a bike helmet!</em></td></tr>
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The cyclist also mentioned that I was doing OK with my pace and was likely ahead of the cut-off limit. Uhh... the cut-off limit??? I had scoured the website before signing up (like I always do) and never found anything indicating a time limit. I was at a 14:30(ish)/mile pace and wasn't super concerned, but I was less than halfway and the fact that he mentioned a limit made me nervous. He told me that his direction was that anybody not at mile 10 at 2:45:00 would not make it.... oh.... ok..... no problem. Why did he even bring it up? I was WAY ahead of that limit. What's weird was that he <strong><em>kept</em></strong> mentioning it, which made me glance at my watch a lot more than I'm used to. At one point, a volunteer started jogging with me telling me she was going to help get me through the upcoming intersection. It seemed super nice, but the sense of hurriedness that everyone imparted on me was concerning.<br />
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I made it to the turn-around and saw Heidi W. I was last by a decent margin so I didn't feel bad taking extra water at all the water stops. Heading into the halfway point, I realized I had not taken in any salt or nutrition.. D'oh! Stupid, stupid, especially considering how warm it was. I grabbed the gel out of my race belt and chugged it, but it was probably too little too late. My hands were really swollen already with about 6 miles left to go...and it was getting hotter. There was plenty water on hand at all the water stops, but I do wish there had been some Gatorade or other non-water option. I heard later that there had been something, but they must have run out by the time I made my way through.
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My calves started cramping up pretty bad whenever I was jogging, and my left achilles was really bothering me, so by mile 8 I decided to [speed] walk the rest of the way. One volunteer actually told my cycling escort that he didn't need to stay with me, that there were a bunch of people walking just ahead of me and it was fine for him to go see how they were doing also. So he went ahead, chatted with the person about 50 yards in front of me for a min... and then came right back to me! Seriously. I actually worked my way past another woman, but wouldn't you know...she ended up dropping out also. The cyclist kept telling me to try to catch the man up ahead so at least I wouldn't be the last person, except my position among other people couldn't have been further than anything I cared about.
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At mile 10, I took out my phone and my hands were so swollen that I could barely operate it to send Heidi T my pace, so she'd have an idea of when to expect me to finish. I remembered I had my salt tube, and shortly after a volunteer came driving by offering us BOP'ers a full bottle of water which I used to wash it down. The mile markers actually seemed to come and go pretty fast, and it probably helped that the race had half mile markers for ever mile. I really thought it would be more windy along the coast, but the sun was burning down on the back of my neck and I wanted to be done. I finally gave in and started up a conversation with my cycling buddy. My pace slowed down considerably, but I did enjoy the company to get me through that final part. Turns out he is a swimmer and thinking about doing the Save the Bay swim next summer. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkx1t7sBzlzU1rXP5mz_S8p7ZApiIUC4Dq5sCL7dl_5cmg0lNY9aLwxcfLli4ihLUOoY4Bm9tXLbl7lXrWUi83l5SFO7YEzsmx2eMUso3anqEbvNpGlv0ibwkc6wXQWOyiwDL2jonU-uk/s1600/DSC_1834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkx1t7sBzlzU1rXP5mz_S8p7ZApiIUC4Dq5sCL7dl_5cmg0lNY9aLwxcfLli4ihLUOoY4Bm9tXLbl7lXrWUi83l5SFO7YEzsmx2eMUso3anqEbvNpGlv0ibwkc6wXQWOyiwDL2jonU-uk/s400/DSC_1834.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>So happy to be finishing... and there's Heidi W in the green shirt, proof that she was actually there!</em></td></tr>
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Finally I was at the seawall which indicated the final mile of the course. There were a bunch of cars parked and I wasn't sure if I should hop on the sidewalk or stay in the road...but there were a lot of pedestrians on the sidewalk and the racer <em>(I use that term loosely)</em> in front of me - who had his own volunteer escort - stayed in the road, so I did too, even though there were a bunch of cars passing us. I was hot and swollen and very uncomfortable. Heidi T popped out from behind the parked cars and kept me company for the final part. There were actually a bunch of people at the finish line cheering which was quite impressive, especially for a smaller race. I'm used to desolate finish lines... it was nice. And I was done! Yay!
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>This is Heidi T's medal and her photo that I stole cause I think it looks really cool</em></td></tr>
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The Heidi's and I made our way over to a bench so I could rest for a minute. Both big toes were extremely bruised thanks to my poor shoe decision. Sitting was probably a bad idea though... when we stood up, the hot spots on my feet made for very painful steps. Heidi T offered to go get the car, and Heidi W gladly volunteered to wait with me. A shower, lunch and lounging around were on the agenda for the rest of the day. It was an early bedtime, and Heidi W and I had an early flight (4:15AM alarm!) home...straight to work and back to reality. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-31611198132273243842017-06-13T11:16:00.000-07:002017-06-14T09:54:37.220-07:00Great Chesapeake Bay Swim<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Holy long swim! I knew from all the training and those long hours of mind-numbing back and forth in the pool that it was going to take a while but... <span style="font-size: large;"><strong>geez!</strong></span><br />
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I spent the night before the swim at Andrea's house and we discussed strategy. Mentally, I had to break up the swim for myself. First, get from Sandy Point beach and into the bridge span. Then to the first mile marker at the end of the curve. Andrea's brother told us that mile 1 to 2 was going to be the worst - something to with the currents and the depth of the water and .... to be honest all I really retained from that conversation was that it was going to be a brutal mile. So the second step was to get through that. Then it was just an Ironman swim left. Next section would be to get to the end of the bridge, and finally turn out from under the spans and make my way to the finish at Hemingway's.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Spoiler alert - I finished! Here's the breakdown of the swim... red line is my path.</em></td></tr>
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I was eager to know the water conditions that day, and was happy that it seemed calm (meaning, no whitecaps) as we drove over the bridge to the parking lot. Later at the pre-swim meeting, the race director indicated that conditions were as close to ideal as we could get. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Not that it was going to be easy by any means. There would be a current pushing us to our left, which we'd have to swim against to get under the bridge. Then at some point, the current would shift to the right, which hopefully would give us a push out of the bridge and into the finish.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Nervous! Arrived at the park & ride, about to catch the shuttle to Sandy Point</em></td></tr>
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The swim course was defined as staying between the bridge spans. If you went outside of that area, you were subject to disqualification. You would also be disqualified for hanging onto one of the pylons, mostly because there were too many jagged rocks around those and it was a safety issue. There were to be 2 support boats located at mile 2 and mile 3. You could hang on to those boats, or any kayak or paddleboard, provided the boat was not pulling you along.</div>
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So there we were on the beach of Sandy Point, all checked in, body marked and timing chip secured. Bags were checked, race number tucked under the swim cap, goggles and index card in hand (yet another safety measure because the race directors had to report everyone entering and exiting the water to the coast guard). I spent some time with Andrea and her crew, said hello to Susan, Tom and John from swim camp, and then settled in with my Team Z-mates for the briefing. I took my salt tabs and ginger pills, had my wetsuit zipped up and was ready to go [and get this thing over with]!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5UJOMMEoCGGYYy2_hFwq-qmfTvqkv_W4VK4fAYrWs4uiEkaerZuVcZWc5SEbwjN1X1BaDCMIF9G-Y_5KHOzCmGzjRgNfNx6NgwkQ0u1UMHORQno5U5SqueO3DtNTglmPb0RTp3Y26ZY/s1600/IMG_1569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5UJOMMEoCGGYYy2_hFwq-qmfTvqkv_W4VK4fAYrWs4uiEkaerZuVcZWc5SEbwjN1X1BaDCMIF9G-Y_5KHOzCmGzjRgNfNx6NgwkQ0u1UMHORQno5U5SqueO3DtNTglmPb0RTp3Y26ZY/s320/IMG_1569.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This was not an in-water start, which meant everyone lined up on the beach and took off when the gun went off. I had no idea where to line myself up. We had to swim out beyond a jetty and then make a right to enter the bridge. Starting too close to the jetty might make it harder to get out there, but starting too far on the other end would mean a slightly further swim, and more against the current. So... I randomly picked a spot. Good choice? Who knows... There was definite nervous energy as I waited for the signal to go.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8CNAhUJnZPasBpLtIFWaUMCH_TOcOZ0VDU0f6SrEswwr9a2s-ZrFrUxKQoZqhRTfI7hbt4m5W5PYd8RT7bcHi2eJZwPNw9Y5OP8F-wA_ERrs-h8hBdw4vTZjx2-bN6iDkE4jTaLZnPqM/s1600/IMG_1572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8CNAhUJnZPasBpLtIFWaUMCH_TOcOZ0VDU0f6SrEswwr9a2s-ZrFrUxKQoZqhRTfI7hbt4m5W5PYd8RT7bcHi2eJZwPNw9Y5OP8F-wA_ERrs-h8hBdw4vTZjx2-bN6iDkE4jTaLZnPqM/s320/IMG_1572.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>This is actually a photo Daz took from later in the swim, once I left the bridge spans!</em></td></tr>
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Finally, we were off. I had my ear plugs in, so I couldn't really hear anything but all of a sudden everyone started racing into the water. I hesitated so I didn't get kicked and swum over too much. This was it, the thing I'd been training for since January was finally happening. I'm not sure if I found a rhythm or not, but I made my way out past the jetty, fighting the current to the bridge. It wasn't super horrible and that part took less time than I thought. OK, time to just settle in, there was a lot of swimming ahead of me. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ijPmMzPx2nCb3hX7ss-r0GjWb2hEjNe3Z-o2yZuPYWW-xo0dBpTm_5qrQjtjKpX_4YO-Gn5uJk2sQ-KVEaTxEU0kF6NtisyMT42wxzUCXOlHWaoJQQjs0dLeyTXHRtHyo4QlFI6D30g/s1600/bayswim1-4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="696" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ijPmMzPx2nCb3hX7ss-r0GjWb2hEjNe3Z-o2yZuPYWW-xo0dBpTm_5qrQjtjKpX_4YO-Gn5uJk2sQ-KVEaTxEU0kF6NtisyMT42wxzUCXOlHWaoJQQjs0dLeyTXHRtHyo4QlFI6D30g/s320/bayswim1-4.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>It was a fight to stay between the bridge spans around my 2nd interval marker (1000yd per interval)</em></td></tr>
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Once between the bridge spans, I didn't really notice the current to much, but boy was it pushing me to the left side. I really had to fight to stay inside the zone. Like.. <b><i>really</i></b> fight. It was way too early to even consider giving up, but man this was hard. I wanted to get closer to the middle, but couldn't. </div>
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The first mile marker came and I was already struggling going into what had been defined to me as the hardest mile. I was really concerned I was not going to be able to hang on before drifting outside of the west-bound bridge span and pulled from the swim. </div>
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I looked up and saw the first support boat, a lot earlier than I'd expected to see it. Of course it was docked closer to the east-bound span. I thought about trying to get over there for something to drink, but there was no way I was going to get that far up the current. I'd settle for the next boat.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGn7wUlP4yT-MXVTIJ5ctxc5LnOIwrpUGM0l4O6DEu-wzU8JjGCDysJKYFpV9xUP74l7Wc5IrSFNv_2F4nBOom9RjGWJ3yX575RSrRvaISrUk5uoXarSBDNruEGNjBtjRt5g9M8nkOr0/s1600/swimintervals.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="1235" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGn7wUlP4yT-MXVTIJ5ctxc5LnOIwrpUGM0l4O6DEu-wzU8JjGCDysJKYFpV9xUP74l7Wc5IrSFNv_2F4nBOom9RjGWJ3yX575RSrRvaISrUk5uoXarSBDNruEGNjBtjRt5g9M8nkOr0/s320/swimintervals.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>That first interval was smooth sailing... then struggle to stay in the bridges...<br />7th interval I was really tired... and then a "dash" to the finish!</em></td></tr>
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Finally, as I approached the second mile marker the current seemed to relax a bit. I was now more firmly in the center of the bridges, which eased my mind tremendously. Now I could just swim. And swim. And swim. I looked up a couple times but still couldn't see the other side of the bay. I could tell I was under the highest part of the bridge so it had to be halfway.... right? I had my watch set to go off every 1000 yard interval, and knew that the swim was going to be about 7700 yards total. It had only gone off 3 times, but the third time was a few minutes ago so I was probably at least at 3500? I was getting a little tired of swimming now.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcatJfLBtb_-gpbK3xH6boi7kglQ7CUO6TmBnEszihtC6G9W11694A_7QK0TI8y8qxzhrXrTANn6y326rvakxcqBWh-xJcr5_dRyqNm4-Sqm0ExJORABhanQeIhqF9kyQUMwAbHkYVns/s1600/IMG_1580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcatJfLBtb_-gpbK3xH6boi7kglQ7CUO6TmBnEszihtC6G9W11694A_7QK0TI8y8qxzhrXrTANn6y326rvakxcqBWh-xJcr5_dRyqNm4-Sqm0ExJORABhanQeIhqF9kyQUMwAbHkYVns/s320/IMG_1580.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>I took this shot after I finished but those are the trusses on the left which I *thought* were close to the end!</em></td></tr>
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I noticed some trusses on the bridge up ahead and figured I just had to get there. That was going to be my next landmark. They didn't seem to be getting any closer. Then I started counting the pylons, except that got boring fast. I was getting seriously annoyed with how far away those trusses still were. I must have missed the third mile marker and the second support boat because I knew from my watch beeping that I was in my fourth mile.
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsBmPPAnsSFUGjGZDhJBL8XC89CKvAiczr4J-T7yPUmV_PsGHDiUpbNvIMONB8tvBpOHAzQ7cheHoBcW9bGerKmaZmghXbxz6OlCxDhk-zscuth_TqKAw-0qnc_dJtAnTLxUW25aAuOk/s1600/bayswim4-8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="782" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsBmPPAnsSFUGjGZDhJBL8XC89CKvAiczr4J-T7yPUmV_PsGHDiUpbNvIMONB8tvBpOHAzQ7cheHoBcW9bGerKmaZmghXbxz6OlCxDhk-zscuth_TqKAw-0qnc_dJtAnTLxUW25aAuOk/s320/bayswim4-8.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>The map kind of makes it look like I went all the way under the bridge, but that's an exaggeration.</em><br />
<em>I was barely under the bridge, not even all the way on the other side of the single pillar.</em></td></tr>
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At some point the current must have picked up in the other direction because now I found myself drifting to the right. I'd finally made it to those trusses and decided to breathe to my left for a bit to change up the muscles I'd been using. All of a sudden the water got dark and I immediately realized I must have drifted into the shadow of the east-bound bridge span. Yikes! I swam furiously back into the middle and hoped it wasn't enough to get me pulled. Luckily there were no kayaks around me and nobody said anything. At this point I didn't even care if I was disqualified as long as I got to finish the swim and be able to say I swam across that damn bay.
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1CmBSRuEuFOXgBWU7ahBY1KBcP52ICVBSSVOy8VCXNhCl8GA_p5K_olRlQ9oGliIjAxUxafx8U4U0aJbtGcwdp7W0kazV-831hwGkm6J3S9alw_O16u8Yxf1jatYUeWa0z2vRR6vrIg/s1600/IMG_1566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1CmBSRuEuFOXgBWU7ahBY1KBcP52ICVBSSVOy8VCXNhCl8GA_p5K_olRlQ9oGliIjAxUxafx8U4U0aJbtGcwdp7W0kazV-831hwGkm6J3S9alw_O16u8Yxf1jatYUeWa0z2vRR6vrIg/s320/IMG_1566.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Daz didn't know it at the time but I am somewhere in this shot<br />b/c I popped up around that yellow buoy only a min or so later!</em></td></tr>
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As I got to the end of those trusses I'd been following, I looked up and was so happy I could see the orange buoy! That must be the end where we get to turn out from under the bridge! It was still pretty far away but it made me happy to be able to see it. My fingers were starting to hurt, my shoulders hurt, my arms hurt, my back was killing me. I did a few stretches swimming in the fetal position to try to ease the pressure on my back. Come on orange buoy!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoCEvUbRNiLXnoSCtyniDbGKHz_Vp5XahdEyRglJk0-dj7DH9u2zoKjPl9ZismEVZHFbvsVVXuu5UxzWnhGQPLrRwO8ACvr6q4002tKU1MEE5EV5_1SE8JoJzuyQEhC8OOy5UjtLi-k0/s1600/bayswim6-8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="786" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoCEvUbRNiLXnoSCtyniDbGKHz_Vp5XahdEyRglJk0-dj7DH9u2zoKjPl9ZismEVZHFbvsVVXuu5UxzWnhGQPLrRwO8ACvr6q4002tKU1MEE5EV5_1SE8JoJzuyQEhC8OOy5UjtLi-k0/s320/bayswim6-8.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>That was a LONG way from bridge exit to finish line!!</em><br />
<em>4.4 miles = 7744 yards, so the fact that I have an 8th interval marker means I swam extra!</em></td></tr>
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Except, when I finally came up to that buoy, I realized it was only the fourth mile marker. <span style="font-size: large;">D'oh! </span>I glanced up again and noticed 2 yellow buoys in the distance and <strong>THOSE</strong> were the signal to exit the bridge. <span style="font-size: large;">Damnit</span>. Keep swimming. I was so tired, but at this point there was no way I was giving up. As much as it sucked, I knew I was physically capable of doing this. I never wanted to have to do all that training again, and I definitely don't want to have to do this event again. One and done, but that meant I had to actually get it done. Luckily, despite my one scare, it wasn't as hard to stay within the bridge spans as earlier when I was getting pushed to the left. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeVUNEvHOD4PrLGJb6KAjOcksIVrcZyMsArnUcz72Z29tXm_K48oQ_PrsBeL8OEI7mvkyie_PhBQW2lObVOp02DmDrt9wy1c87t4BmbVxQDSaltjfDkqS-PuCqxt7M3jW1VgaGeiHEuk/s1600/swimalmostdone.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeVUNEvHOD4PrLGJb6KAjOcksIVrcZyMsArnUcz72Z29tXm_K48oQ_PrsBeL8OEI7mvkyie_PhBQW2lObVOp02DmDrt9wy1c87t4BmbVxQDSaltjfDkqS-PuCqxt7M3jW1VgaGeiHEuk/s320/swimalmostdone.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>This was the final buoy, outside of the bridge, guiding us to the finish.</em></td></tr>
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Made it to the yellow buoys, I was almost done! The only thing left was to exit the bay and swim to the finish line. The night before, Andrea was telling me that it was shallow enough there that you could stand and walk. I knew I can swim faster than I can walk in water and dismissed the idea. Yet, as I rounded that corner and saw just how far away the marina was, I stood up in disbelief. You've <span style="font-size: large;"><strong>got</strong> </span>to be kidding me! I have to swim <strong>THAT MUCH FURTHER?!</strong> I was so mad. Daz was out on the rocks taking pictures and even noted to Joann on the phone that I looked cranky. </div>
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I swam some. I walked some. I did some dolphin dives. I stayed as close to the rocks as possible for the shortest possible route to that finish line. The end was in sight and yet it was taking forever to get there. In actuality, it took me about 10 minutes. </div>
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I did one last dolphin dive and started swimming to the end. Finally, <strong>finally</strong>, <strong><span style="font-size: large;">finally</span></strong>, I was close enough to stand up and walk out to the timing mats. </div>
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I DID IT!! I walked up the short hill to find Joann and Paula cheering. I paused for a picture and actually got confused where to go. A nice volunteer pointed me in the finisher chute where I saw my mom, friends and teammates. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>My stomach was going nuts so I grabbed sprite and Gatorade, not sure which would help more?</em></td></tr>
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The chute seemed to go on forever... grab a drink which I was in desperate need of... get your t-shirt... eventually Joann forced her way in the end of the chute to help me take off my wetsuit. Her, Paula and Daz helped me collect my stuff and pick up my bag drop. <br />
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I got hosed down a couple times and we walked over to the restaurant where Sarah, Dave and Jon were saving a table. It felt so good to sit down!</div>
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We spent the better part of the afternoon hanging out at Hemingway's, hesitant to sit in the traffic that was building up going back west across the bridge.</div>
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Bucket list item accomplished. I will never drive over that bridge and not remember that swim. I will also never sign up for that event again. So glad I did it, but it really sucked. I hated swimming that long.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1MBRBKMqOzA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1MBRBKMqOzA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">(skip to 17:30 in the video. I stand up in the water when the clock timer reads 3:08.20)</span></em></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-55548054592066649122017-06-06T04:49:00.001-07:002017-06-06T04:49:45.356-07:00Washington’s Crossing [and one week till the bay!]I'll be honest. I'm a little sick of swimming. I woke up Sunday morning and wasn't really super excited about the idea of getting the wetsuit on again, and swimming... AT ALL. Also, I'd done this event before - the <a href="http://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2015/06/washingtons-crossing.html" target="_blank">2015 Washington Crossing</a> - and didn't really have a great swim, so I wasn't too optimistic about it. I was, however, excited about having brunch with Paula and Andrea, so I gathered my stuff together, made some iced tea, and drove to national harbor.<br />
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I got down to the dock, found Andrea and Keith and checked in. I brought salt tabs that I wanted to try out after the cramping last week at the <a href="http://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2017/05/jim-mcdonnell-1-2-mile-lake-swims.html" target="_blank">Reston swims</a>, and took those along with my ginger pills. I had no trouble pulling my wetsuit on today, and remembered to liberally apply the tri-slide around my neck. I was ready to get this thing over with!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0q_T3yJBRW4c4YPWc1dBTN4cx11RAtkVN_hq2Cajv2LHCPWpeA9z3nVlD7GCtxACNNdBTkYMB0y1ct_P8Bt182xfg-5KKCpqhQyTWW1gOe3kINbklPKnDPLMX_QeKF-b06iTDDudlLYo/s1600/IMG_1526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0q_T3yJBRW4c4YPWc1dBTN4cx11RAtkVN_hq2Cajv2LHCPWpeA9z3nVlD7GCtxACNNdBTkYMB0y1ct_P8Bt182xfg-5KKCpqhQyTWW1gOe3kINbklPKnDPLMX_QeKF-b06iTDDudlLYo/s320/IMG_1526.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Jenny, Paula, me, Tommy, Andrea, Keith</em></td></tr>
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We met up with a few other people and all got ourselves ready and talked strategy for how to execute this point-to-point swim. Keith is Andrea's swim coach, so we listened for some good tips both for this swim and next week at the bay. I'm still not sure if or how I will carry extra salt tabs and/or gels... something to think about over the next few days.<br />
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After the safety briefing we all boarded that boat in the right-hand side of that photo, to be taken to the Virginia side of the river. The website advertised this swim as 1.3 miles, and then the pre-race email that was sent out said it was 1.4 miles. As I normally swim quite a bit off course, I wondered how far I would actually swim today? </div>
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I haven't really found a pair of goggles that I love. I have been using the same brand and model for years, but lately they haven't been fitting on my face as well. You can see me about to jump off the boat, adjusting them and hoping they would do the trick - these are the ones I've selected for the bay swim also. The water temperature was right at 70 degrees but felt fine as I jumped in and started swimming over to the start area.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGLQo7garXxcehyphenhyphencjp5Np-FS7D_cVnlTNjzvioGHJ1d6yatO5-KDptoEzKklRdp6-4Nw4lS1gOTzFY6xYV0WQ8duf4c71qLgWihBq14O6zCK0s6BARn-A3czdZj2v-onsD9QB7TxrUGqA/s1600/IMG_1534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGLQo7garXxcehyphenhyphencjp5Np-FS7D_cVnlTNjzvioGHJ1d6yatO5-KDptoEzKklRdp6-4Nw4lS1gOTzFY6xYV0WQ8duf4c71qLgWihBq14O6zCK0s6BARn-A3czdZj2v-onsD9QB7TxrUGqA/s320/IMG_1534.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
And then we were off! I hit "GO" on my Garmin and joined the masses. The suggestion for this swim was to swim close to the bridge as the currents would be going downstream and naturally carry us where we needed to go. I kind of listened and made a point to breath to my left to keep the bridge in my line of sight. I was a good 50-75 yards to the right though. Not a problem now, but I wondered if that would mean I'd end up too far downstream later.<br />
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After awhile, I was wondering why I hadn't felt my Garmin buzz with the normal 500yd interval that it's set to record. I looked up and while the timer was going, it said I had traveled 0 yards. ZERO. What? Ugh.. so frustrating. I stopped once to adjust my goggles, and was surprised to realize I could stand up in the middle of the Potomac. Only a 2 second stop because...gross standing on the bottom of that river. Still nothing on the Garmin. In fact, it only recorded 122 yards for that entire swim! I hate not having that data!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIY7x2QV6tA1TfoSMC0FbDDq99l0rpdue6MdqOp-EnePgYXR7WppHzg7eBgC7N6A3f89RjLKyno0BiAeIUpywtSzALjE2wd1fqLpGWw3TOQfAuSKdbekujLlsoOmB8Kw43J-_7-_tko8c/s1600/IMG_1516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIY7x2QV6tA1TfoSMC0FbDDq99l0rpdue6MdqOp-EnePgYXR7WppHzg7eBgC7N6A3f89RjLKyno0BiAeIUpywtSzALjE2wd1fqLpGWw3TOQfAuSKdbekujLlsoOmB8Kw43J-_7-_tko8c/s320/IMG_1516.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>That's Paula finishing up... her longest swim ever! Yay!</em></td></tr>
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As it turns out, I never got swept downstream and had a pretty decent path to the exit dock. I was surprised to see only 43 minutes on my Garmin and wondered if maybe the time was messed up also? Alas, Andrea's teammate, Jenny, got out just before me and confirmed the time, and Andrea was right after me and confirmed the time also. Yes, I needed double confirmation. WOW! This was literally half the time that I did this swim last time. And even if I swam exactly point to point without any deviations, it should have been 1.3 miles. This means that I swam under 2 min per 100 yards for the second week in a row. We dried off (no chaffing!) and cheered in the rest of our friends.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3KbLgSYS0jJVMoph_7mQEaLesCKaMsYLZWYkKgOZ1TvcIRgMAVim9nfaNyx7sgRloAiGI793-DBBNuq77HnspHSXCbSK_NuzhQIofml5F7f-b0RWDGK6O86cU2KDBHs_PwULMTb-SO4/s1600/IMG_1524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="1600" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3KbLgSYS0jJVMoph_7mQEaLesCKaMsYLZWYkKgOZ1TvcIRgMAVim9nfaNyx7sgRloAiGI793-DBBNuq77HnspHSXCbSK_NuzhQIofml5F7f-b0RWDGK6O86cU2KDBHs_PwULMTb-SO4/s320/IMG_1524.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Tommy, Paula, me, Andrea, Keith</em></td></tr>
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We all did it! Time for brunch. The results ended up giving me a third confirmation that I did that swim just over 43 minutes (43:38.9), and even using a worst-case (but realistic) distance of 1.25 miles, which is what Andrea's watch recorded, I still swam 1:58/100yd. The good news is that there was some decent chop on the river which is closer to bay conditions than the Reston lake, but I am trying not to get too optimistic that I'll be able to have a repeat performance. Really, just finishing the bay swim will make me happy and I'm hoping conditions aren't too horrible. I guess we'll find out Sunday morning. But, I was still quite pleased with this swim and headed home for a lazy rest of the day on my couch.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-10960674083342873312017-05-30T07:25:00.001-07:002017-05-30T07:25:29.166-07:00Jim McDonnell 1 & 2 Mile Lake SwimsI honestly wasn't excited about waking up super early and doing this swim. I was glad the rain had held off, but still wasn't feeling like swimming back-to-back events, especially with a break between them. I had to park about a half mile down the road, and immediately John from swim camp. We made the trek to the lake entrance together and settled into the long registration line.<br />
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I was already a sweaty mess when I finally got to the Team Z tents after standing in that long registration line and then another line for the port-o-johns. Getting a wetsuit on in those circumstances is HARD WORK. Luckily a few of my teammates and my childhood friend, Allison, were there to offer support and assistance. Once it was on, everyone said it was time to walk over to the start area. I will say that I was pretty frazzled going into that first event, not having a moment to myself since I arrived at the lake. In all the bustle, I had forgotten to put on my tri-slide and sunblock, and was worried about that. I hadn't really had a minute to catch my breath and think about my game plan. <br />
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I suddenly found myself standing in the start line hoping that my timing chip was going to stay on, since I didn't have time to find a safety pin to secure it. Finally after announcements and the national anthem they started moving people into the water. I was in the 10th wave and getting impatient as we slowly made our way up for our turn to walk over the timing mats. The water temperature was 68 degrees which felt fine on the wetsuit but provided a bit of a sting as I dove in with my bare face and arms. I was immediately uncomfortable in the wetsuit and with my goggles but was able to make some quick adjustments as they counted us off. Ready - Set - Go! We were off and I thought to myself, just take it easy, get your head in the game and find your rhythm. I avoided people the best I could and made my way into the first cove and around the buoy. I glanced at my watch when it buzzed for the first 500 yard split and was shocked to see less than 10 minutes - WHAT??<br />
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I didn't to put too much thought into what was probably a fluke for a split, but I also didn't want to slow down. I really tried to focus on the stroke techniques that I learned from swim camp the week before. Remembering to keep my head down and follow through on my stroke underwater kept my mind occupied. And then the next split showed another sub-10 minutes. Holy crap! As I was on the long stretch heading back to the start area I felt somebody swim into me. I looked up and it was Allison! What are the odds?! I think she started to say something to me, but I was so excited about my time, I didn't want to waste a minute. I kept going and not only was I able to keep up that pace, but I somehow got myself negative splits! This is literally faster than I normal swim a mile in a pool. I'll take it! I waited for Allison who I knew was only a minute or so behind me, and the two of us had a laugh about running into each other and walked back over to the Team Z area. Time to sit around and wait for the next event.</div>
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During the break, my body kept cramping up. I went to adjust my wetsuit and my hand froze in a claw position. Everytime I moved my hands, they would cramp up. And I was dizzy, not as bad as I have felt in the past after a hard swim, but definitely dizzy. I didn't have my ear plugs (still in the bag I took to swim camp) and I hadn't taken any ginger pills. I mentally put both of those items on the "do not forget" list for bay swim. My teammate offered me some food, and I took it, and had already had a bunch of water. Not sure what to think of this other than to make sure I have some salt tabs with me for the bay. But this is weird after only a single mile. And I still had 2 miles to go?</div>
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I really had zero desire to swim 2 more laps around that lake, but it was time to start making our way over to the start area again. I did remember to put some body glide on my neck and apply sunblock. what I did not remember was that our swim coach had recommended that we practice nutrition by stuffing a gel packet into our wetsuit. During bay swim we will be on our own for nutrition, and 3+ hours is a long time on the water. I guess that will be a game-day situation. Anyway, there we were back in line for the second event, and I ran into a few others from swim camp - Brian, Tom and Susan, and I think a couple of them will be at the Chesapeake Bay swim also. More familiar faces!</div>
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I still had some cramping, especially in my left hand, but I tried to ignore it as I settled in to the first of two loops for the 2-miler. Allison wasn't doing this event and instead walked along the edge of the lake cheering. I followed her until the turn around the first buoy and even tried to wave once. The next section to the end of the lake felt longer this time and I started feeling the wetsuit on my neck, despite the body glide. Ouch, ouch, ouch, with every stroke. Nothing I could do about that now. </div>
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At the first split, I could tell that I was slowing down, but I was still going faster than my original predictions for this event. For comparison purposes, the practice swim I did in Luray last month was 2:43 /100yd and just over a mile and pretty similar conditions (or dare I say this lake was even a little rougher than the condensed course of the practice swim). I was blowing this pace away today! And I was passing people. A lot of people. It really helped that everyone separated out pretty well and I didn't have to worry about getting kicked or swum over.</div>
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Finishing up that first loop was a good feeling and I just had to go around one more time. One more time swimming into the cove. One more time with the long stretch to the far end of the lake, which I am pretty sure felt longer and longer each time (though the map shows me turning in the same spot each time... huh). One more long straight shot back to the drain, and one final time around the drain and I was on my way to the finish line. I was still passing people. I felt good, though I was a little concerned with how I would feel when I stood up, given how dizzy I felt after the one more event, and I knew my body was already reacting.</div>
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I was so freaking happy to be out of the lake! To my surprise, I didn't have any issues standing out or walking over the timing mats. Allison was there taking pictures, so I met up with her and we walked back over to our area. Time for that wetsuit to come off! The cramping had eased up, though now my arms were shaking, likely a result of muscle overuse. I didn't feel too dizzy either. Phew, though I'm still going to make a point of making provisions for bay swim (ear plugs, ginger pills, salt tabs). I sat around with Allison and Kim for a little bit and we helped take down the Team Z tent. Taper time! Only one more long swim before the bay.</div>
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Time for brunch! These ladies, Daz, Sweeney and his friend, Dave, met us for brunch. Then after a shower at Joann's house, a few of us went to a winery and out to dinner. I was exhausted by the end of the day and was happy to crash in my bed.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-51200398798923299422017-05-23T07:42:00.000-07:002017-05-25T09:07:34.783-07:00swim camp!I'll tell you what. I had to dig deep and put on my big girl panties for this one. My first solo vacation...if you can call a weekend full of activity and swim training a "vacation". I found out about the camp by signing up for a swim event that Paula invited me to do in early June. The organization, Wave One Swimming, had the info on the website when I went to sign up for the Washington Crossing event. I sent an email to a few people to see if there was any other interest, but it didn't really fit into anybody's schedule or plans. Except... I was still intrigued and the timing was right. I sent an email through the contact form on the website, and while I never got any response, I went ahead and signed up! Once I get an idea in my head, I have to act on it, so I did. This is very much out of my comfort zone and I was proud of myself for even getting this far.<br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Thursday</span></u></strong><br />
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I arrived at "the Cottage" around 3pm on Thursday and was the first to check-in. I sat out on the back deck overlooking the ocean until more people arrived. First there was Andi who flew in from NY, and then Jillian, from NC, who had found me on facebook through the event website a few weeks prior. Immediately Andi said she was going to go for a swim. Both Jillian and I seemed to want to swim, but were going to wait for the group that was going later. Instead, we hung around the house and met the others as they started trickling in. Eventually the group migrated over to the hotel bar while we waited on dinner and further instruction.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The schedule posted to the website... I still have no idea what 'Hands Across the Ocean" is??</i></td></tr>
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This schedule, which played into my decision to sign up for the camp, was almost immediately thrown out the window. We had an email from the head coach, Denis, earlier on Thursday saying there was no agenda for day one; no time frame for introductions, no orientation, and no optional swim. I started kicking myself for not swimming earlier with Andi.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Yep..that's $9 glasses of wine in plastic cups.. yikes!</i></td></tr>
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I was extremely disappointed the optional swim was canceled. I mean... I was there to SWIM! That was literally the primary goal. And not for nothing but this was not a cheap weekend, and <em>the price per swim just went up about $27</em>. With no other set activities for the day, Jillian and I headed back to the bar, got in a couple mile walk on the beach and explored some of the local nightlife. When we made it back to the house, we realized we had missed group introductions -- <strong>oops!</strong> But.. nobody had told us what time anything was happening! At this point, I was seriously questioning my decision to sign up and crossing my fingers things would get better.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Friday</u></span></strong><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>That's me to the left of the girl (Jillian) in the pink shirt, across from the brick wall.</i></td></tr>
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Friday morning started with yoga, as promised, though not on the beach because somebody had objected to that (and I later learned that there were a couple folks whose opinions mattered more than others). Yoga was awesome though, probably one of my favorite yoga classes that I've ever taken (granted, there haven't been too many).<br />
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We all changed into our swim stuff and met at the house for some classroom-style swim instruction. I was a little shocked the emphasis seemed to be mostly on how to win races versus acknowledging and working towards individual goals, but there were definitely some very good tips and advice that came out of this discussion. Finally it was time to go to the bay and get in the water!<br />
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The first swim of camp started with a series of open water drills. I know drills are super helpful, and I found meaning in all of them (and I am definitely glad we had them!), but I was starting to get a little antsy to actually <strong>SWIM</strong>. My biggest goal for this camp was to get in as much open water swimming for distance as I could. As we set out on the actual swimming portion of this workout, I was pleased that I was keeping up with the middle of the pack... at least up until somebody swam into me and knocked off my goggles. I fell behind as I had to stop and adjust. Still, we got a swim in, so I was happy. I think I did about 1500 yards this swim really trying to focus on the techniques we practiced in the drills.<br />
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We headed back to the house for lunch and free time. It seemed most people were content to sit around, but Jillian and I decided to go on a beach walk. We got in another 2 miles which made me happy - neither of us are the type that enjoy sitting around doing nothing, so it was good to get out and get in another activity. Swim camp was improving.
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Next up was the first ocean swim. I have done a few ocean swims, most recently the <a href="http://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2014/10/tiki-swim.html" target="_blank">Tiki Swim</a> in San Diego, and did OK, but I am <u>really</u> not a fan. I took the coaches' suggestion to wear fins for this swim, and watched as most of the group took off. I was <em><strong>very</strong></em> hesitant to get in and was grateful there were a few others hanging back also, because now we were kind of on our own; not without a coach, but without the comfort of a huge group.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jennifer and me...what are the odds?!</i></td></tr>
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I got in and made my way through the waves, though I was still super uncomfortable with being in the middle of the ocean. The wind was crazy and we were all definitely getting tossed around. I'm not sure you could call what I was doing "swimming" but I was in there and I was moving along. I looked up and saw Jennifer right next to me and we managed to stick together the entire time. Having someone around you makes all the difference in the world. Denis, who was on a surf board and came to tell us we looked good but were too far out, so we started making our way back. Finally after about 800 yards, Jennifer and I decided we'd had enough and "swam" back into shore. Not a long swim, but in the ocean, so success.
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The shower felt so good after a day of activity! Andi, Jillian and I decided to walk into "town" and relax with a couple ciders as a reward for our hard work. We stopped at a grocery store to stock up on wine and water (the tap water in the house was DISGUSTING) and headed back to see what the deal was for dinner...cause <strong>still no itinerary</strong>. When we got back, people were just sitting around, and we were starving, so we ended up turning around and going out for pizza. We returned to the house to find we missed the analysis of the swim videos that were taken of all of us earlier - d'oh! Luckily, Denis agreed to show us our videos anyway, and I will say that it was hugely beneficial to see myself swimming and have little things pointed out to me. I am doing better with keeping my head down, but really need to work on keeping my arms straight through the entire stroke (versus curling in on the bottom half). Friday was decent.<br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Saturday</span></u></strong><br />
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Saturday morning, we moved yoga to the beach due to popular demand and it was great, despite sand getting everywhere (literally, EVERYWHERE). Again, I really enjoyed the yoga session and think it was a great complement to the swimming. Then we all packed up to head to our Stand Up Paddle board lesson. <br />
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I'm not entirely sure how I feel about our paddle board excursion. I loved the idea of SUP as cross-training and working on balance, and I loved being out on the water doing something different. However, one of our guides was a huge jerk who kind of ruined part of the experience. He constantly yelled and berated everyone for not going fast enough, not listening to instruction, not being able to read the currents well (he was literally heard saying "you must not be a very good swimmer if you can't read these currents better"). I can't stand up or kneel on the board for too long at a time because my feet and knees start to hurt/cramp, so I have to rotate. In order to switch, you have to stop paddling for a second, which I got yelled at for. I was told not to even bother standing up if I couldn't balance. Umm... a) I can balance, and b) isn't this a learning experience anyway?! Overall though, I think it was a good experience and would do it again; maybe at a different outfitter.<br />
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As it was already lunchtime and we <strong><em><u>still</u></em> </strong>didn't have any kind of itinerary, a few of us were concerned we weren't going to get in 2 swims this day, but we were assured we would! Unfortunately, we were told both of them were going to be in the ocean. I know that getting more ocean swim experience is the only way I will get more comfortable with it, but this was not my goal for this weekend. <strong>Nor was it advertised that this would be an ocean swim focused weekend</strong>; I would not have signed up for that. This partially feeds into the idea that the weekend's activities seemed to cater around a few swimmers' who had a prior relationship with Denis. Luckily, there were a few of us that felt this way, and our amazing yoga instructor (and swim coach), Leslie, agreed to divide the group and take some of us to the bay.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Can't say enough good things about this group!<br />Jennifer, Andi, me, Jillian, Leslie and Jay</i></td></tr>
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The individualized instruction and support of this small group was absolutely amazing and was my favorite part of camp thus far. Leslie was on the paddle board and was able to notice little things that we each were doing. We took a few breaks during the swim for feedback and were able to apply what we learned immediately. Apparently I don't kick.. <strong>ever</strong>! Leslie also provided some additional drills that were specific to what I needed to work on to improve my stroke. We swam a little over a mile during this workout. Great workout! I am so thankful for Leslie's willingness to break apart from the main group and provide more personalized swim sessions to those of us that wanted it. She really listened to our needs and worked with Denis to help make the activities beneficial for everyone. The individualized instruction we got was invaluable.<br />
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We had about an hour before the next ocean swim was supposed to start, but Jillian and I didn't want to wait. There isn't much you can do in an hour, and we'd rather have that break to chill out a bit before dinner. Leslie agreed to take out a group in the ocean earlier, so we jumped at the opportunity. It ended up only being the 3 of us, but I felt a little better today! I won't say it was easy, but I swam a half mile and did OK. Then, we paused to check in with what we wanted to accomplish, and Jillian surprised us with her sneaky little plan... a suggestion to swim the half mile back<strong> against the current</strong>... <em>WHAT??</em> I agreed, and while I considered quitting a couple times, <span style="font-size: large;">I made it!</span> I felt incredible that I had met that challenge... Super pleased with that workout! <br />
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We found Jennifer as we started getting out of the water. Nobody was there for the "official" second swim of the day, so Jillian offered to get back in with her, but I was spent after that against-current swim. The group finally showed up and Denis offered a relay idea, practicing entry and exit with the waves, but I was done, both physically and mentally. Jillian and I headed back for showers and a little wine before the team dinner. We all stopped for ice cream and then had a restorative yoga class to end the day. I loved this day!<br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Sunday</span></u></strong><br />
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Unfortunately, swim camp ended on kind of a sour note for me. We gathered at 7:30 for the final swim of the weekend. In the beginning of his talk, Denis suggested that maybe we could divide into a couple groups again, based on our goals for the morning. We were going to the ocean and had the option of swimming against the current, with the current, or both. But when we got down to the beach, and a few of us said that we wanted to swim <strong><em><u>with</u></em></strong> the current, he had changed his mind and said that we were only going out as one group and <strong>we had no choice but to swim against the current with everybody else</strong>. He actually got a little snippy about it. Conditions looked even worse this morning than the previous couple days and I was nervous...and pissed that this was our only option. I really wish there had been more options to accommodate a wider range of individual goals; not everybody was there to master ocean swims and win races...and certainly not everybody felt comfortable with the single workout presented to us.<br />
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Andi decided not to get in because it looked too dangerous. Jennifer, Jay and I held back as the rest of the group started off. I wanted to get in, even though I knew I wouldn't go long. Jennifer and I agreed to try to swim to the next hotel. We made our way into the waves and went straight into survival mode. <em>I'm not sure if experiences like this do more to make me more comfortable, or do more to make me never want to swim in the ocean again</em>. Denis did stay back with us and tried to encourage us, but I have a mental block when it comes to ocean swimming. I also felt that because I was so hesitant with ocean swims, Denis assumed I was a novice swimmer and treated me as such. I am a decent swimmer; not that I need to prove myself to anybody, but want my coaching to be commiserate with my ability and experience. Also.. It's hard for me to think about technique when I am struggling for survival.<br />
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About 7 minutes in, Jennifer grabbed my attention and said she was considering calling it and going in. I said I was going to try 3 more minutes to make an even 10, and she agreed, but less than a minute later I said eff-it and we made our way to shore. We hadn't even made it halfway down our own hotel! Jay got out with us, and the 3 of us stood around talking about what an awful experience that was. I didn't want to end camp on that note and suggested that maybe the 3 of us go over to the bay. Without a coach, we wouldn't venture far, but at least it would be something that more resembles swimming. As I was letting Leslie know what we wanted to do, a lifeguard called Jennifer and Jay over and reiterated what we already knew, that we had no business being in the ocean in those conditions, especially trying to swim against the current. We walked over to the bay and did a short workout. The bay also had a strong current so we got practice swimming against that. Glad we got in that short bay swim, but overall I was disappointed with how the morning went.<br />
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I returned to my room and took a shower, packed and started loading up my car. Then I noticed the final yoga class starting; of course since I wasn't with the big group <em><u>and there was no itinerary</u></em>, I had no idea, so I missed that. Bummer!<br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Overview</span></u></strong><br />
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I have really mixed feelings about swim camp. Leslie helped make this a positive experience after a rocky start. And I will forever be thankful for the group of women I met, especially Jillian, Andi and Jennifer. We challenged each other and gave tough love when it was due, but most of all we encouraged and supported each other. I really enjoyed both our swim sessions and my down time with this group. If not for Leslie and these ladies, I probably would have hated swim camp!<br /><br />
I should add that nobody at this camp was UN-supportive. In fact, they were all very nice. I enjoyed my conversations with Brian, Janet, Anita, Tom, Susan.... it just so happened that they weren't part of the little sub-group that had formed and I clicked so well with.<br />
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At the end of the day, I am super thankful for the experience, and I do think that I gained a lot. I met some great people. I got some ocean swim exposure. I challenged myself. I got some great feedback on my technique and some drills I can continue to practice. And most importantly, no time in open water is bad time for my immediate goals (bay swim!).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-53125752053089821452017-05-17T05:39:00.000-07:002017-05-23T07:30:19.135-07:00Mother's Day 4-MilerSarah and I bought a race package through =PR= running this year, and this is one of the races we decided to do as part of that. I had mixed feelings as my schedule started filling up. The two sunday prior were the <a href="http://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2017/05/north-face-endurance-10k.html" target="_blank">North Face 10K</a> and the <a href="http://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2017/05/nanticoke-river-swim-big-fat-dnf.html" target="_blank">Nanticoke River Swim</a>, the weekend after is swim camp, and then the next 2 weekends are another open water practice race and the bay swim. That's literally every single Sunday booked for awhile. But, we had already signed up for this and I'd already bailed on the St. Patrick's Day 5K we were supposed to do, so I sucked it up.<br />
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I arrived at the park pretty early and got a good parking spot, or so I thought. It was a half mile walk to the start line area to grab my bib number and t-shirt, a half mile walk back to the car to drop off the shirt and text Sarah, and then another half mile walk back to the start area. Geez!<br />
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I'd told Sarah that I'd meet her and Dave at the 12-13 min/mile pace sign that they'd set up. Interesting that it was the slowest category they had?? Sarah and Dave arrived and after a potty stop and a "before" picture, we were ready to go. It didn't seem like a large event, but given that it was a mother's day targeted race, I expected that there would be slower folks, including all the kids and strollers (ugh.. I hate stroller races!).<br />
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We started and Sarah immediately moved up to stick with the faster runners. Dave and I were together for a hot second before all the strollers started weaving in and out and we got separated. I knew that the first half mile or so was a long uphill. I was jogging and considered walking the hill, but somehow - not sure why - I decided to keep jogging. I made it up the hill and turned the corner and soon was at the first mile marker. Wow, I'd run a whole mile! It's been awhile since I've done that.<br />
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I kept on jogging, albeit slowly, but jogging. I wasn't sure how long I would keep that up and didn't eliminate the possibility of walking in my mind. I made my way to the second mile marker and soon after the only water stop on the course. I did stop and walk to grab my cup and drink the water, but got right back into my jog. I still wasn't sure how far I'd jog or even if that was my goal, but I stayed with it.
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When I got to the 3rd mile marker without taking a walk break (other than the water stop), I decided I wanted to see if I could make it the whole 4 miles. I mean it was only one more mile now! Of course, no sooner did I create this goal for myself than we rounded a corner and there was another long uphill. I wasn't prepared to give up though so I plugged along and the reward for making it up that hill was the final downhill stretch back to the park. <br />
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Towards the bottom of the hill, I heard a pidder padder coming up behind me and a second later, Dave appeared. Just 0.15 miles to go, although that final stretch was another uphill. I wasn't about to start walking now so I chugged along and crossed the finish line where Sarah was waiting for us. I was so proud of myself - 4 miles without a walk break?! I can't even remember the last time I did that!
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We grabbed some water, took our "after" photo, and headed to brunch. Not a bad way to start the day!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-13168774748527533512017-05-08T09:36:00.000-07:002017-05-08T09:46:09.890-07:00Nanticoke River Swim [a big fat DNF]What a stupid awful day.<br />
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Saturday evening, I drove to Andrea's house close to Annapolis (and promptly decided that I will be staying over as her guest the night before the bay swim also, considering how close she is) and we went out for dinner and to watch the Caps/Pens game. She happens to be a die hard Penguins fan so I felt extra happy we pulled out a Caps win (even though I doubt we'll win the series).
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We were both up and ready to go at the previously agreed upon time of 5:50am for a quick stop for some iced tea for me, and the 2 hour drive past Cambridge (the Choptank looked a little choppy as we passed!) to some small town in the middle of nowhere along the Nanticoke river. The swim wasn't scheduled to start until 10, but there was a triathlon event also and they recommended getting there by 8 before they started shutting down roads. It was a little annoying to have so much extra time on our hands, and we used that time to scope out the water.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Cold, windy and choppy...not my favorite combination</em></td></tr>
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Sure enough, just like we saw on the Choptank, there were whitecaps out there in the river. Andrea's friend, Keith, who is also her swim coach, reiterated some advice to her, to make a game time decision and if the swim isn't benefitting anything (i.e. not helping with swim training), no point pushing out the distance. Hmm.. except the point is to see if I can do 3 miles, my longest open water swim ever. Of <strong><span style="font-size: large;">course</span></strong> I'm gonna do the whole thing, even if it's not my best time.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>You can kinda see the whitecaps out there at the end of the jetty - <br />most of the course is off to the right of the jetty.</em></td></tr>
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I overheard some rumblings about whether they would cancel the swim, but the announcer came on the loud speaker and told us that despite the small watercraft advisory, the swim was going to go on as schedule, "so if you signed up to swim 3 miles, prepare to swim 3 miles." I can only imagine that was his best attempt at a joke. Not funny.</div>
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It was really cold, only in the 50's, and we decided to put on our wetsuits early to keep warm. I pulled out all my gear and was super excited to see that my assigned swim cap was the exact same color as the white caps out on the water. This was later proven to be as disastrous as I'd expected when a jet ski zoomed by me about a foot and a half away from my head, narrowly missing me. The water looked like it was getting worse. We watched the kids race start, and seriously couldn't believe they were letting children in that water, even if they were staying in the sheltered area between the jettys.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Seriously, why would they give us WHITE swim caps??? Fluorescent Pink? Neon Green?</em></td></tr>
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As we started lining up to head into the water, the one thing I was extremely grateful for was that we were done after the swim and weren't going to have to jump on a bike in that freezing weather and 18mph winds. The water temperature was actually pretty decent, even if not the 72 degrees that was told to us. The countdown of 3-2-1 and we were off. Getting out to the end of the jetty to make the right turn up north in the river was the first challenge. I broke it up in my head, just get to the end of the jetty. Then, just get yourself to that first buoy. Andrea later told me that Keith had made a comment after seeing me slightly ahead of them that I was looking pretty good. I had thought the same thing with my first couple 500yd splits just over 10 min which was my goal, despite the swells and the current. I thought, OK, no biggie, I would be able to do this loop twice and get in 3 miles. Annoying and challenging, but doable.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>My face in this photo says it all -- what were we getting ourselves into?!</em></td></tr>
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Then I rounded that first buoy and the world changed. The swells grew and tossed me around. I could no longer swim freestyle, and breastroke is not an option for me, as the wetsuit holds my body in a position that kills my back. I tried some side stroke. I tried some back stroke. I was getting tossed everywhere and it was taking every ounce of strength that I had to keep my head above water. This was dangerous. OK, I told myself, one loop was all I was going to do. This must be what Keith was talking about when he said "if it's not helping". This was not helping my swim training at all.</div>
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I couldn't see the second buoy. I had to wait until the waves were just right so that I could see in the distance where I was supposed to swim. I finally spotted the buoy and realized I was nowhere on course. At various times, I was the exact same distance from that buoy but always at a different direction. I was not making any progress. That's when I felt my timing chip start falling off. I grabbed the strap but the chip was gone. That's also about the time the jet ski came close to running me down. It made me a little nervous that I was out there in the middle of nowhere, no chip, no road ID (long story; the new one is in the mail), and clearly hard to see. I just had to get to that buoy! After that, I figured we'd be with the current and it would be OK. But I had to get to the buoy!</div>
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There was one, maybe two, other swimmers around me. A guy on a jet ski, who had already pulled another swimer, came by and asked if I as OK. I hesitated but said yes, I was OK, even though I made no effort of any further forward progress. I was bobbing up and down trying to get my bearings. Then the jet ski went to the other swimmer. That swimmer was smart enough to say no, and she was taken with the jet ski. I kind of kicked myself for not getting on the jet ski myself, but now there was no more room. I "swam" a little more, didn't get any closer to that dang buoy, and told myself if another jet ski came around, I would take it. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Those first couple splits are fine... and then it all went downhill, fast.</em></td></tr>
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It took awhile but finally another jet ski did come over to me. I said I needed a ride and they threw me the buoy. I tried to get on the jet ski, but it was never steady and with my wetsuit on, I just couldn't get up there. So I held onto the buoy and decided to let it drag me behind. What I didn't count on was the water spewing out of the jet ski engine right in my face. I couldn't breath at all. That's fine, I thought, we'd get to the rescue boat soon enough, and at least I wasn't still on my own out there. Wrong, it was taking forever and I'm pretty sure the jet ski almost flipped a few times (Andrea said she saw one actually flip while trying to pull a swimmer). I asked if I could reposition myself. I held onto the seat and curled my body around the back edge of the jet ski. The other rescued swimmer held my arm with dear life as we sped along. This was easily the most uncomfortable jet ski ride I've ever been on. </div>
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We finally got to the rescue boat and I let go of the handle. I still had my ear plugs on so I couldn't hear anything people were saying. The jet ski sped away and I rolled right off the back of the boat. W.T.F. I looked up at the rescue boat and they were waving me over. I put my foot on a ledge and 2 people lifted me up onto the boat. I started shivering right away, but heard "Jen!" I looked around at the other couple swimmers who had been rescued before me, and one of them was another Team Z'er - what are the odds?! I had done the open water practice swim with Donna the week before, knew she was going to be there and had even chatted a bit before the start. She did the bay swim last year and the first thing she said to me was "don't worry, the bay is nothing like this!" I'm not sure it did much to ease my current feeling, but it was good to hear. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Turns out we should have minded the posted signs!</em></td></tr>
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The boat rescuers wrapped us in foil blankets but it did very little to keep us warm as we were soaking wet in the strong winds and chilly air temperatures. The one guy kept saying over and over that conditions were horrible and he couldn't believe they let us get in this water. He said that after that 2nd buoy, the current was more in our favor in one direction (east/west), but not the other (north/south) and they'd watched countless people get swept from the 2nd buoy back to the 1st buoy rather than the end of the loop! Kinda glad I didn't try to stick it out. The boat was rocking around like crazy and I was thankful I'd taken ginger pills or I would have been seasick for sure. We had a couple more people get loaded on, and even though we were full, we had to wait for all of the swimmers to pass, just in case. There was only one other boat out there! A couple times we noticed swimmers waving their arms for help and had to send in fire & rescue or a jet ski. I kept watching for Andrea and Keith, knowing their plan was to stay together, but I never saw them. It was so cold! Finally when there were only 3 swimmers remaining, and enough jet skis still on the water to cover them, the rescue boat headed for land.</div>
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I have never seen my feet as blue as they were when we pulled into to dock. It hurt to try to stand and climb out, but I was so happy to be back. I hobbled over to where we'd stored our stuff, wrapped myself in my towel and got out of my wetsuit and swimsuit (yep, right there in the middle of the crowds - there was no way I was keeping anything wet against my skin). I put on my sweats and t-shirt, socks and shoes. Kinda better but still freezing. I noticed Andrea's wetsuit was with her things so I knew she was back, and I set out to find her. She had only completed one lap but said that Keith was still out there (one of those final 3 swimmers we knew about), so we stood there and cheered them in. I was still SO COLD. My bones were shivering inside my body.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Back on land and dry, but still freezing!</em></td></tr>
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Keith was the last swimmer out of the water after doing the entire 3 miles! He started shivering right away, and after a couple minutes of trying to warm him up, he was taken to the ambulance. I knew we weren't going to leave until we knew how Keith was doing, but I was too cold to stand outside in the wind anymore. Andrea gave me her keys and I walked the half mile to sit in the car. I didn't have any cell phone reception... I was worried that Andrea thought I was anxious to leave and had wanted to tell her to take her time and make sure Keith was ok. She was simultaneously trying to make sure I was OK cause I hadn't looked so good. My body was slowly warming up, though I was told later that I probably should have let somebody look at me for hypothermia symptoms after sitting on the boat for so long.</div>
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Luckily, Keith was OK once he got warmed up, and eventually we were all on our way to lunch. As we drove over the Nanticoke bridge, we both started shouting "F-You Nanticoke" as Andrea threw up her 2 middle fingers -- we sure hoped the passing cars weren't confused! Food was good but I could not wait to get home, take a shower, and climb into clean clothes. We got back to Andrea's about 2 hours later, hugged goodbye and both said "I wish we could say it was a good time, but... it wasn't!" What a horrible fucking day!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-87448217191198960362017-05-05T07:07:00.000-07:002017-05-08T09:12:16.349-07:00North Face Endurance 10K For the 2nd weekend day in a row, my alarm clock went off at 5:20am. They day before I had to wake up early to drive down to Luray for a practice open water swim as part of the <a href="http://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2017/05/preparing-for-bay-swim.html" target="_blank">bay swim training</a>. I haven't had a weekend like this with back-to-back early workout days since Ironman training!
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Me, Lacey and Jessie before getting on the shuttles!</em></td></tr>
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I made the drive out to Loudoun County and met up with Lacey, Jessie and Mindy before catching the shuttles to our various races. Lacey and I were doing the 10K and Jessie and Mindy were doing the half marathon, which started in a different location, but we would all end up at the same finish line. Between the shuttle ride, picking up my packet and shirt, dropping off my bag at bag check, and using the bathrooms, we didn't have much time to get bored before lining up for the start. Lacey was wave #3 and I was wave #5 but they seemed pretty relaxed about the whole thing so I went ahead and started with Lacey.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Lacey, Mindy and me</em></td></tr>
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Of course, Lacey and I only stayed together for about a quarter of a mile as we ran through the grass around the field. This was the same course as the <a href="http://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2016/04/north-face-marathon-relay.html" target="_blank">North Face Marathon Relay</a> that I did last year, but luckily not *quite* as muddy. I jogged the entire field portion, a little less than a mile, before giving myself a walk break. I did my normal run when I can, walk when I need/want to routine as I went through the golf course, onto the wide path and crossed a couple bridges. <br />
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When I got into the trail section, I saw the leaders returning from the out and back course. I decided to jog until I saw Lacey. This was mostly single track, so everyone was running single file, and it was a little hard to run past everyone going the other direction. Everyone was so freaking nice, cheering me on, giving me high-fives. It was to the point that I thought maybe they felt sorry for me being so far in the back. I glanced around and was happy to see that there was a steady stream of people behind me also. Phew. Then I saw Lacey, gave her a high five, and rewarded myself with another walk break.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Lacey and I finished the 10K!</em></td></tr>
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The sections back in the woods were really nice and scenic. A girl passed me about halfway through the run, and I managed to keep up with her for the second half of the race. We leap frogged each other and it was nice to have the motivation to keep going. I was in the last mile or so when the lead half marathon runner passed me. Luckily we were back on the wide trail by then and he was able to pass easily. Back through the golf course, and I was almost done! I started running just before the 6 mile marker and jogged my way into the finish, thankful I hadn't decided to sign up for a longer distance race as I had been tempted to when Mindy and Jessie sent out the link.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Mindy and Jessie after the half marathon finish!</em></td></tr>
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I got some water, met up with Lacey and got my bag. We walked around for a little while before Lacey had to head out to make it up to Philly for work. I hung around for awhile and cheered in the half marathoners, waiting for Jessie and Mindy. Then it was off to Joann's house for a shower and a day of lounging around on her back deck.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-21078177405657956542017-05-02T05:28:00.001-07:002017-05-02T05:46:15.875-07:00preparing for the bay swimBy the time I actually got into the bay swim in the 4th (and final) round of the lottery, I was already 4 weeks into the training plan. The plan called for 4500 that week but I could barely swim 3000 (hadn't really been in a pool for about a year, and not consistently since ironman training). I made myself a modified plan that gave me a build up to the mileage, still making sure I got in 3 workouts of 7000 before the event. So far, I've only missed one!
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Literally, the idea of swimming more than 3000 yards during a single swim workout has been mind-blowing. The monotony of swimming back and forth, back and forth, back and forth... it would make anybody want to scream in absolute boredom!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>That's my brother and JJ in the top, and Seamus on the bottom.. no photo op with my SIL, Jessi</em></td></tr>
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I did my longest workout ever of 5000 yards before driving down to the outer banks to hang out with my brother and his family for the weekend. I was so freaking proud of myself. I mean, FIVE THOUSAND YARDS!!!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Me, Paula, Cindy, Joann and Anjelika.. one of the few shots of all 5 of us!</em></td></tr>
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Then I headed down to Fort Lauderdale for a girls trip and let's be honest. It's amazing that I even made it to the pool. This is the one that I missed, but I did get in a decent workout, swimming long course at the swimming hall of fame. </div>
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And then I did <span style="font-size: large;">6000</span>. I did it twice. And then once more.
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And then this happened. <span style="font-size: large;"><strong>7000 yards.</strong></span> LONGEST. SWIM. EVER. It really sucked, mostly mind-numbing swimming back and forth for that long. Holy goggle eyes!! It's a little daunting to think I have to swim this distance in the pool two more times before the bay swim.....</div>
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I did my first practice open water swim of the season this past weekend down in Luray. First time in a wetsuit since October 2015, and wow was that a struggle!! I'm not sure what happened the first loop (course set up in 150m loops) - my goggles were leaking, I was uncomfortable in my wetsuit, I couldn't get my breath to even out. I stopped and switched goggles, adjusted the wetsuit, and was fine after that....but slow! Makes me a little nervous.
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There are 3 more open water swims on my calendar leading up to the big day. 3 miles in a river that is similar the Choptank (think <a href="http://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2015/06/eagleman-703.html" target="_blank">Eagleman</a>.. <a href="http://jengottatri.blogspot.com/2015/10/ironman-maryland.html" target="_blank">Ironman Maryland</a>) just a bit past Cambridge in Salisbury on the eastern shore. Then there is another 3 miles in Reston over Memorial Day weekend, broken up into 2 events, a 1mi and then a 2mi swim back to back. Finally, the week before the Bay Swim, I'll be swimming across the Potomac for one more practice. Oh and I signed up for a 3 day swim camp in North Carolina later this month - so excited!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-25775987903300645432017-04-28T05:45:00.000-07:002017-04-28T05:45:08.167-07:00Albuquerque Half MarathonGoing into my 3rd week of travel in a row, I flew into Albuquerque, arriving around noon on Friday. Deb picked me up and we went straight to packet pickup after checking into the hotel. We had a quiet evening and got to bed pretty early.
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When I woke up - well before my alarm, thanks to the time zone change - 13.1 miles was seriously the last thing I wanted to do. I got up though, got dressed and ate some breakfast at the hotel. We drove to the race start, still dreading what was to come.
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Did I mentioned I hadn't really trained? I've been doing Orangetheory which includes a good amount of time on the treadmill, but that's about it. I've really been focusing on swim training for the Bay Swim that's coming up.<br />
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Once the race started, I got into an easy jog and trudged along. This was a really small race, much smaller than I had anticipated, and suddenly thoughts of being DFL (dead f'ing last) popped into my mind. I glanced around and noticed a few others going a similar pace, some slightly faster and some slightly slower. I actually wish I had a pocket or something to carry my phone because the course was really pretty and I would have liked to capture a photo or two.
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I really do love traveling for races like this because it's such a good way to see new places. The race took us all through Albuquerque, over the Rio Grande River, through some fields and a bunch of interesting neighborhoods. I jogged when I could walked when I wanted to. A few times I would spot somebody ahead of me and make a concerted effort to catch up. Eventually there were 5 of us, pretty well spaced out, bringing up the rear (though I *know* there were more people behind me and think they turned off a the 10K race for a quicker route to the finish). We kept plugging along, all of us in a solid walk by this point, ticking off the miles one at a time.<br />
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Finally, I was in the service road leading up to the finish. The time limit for the race was 3.5 hours and I jogged across the finish line with 15 seconds to spare! Though, they did let the woman behind me finish as well. Then there was the LONG walk to the shuttle bus back to the car. And when I say long... I mean a full mile. My legs did not like that! But we did it, albeit with some chaffing...<br />
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We rewarded ourselves with a massage that afternoon, dinner in downtown Albuquerque and then had another early evening. Facials were on tap for Sunday morning, and we enjoyed a nice dip in the hot tub at the spa before heading out on a little hike at the Petroglyph National Monument. <br />
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And then you know I can't visit a new state without visiting a local winery! A busy day for sure, and I slept well before the long travel day home. Phew... This ended 3 straight weekends of travel and I was happy to be back in my own bed!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-49780723721150213992016-11-14T10:18:00.000-08:002016-11-14T10:18:09.665-08:00Hot Cider Hustle 10KIt's been awhile since I've laced up a pair of running shoes, but an advertisement for the Hot Cider Hustle on facebook caught my attention, mostly because of the free hoodie promised to all registrants. I sent out an email and actually got some interest from a few friends, and so I signed up. The race offered a 5K, 10K and 15K, and I optimistically registered for the 10K, along with Sarah and Paula, while Dan, Sloan, Regal and Dave all signed up for the 5K. I was excited for the group event, and more importantly, the post-race brunch that was sure to follow.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Orange theory! I'm just to the right of the instructor who's holding the sign.</i></td></tr>
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Now, when I say it's been awhile since I've put on my running shoes, I don't mean it's been a few weeks, or even a month. I mean I cannot remember the last time I went out for a run! Literally, I have been on the couch for months, from taking a break after Ironman to dealing with some back issues and life getting in the way. Recently, I signed up for orange theory, a kind of interval training class where you spend time on the treadmill, the rower and floor strength exercises. I do that twice a week, so those 20-25min sessions on the treadmill are the only run/walk training I have had lately.<br />
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It was a little chilly race morning and I felt that I had dressed inappropriately for the weather. Sarah even said she had to scrape frost off her windshield - yikes! I drove to RFK stadium and was forced to park a half mile away thanks to my lack of cash and the $15 parking fee (only one lot allowed credit cards). I made a mental note to count the extra mile round trip as calories burned - that means one extra breakfast riesling!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkVlWvEDec53mTSnTe53b4ChWtkE9ZnNjHgEnRAcRqlASJtA5bPhyLoqDMHhCLYz1qlDkZTG3Sv1jdYueTR2M0bD8t6-Vav2WvnzBkY4lCJZ3oFWCplLEm0LOwwK_REDPGY0QiTJZ9yw/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkVlWvEDec53mTSnTe53b4ChWtkE9ZnNjHgEnRAcRqlASJtA5bPhyLoqDMHhCLYz1qlDkZTG3Sv1jdYueTR2M0bD8t6-Vav2WvnzBkY4lCJZ3oFWCplLEm0LOwwK_REDPGY0QiTJZ9yw/s320/unnamed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Teammates Stacy and Beth (who you'll remember from the SwimFest).</i></td></tr>
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I picked up my race number and free hoodie, and it didn't take long to find Sloan and Regal. I also ran into a couple Team Z-mates and we hung out for a bit. Sarah and Dave, and eventually Paula met up with us, though there was still no word from Dan...hmm... <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyHHqoM1CzcKq93eTb11iTXKU4wEcndv2h3yAXupp9l5YuyUvH-fum6H7Sl_N5_iR000Ad1lfOl6-Y3VSYAChNtk1pGeFdo2fE0iHrp5Fq4IyKjFUbSryexUOh7_FPsbQEYJUlB4yV5I/s1600/unnamed1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyHHqoM1CzcKq93eTb11iTXKU4wEcndv2h3yAXupp9l5YuyUvH-fum6H7Sl_N5_iR000Ad1lfOl6-Y3VSYAChNtk1pGeFdo2fE0iHrp5Fq4IyKjFUbSryexUOh7_FPsbQEYJUlB4yV5I/s320/unnamed1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me, Regal, Sloan's dad (who got 2nd place age group!), Sloan, Dave and Sarah</i></td></tr>
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We were off! I'm not sure where the rest of our crew was in the photo below, but us three girls started off together. It didn't take Sarah long to separate herself from us though, and then it was just Paula and I chugging along. We ran about 0.8 mile before suggesting that we take a walk break. The course went around the perimeter of RFK stadium, and was only marked with orange cones. At one point we noticed that the crowds in front of us were cutting off a huge portion of the course as the cones were way to our left. We came to get in the full 6.2 (or at least 3.1) miles, and decided to run along the cones. A quick glance behind us and we noticed that a ton of people followed our lead - go us!<br />
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Paula and I didn't have any set run and walk intervals, so we made little goals for ourselves... OK, let's start running at that big tree and see if we can make it all the way to the water stop... Now, we'll run to the underpass but only until we get to that person sitting on a chair cheering... It worked. As we came upon the finish line, we had both already determined that we were going to do the full 10K that we had signed up for. After all, we were going to brunch and wanted to burn those extra calories! We saw Sloan and Regal cheering as they had already finished their 5K, and we fought the temptation to run across the finish line and instead plodded our way to the turn around for the second half of our race.<br />
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The second half was much like the first, making small run and walk goals for ourselves. We passed Sarah as she was heading into her final mile, and I realized my clothing choices were perfect, I was never too hot or too cold. Paula and I kept at it and slowly made our way past the water stop and on our way to the finish. I love that Paula and I are similar paces and I had a run buddy for the entire race. We crossed the finish line, gave each other a high five, met back up with Sarah and Dave, and collected our mug and cider.<br />
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Dan never made it to the race, but he did join us for brunch before I went home and collapsed on the couch for the remainder of the day. My body reminded me of just how little I had trained, and I realized Sunday morning that signing up for an orange theory class the day after the race was probably not my best idea. But.. I got through it, and proud of myself for having such an active weekend.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-46260065610550760972016-06-20T09:01:00.000-07:002016-06-20T09:01:01.040-07:00Luray Swim FestI should start this off by saying that I had no business participating in a swim event! At some point over the winter, Dawn sent out an email advertisement for this event and suggested that we do it. It also turned into a Team Z event. I was intrigued...so despite the fact I haven't swum consistently since Ironman, I went ahead and signed up for the 2250m swim, the longest single option they offered (you could also sign up for multiple events for a max total of 4500m, but that's just crazy!). As the day drew nearer though, it became clear that 2250m was a bit optimistic for me. I finally came to my senses and emailed the race director who was super helpful and switched me back to the 1500m. Much more doable. I hope.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me, Dani, Dawn and Beth</i></td></tr>
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It's been awhile since I've set my alarm for 4:20am...on a Saturday morning! Yikes! I pulled myself out of bed, grabbed my pre-packed bag and headed out. There is NOTHING open at 4:50am, no McDonalds, no Starbucks.. luckily I found a 24-Hour CVS and was able to get some iced tea. I arrived at Beth's house right at 5:15 and the 4 of us piled in her Jeep and made the drive down to Luray. We pulled into Lake Arrowhead with plenty of time to get checked in, buy a towel (purple!) and hang out at the Team Z shelter for a bit before we had to get ready for the swim. It turned out that 3 of my carpool crew had decided to drop down to the 1500m event, so it wasn't just me. Yay!<br />
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I'd packed my wetsuit but had zero intention of actually using it unless somehow a random mid-June freeze dipped the water temperatures below 70 degrees. I had no interest in trying to stuff my body into my wetsuit. None at all. Luckily, the posted water temperature was 76 and I knew I would be just fine. Coach Alexis snapped this pre-race photo of me just before it was time to get in and warm up. The water felt amazing! I got in a few strokes and was ready to go!<br />
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I didn't really have those pre-race jitters like I usually do before an event. This was more like a curiosity of how 1500m was going to feel with very minimal training. The last time I was in a pool was about 3 weeks ago, I swam for about 15 minutes, got frustrated, sat in the hot tub and promptly threw my cap, goggles and swimsuit into the garbage can. This was gonna be interesting. I got going though and found my groove pretty early on. With the exception of having to stop a billion times to adjust my leaking goggles, I felt OK, but was questioning how long that was going to last, especially on the 2nd loop. On the last leg of the first lap, I thought I caught a glimpse of Beth off the back of my right leg. We were finishing up that first 750m and I noticed a kayaker right in my path.. what the hell, move out of my way! Oh wait.. the kayaker was hanging out next to a roped off area.. I can't swim that way.. oops! Will I ever learn to swim in a straight line??? Changing course, I walked up the ramp and headed out to start the 2nd half, and it was confirmed that Beth was right behind me as the announcer yelled her name right after mine.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This is actually the 2250m event swimming - they had to do 3 laps!<br />Very pleased with my decision to switch to the 1500m!</i></td></tr>
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I still felt pretty decent as I started the 2nd loop and wondered if I could keep pace with Beth. I didn't care how I finished in relation to her, but it was cool to have someone you know with you. And who knows, maybe she's better at pacing than I am. What she is definitely better at is hugging the buoys! I glanced over and didn't see her.. where's Beth? Oh wait, there she is... 20 feet to my right, where I should be! Ugh! I got myself back on course and we did manage to stay together most of the time. She later told me that I dropped her on the last leg and we aren't sure if she slowed down or I sped up. I was feeling it in my legs a little so maybe I was so ready to be done that I actually started kicking?? That would be a first :) At any rate, we still finished within a minute of each other, and I was happy to be done, that I survived!
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I hadn't worn ear plugs and didn't take any ginger pills, so I wasn't surprised I had that dizzy, death feeling when I finished. I got my medal and some water and wandered over to the grass where Dani was hanging out before her event. It's a very weird feeling where you think you are going to pass out, but it only lasts a few minutes and then I feel completely fine again. Strange! What I don't understand is how these goggles - the same brandI have trained and raced in for years (and this particular pair is practically brand new as I bought them for Ironman and they worked perfectly) were suddenly leaking so much, causing me to stop every few hundred meters? No way my face changed shape that drastically, right?<br />
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Dawn, Beth and I watched the start of the 2250m event and then made our way back to the Team Z shelter. Dawn headed out for a run, while Beth and I took a short stroll around the lake with our teammate, Wendy. We watched the awards, got some food and set out for the drive home. Fun day! I'm definitely glad I decided to carpool with these ladies.. if I had been on my own, chances are I'd have skipped it. Sore arms on Sunday were the only [expected] after-effects... no chaffing! I'm looking forward to getting back in the swing of things with the team.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-92192605920136154302016-06-17T05:06:00.000-07:002016-06-17T05:06:16.107-07:00Celebrate Fairfax 5KA couple months ago, my friend, Sarah, told me she'd like to try a 5K. She's never run more than a mile in her life, but after coming to support me at Ironman last fall, felt inspired. Awesome! So, we looked at our schedules and decided to do the Celebrate Fairfax 5K.<br />
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We agreed to meet at 7:15 to pick up our packets and get ready for the 8am start. I should've been a little more thourough in reading the race instructions because first I drove to the wrong site - I assumed the race started and ended at Fairfax Corner, but nope! It was all at the Fairfax Government Center. Oops! Then, because of the festival that's going on all weekend, there was no parking allowed at the race site. Instead, we had to park at least half mile away. All of this was very clearly indicated in the pre-race communication email that was sent out, if only I would've read that! But alas, we both got to the race site with plenty of time to spare to grab our race packets, use the bathroom and take a few pre-race pictures.<br />
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As the race started, Sarah told me she wanted to aim to keep around a 12-13 min per mile pace. I told her I would stay with her, but not to feel like she had to stay with me if she wanted to go ahead. We ran the first mile and a half (maybe a little less) together right around a 11:50 pace, and then we got to a long uphill that I decided to walk. I sent her ahead and she later told me she was able to hold that pace for the entire race, stopping only to walk a small amount at the final hill.<br />
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Meanwhile, I fell into my normal "run when I can, walk when I want to"
rhythm and felt pretty decent except for the super hot sun that was
already burning down. There were very few areas of shade on the
course. I haven't been training much, esp since my pain management
doctor told me I need to ease off the running for a bit, so I forgave
myself for letting my pace slip to 14 min miles towards the end. <br />
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I did find some energy as I approached the finish line and was challenged by the girl next to me in that photo to really push it at the end. I immediately grabbed some cold water and headed to the shade to rest for a minute.
Other than the heat, it was a great event and Sarah
did awesome! In fact, I think she's hooked and is already asking when
we can do another<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh6GHEkDejNFhmUeZI8frcJIGvJW4QKErBV0vybDc05VBhXDIWjiRXkpsoyXFgWgJ4J3PgJcwS7LwuXeU-tD1LPiPmWmdDraQj7xuh65lTDQE5v8FbRNUAS8cFHyngavYQNmCqj3OjOw/s1600/IMG_8962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh6GHEkDejNFhmUeZI8frcJIGvJW4QKErBV0vybDc05VBhXDIWjiRXkpsoyXFgWgJ4J3PgJcwS7LwuXeU-tD1LPiPmWmdDraQj7xuh65lTDQE5v8FbRNUAS8cFHyngavYQNmCqj3OjOw/s320/IMG_8962.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
We sat for a min and then made the long walk back to our cars and drove over to Silver Diner for breakfast. Then it was home for a shower and nap!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611653986252553933.post-68558717066792588912016-04-27T06:36:00.001-07:002016-04-27T06:36:14.911-07:00Hard Cider Run 5KI'm not sure what he was looking for, but Jon found this race about a month ago and suggested we do it. 5K.. sure! At a cidery? yes please! And Jon is going to actually participate? Absolutely! Even better was that you can pick your wave start, and we picked 10:10am which means we didn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn to get to Charlottesville super early (though Jon might argue that leaving at 7am *does* mark the crack of dawn).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjom_F2lhn5soTY7gjV7YP8XXF5YT95t33GP4swYVmMXYhUTaqBbD00k75f8afl3GThiL3VgrBX5yK18p4NERxuo703FDcu-mZfb0MDEYbWYRXpfG-vVMiSyq3p6rkyby5jCiTSA8G1cjw/s1600/IMG_8715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjom_F2lhn5soTY7gjV7YP8XXF5YT95t33GP4swYVmMXYhUTaqBbD00k75f8afl3GThiL3VgrBX5yK18p4NERxuo703FDcu-mZfb0MDEYbWYRXpfG-vVMiSyq3p6rkyby5jCiTSA8G1cjw/s320/IMG_8715.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>That's the white ceiling of U-Hall (old basketball arena) in the distance...<br />That's where we pick up the shuttle after standing in this long line!</i></td></tr>
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This was a trail run and there was rain in the forecast accompanied by concern that there would be a ton of mud. Not to worry, I still have my dirty shoes from the North Face relay a couple weeks ago! But, despite a few sections of rain on our drive down, it stayed pretty dry. We arrived at the new UVA basketball arena around 9am where we were to pick up the shuttle over to the cidery. They told us to allow about 15 min for the shuttle ride. Factoring in that time, plus time to pick up our packets, check a bag, blah blah... we figured we were in good shape.<br />
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Nope! Over an hour in that dang line to get to the shuttle - and I really think the reason we made the most forward movement in that line is because people bailed and found other rides. We didn't even get on the shuttle until 10:15, 5 min after our wave was supposed to start. Of course everybody else was in the same situation and they assured us we'd be able to run. Sure enough, we got there, got our stuff situated and made our way over to the 10:50am wave start. Ready to go!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPsxUA8Gf4G83kb3C5wW6jHhIUMp_S7TEKiYVFnDfGvJVxx8XpAYBPhl5sVw7a4flygxoGb0i0AHrI3v9nzUkx517OUKNzfrjJc5Oohs0NMIy-A38-iyS-82tehx_g_drRim_txjh7pc/s1600/race_2337_photo_33599943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPsxUA8Gf4G83kb3C5wW6jHhIUMp_S7TEKiYVFnDfGvJVxx8XpAYBPhl5sVw7a4flygxoGb0i0AHrI3v9nzUkx517OUKNzfrjJc5Oohs0NMIy-A38-iyS-82tehx_g_drRim_txjh7pc/s320/race_2337_photo_33599943.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photographer stationed midway up the long hill from hell? Mean!</i></td></tr>
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I told Jon that we shouldn't worry about staying together and would meet up at the end - run your own race! So he took off. The trail consisted of tons of tall grass and uneven terrain which made it really hard to run. I noticed I was running about 11:30/mile pace and keeping up with Jon... until he started walking and I passed him. He signed up for the Hungry Apple challenge to eat a donut at every mile marker, so I pulled a little further in front when he stopped for that first snack. Right after that first mile marker the trail turned upwards. It looked daunting. I was doing a run/walk pattern by now and decided to shift to just walking for this hill, thinking it wasn't too long. And then we turned a corner and realized we weren't even halfway up! <br />
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I'm not sure how he did it, but Jon powered up that hill and passed me right back! I might have been standing still and resting when he passed me, that's how bad this hill was! And I was not the only person who stopped for breaks. I didn't see anybody actually running. I mean, seriously... this was a 5K race marketed at beginners! At least, what goes up must come down, and finally we were on top of the mountain (yes, I am pretty sure whatever that hill was called, it starts with "Mount" something) and on our way back down. <br />
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I started running again and really minimized the walking on that last half. Luckily the rain held off and it wasn't muddy at all (except for maybe a small part on top of the mountain). The course took us winding through the orchards on more tall grass and slanted ground. I was in front of Jon again, but not by much and I was a little jealous of the little snacks he was getting. I was starting to get hungry! <br />
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Finally I came out of the orchard and ran through the finish line - done! That was a really hard course for a 5K! I got my medal and some water and waited for the 2 more min for Jon to come in - we really were pretty close on pace.<br />
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...and of course he was munching on his 3rd and final donut as he crossed the timing mats! This was only his 2nd running race ever, and much more challenging than the Baltimore 5K that he did over 10 years ago.<br />
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We got our cider and sat around for a little bit before getting back on the shuttle and going to lunch in Charlottesville. And as it turns out, Joann and Daz were in town celebrating their anniversary, so we ended up meeting them at a winery for a bit. Not a bad day!<br /><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0