Pressure

Now that I've announced the existence of this blog to the TGs, I'm feeling obligated, or maybe even compelled, to produce entries, and especially ones that people might think were interesting enough to read. In the words of a country song I like, "what was I thinking?!"

And to completely change the subject, one month from today is the HY-Vee Tri. I don't think I'm nearly ready for the swim part. I have yet to swim the distance required (.9 mile). I've done .8 twice, but never seem to have time to do more. I'm getting worried I won't be acclimated to the distance for the tri, and what I'm hearing in my head with each stroke is "what was I thinking?!"

New Toys

I have a wetsuit now, complete w/ TG logo, which I got on a great sale from Fit2Race. I'm not sure it fits right, though. When I ordered it, I gave them my measurements and took the size they said I should have. It was incredibly hard to get on, which the directions say means that it probably fits. Another marker of proper fit is whether you can "pinch" a bit of material in the arms and thighs once the suit is on, and if you can't, it's probably too small. I can do that in the arms, but not the thighs (oh, rue my misproportioned body!), so I'm debating whether to keep it or exchange it.

I have new trail running shoes, too. I'd intended to get a pair on sale, but they weren't as comfortable as the non-sale shoes, so I paid full price for a pair of La Sportiva Fireblades. According to the box, they were a Runners World choice in 2007. I've been wearing them some around the house before I try them on a trail.

I also have a new digital camera. It's not either of the models I originally thought I wanted, but the price was right for the features (do you sense a theme in the way I buy things?). An amazing thing to me about the purchase was that I saved $30 simply by ordering it online and then going to the local store to pick it up, instead of going to the store, taking it off the shelf and paying full price.

Finally, for Mother's Day my son and daughter-in-law gave me some family tree computer software. I'd been impressed with their set when I was in Florida in April, and I'm looking forward to having time to play with it myself.

Run Like A Girl

On May 4 I did the 5-mile trail run at Pocohantas State Park, which was part of the Run Like A Gril Series sponsored by Montrail. There were 300+ participants in this women-only event, ranging in age from 7 to 70. Point of reference -- I was faster than the 7-year-old, but not faster than the 70-year-old, who finished in about 45 minutes! The trail was generally a smooth track, but there were some fairly challenging hills -- most of which I walked up and tried not to slide down. Fellow TG TB, an accomplished trail runner, ran with me. She stayed on my case, ever urging me onward, and not listening when I said, "but I'm going as fast as I can!" TG TD also ran with us. We all used to run together twice a week after strength training at MMF, so it was good to have the group back together again. The entire event was great fun, and the swag was terrific -- nice tech shirt, socks, cap, and water bottle, plus some tasty chocolate-raspberry Luna bars. I definitely see more trail runs in my future.

Catching Up

What have I been doing since my last entry? I took my purebred Himalayan cat to a professional groomer – she looks much better, but she’s been living under my bed for two weeks now because whenever she ventures out, my two shorthair domestic cats hiss at her. She’s been groomed before, without any adjustment traumas, so I have no idea what happened this time. Perhaps I need a Cat Whisperer.

I went to Florida to visit my son and his wife, who were temporarily back in the US from his job overseas. We had a wonderful time – ate great seafood and mango key lime pie, went to an art show and the beach, and did a 5K race. The run was out and back over the causeway (I mistakenly called it a “bridge” and was corrected by a transplanted NOVA retiree). The temperature was warmer than I’m used to yet and I could have used another water stop at mile 2.75, so the last mile was slower than I’d hoped it would be. I finished in 39:01, which is not a PR for a 5K, but is the best I’ve done so far this year. The times for my age group ranged from 28:33 to 57:17, and I was 8 out of 24. There was fantastic fresh fruit at the end, along with sandwich fixings, granola bars, chips, and water. The best part, though, was running w/ my son.

I also tried out a wet suit in their pool. (I know that’s not recommended procedure, but I wasn’t in the water all that long). The pool temperature was 72, and even w/ the wet suit on, I felt chilly when I first got in. I had no problem swimming in it, but getting it on and off was a struggle. Any improvement in my swim time from wearing a wet suit will no doubt be cancelled by the increase in my T1 time unless I just do the whole tri in my wet suit!

Finally, I’ve been shopping for a digital camera. I’ve found several I like, but I’m having a hard time deciding which one to buy. The current frontrunners are two Canon models and a Panasonic. I’ve studied the specs, read all kinds of reviews, solicited other people’s advice/opinions, and made numerous trips to different stores to check them out, but nothing has said “buy me” yet. Of course, the point of having a new camera was that I wanted to add some pictures to this blog, but I wasn't able to figure out how to use some in this entry that my daughter-in-law sent me, so it may be a moot point!

where's the motivation?

I seem to be lacking motivation for training this week. At first, I thought it was post-event let down from doing the sprint and 10K back-to-back, and I figured I was entitled to some recovery time. But it's been a week now, and I've not done much. Swim practice on Monday was devoted to flip turns, or in my case, trying to learn how to do them. Let's just say, I spent the entire hour in the remedial lane. Tuesday was strength training and indoor cycling, and I managed a short swim on Wednesday. I alternated 100 yard intervals with flip turn attempts, and a few times I felt like I almost did one. Thursday was more cycling. I skipped 30 minutes of strength training so I could shop for a digital camera. I'd considered swimming on Friday, but slept in instead. Today I volunteered for a duathlon. I'd planned to run afterwards at the same site, but it rained and I opted to come home for warm, dry clothes. Then my sister called me, the knob fell off my kitchen door, the litter box needed cleaning, I decided to go online for awhile -- it's not likely I'll get that run in today, as I feel my energy level sliding past zero. Maybe tomorrow ... ?

The 10K

I did the Monument Avenue 10K with my younger sister JJ and my daughter. Despite the on-off rain, we enjoyed the event. My time was 4 minutes slower than last year, but I still finished in the top 20% of my age group, so I'm trying not be too disappointed with the result. I was faster than I'd been in my solo practice runs, no doubt due to the "run faster, faster" exhortations with which my two companions propelled me across the finish line. My sister can walk faster than I can "run." At her own pace, she would have had a much better time, but she never let herself get too far ahead of me. My daughter left us at the halfway point, but waited at the 6-mile marker so we could all cross the finish line together. I'm hoping the photo will be spectacular.

One Done

On March 28 I did the Smithfield Sprint -- my first triathlon for 2008 and the first event in my quest for a Setup Events age group award. Nearly 500 competitors were registered, 3 in my age group. Since the swim was in a pool, and swimmers were spaced 15 seconds apart, it took nearly 3 hours to get everyone thru that phase. The elite athletes completed the whole tri before I even got in the pool! I entertained myself watching the other swimmers and spectators, at least to the extent I could see them. I'd had to leave my eyeglasses in the transition area so I'd have them for the bike, and transition closed at 9:45 a.m. I do have swim goggles with corrective lenses, which aren't my exact prescription but are close enough for distance viewing. Think generic reading glasses you can buy at the drug store. However, someone wearing goggles for several hours while staying outside the pool tends to attract some puzzled looks from other bystanders, so I only occasionally put them on while I waited.

Then it was my turn. The water was warm and the lanes were wide. The person behind me touched my feet several times, but she refused my offers to go ahead when we reached the ends of the lanes. And once as I approached the wall to turn, I saw another person swimming directly underneath me. He was soon gone, but at that instant, I felt like a fish in an aquarium. There was no ladder nearby at the end of the swim but I managed to heave myself out of the pool with some measure of grace and ehaded toward the transition area to get my bike.

I'm always slow in T1 because my goggles steam up and I can't see very well where I'm going. I don't want to fall down or run into anyone. I've tried leaving my glasses poolside, but ithere often is no good place to put them and it takes too long to find them. Plus they steam up, too. T1 took longer than usual because it was chilly and windy, and extra clothes were required. I'd seen one guy on his bike in just his swim trunks, but everyone else I saw was more warmly dressed.

The 10-miles bike course was fairly flat with only a few curves and small hills. Thanks to four months of indoor cycling and "power repeats" I managed to get up the hills without downshifting to "granny gear." The course didn't seem as intimidating as it had the night before when I'd driven it in my car, thinking "why is it I do this?" And if there had been less wind, the ride would have been quite pleasant. My time for the bike was 44:43, an average of 13-14 mph. I would have like to have been faster, but since this was my first ride sans trainer since last fall, and I dismounted without falling, I felt okay about it. I'm close to phobic about falling because I've taken some nasty spills.

The weather had improved somewhat by the time I got to the run segment at 1 p.m. My legs didn't feel like total bricks and I maintained my usual average pace of 13 minutes per mile for the 5K. I even did a negative split.

My total time was 1:42:48, which put me third in my age group. The first place finisher's time was 1:21:34, and second place was 1:39:48. I had faster bike and run times than no. 2, but she was faster in transition. We all got the same prizes, though -- a small thermos. It was a good way to start the season.