The Results Are In...

I finished! And it was FUN.

I also finished in under an hour and a half: 1:27:36 was my time. I smoked the swim, was respectable on the bike, and kept running despite jelly-legs and extremely tired muscles. And I still managed to pull in under a 10-minute mile, so I feel pretty good about that.

What I learned:

1. It's time for a new swimsuit.

2. Getting there early is smart. I arrived at 615, just after the transition site opened, and had no troubles setting up, getting packet, getting body marked, etc. And having the extra time to look over the transition zones, figure out where the bananas were, toe-test the water and so on was a godsend.

3. People have fast mo-f'ing bicycles. Dang.

4. I think I can improve my time by quite a lot, mostly on the run and bike. All told there wasn't much time between me and the third place finisher (13 minutes) and I think I can get even closer next time. I know that's a lot of time in the grand scheme of things, but if I could cut off even 7-10 minutes I'd be super proud.

5. Get someone to drive you home. You will want to fall asleep at the wheel.

It'll be a year before I can do a tri again, but I'm pumped about the training I can do in the meantime. I'll focus on running and getting my speed and strength up, and I plan on saving my money for a sharp little bicycle (nothing too crazy- should be a commuter as well).

Again! Again!

blogging fail...triathlon win?

Heeeyyyyy

*sheepish*

Well, tomorrow is the big day. I've gotten my detailed race email, my fancy tight running/biking shorts, my race number and wave, and I'm ready.

A couple of things you may have missed:

1. I'm sad about Kate's foot. I'll let her go into more detail if she wishes, but long story short she's not doing the race. On the up side I get to borrow her super fast bike machine; on the downside I have no one to race with and will be doing this for the first time by myself. Which is fine. I mean, it's not like I've never done anything by myself before. But well, you know. This was our joint endeavor.

2. It turns out Buffalo Lake is shallow, and so they're expecting the water temp to be around 68-70. That's...not as bad as I was expecting. For a swim that will only take ten minutes, I've forgone the wetsuit route in favor of finding an outfit that will work for all three events. Air temp should be around 80 F, and overcast.

3. That said, I bought a pair of Zoot Tri Shorts, tight little things that ride just under my gut...but that's, uh, my gut's fault, right? I'm going to wear them over my swimsuit for the swim, and just before hopping on my bike I plan on pulling on a workout top type thing (mostly because I don't trust my old-ass suit to contain my boobage on the run portion). I think it should work.

4. I'm fucking excited.

Keep an eye on TriBuff.com for race results and information! Wish me luck!

blergggg

Parts of my body demanded that this week I taper.



The weather didn't help either.

Bike riding is still going well but running came to a dead halt because my neck dictated to my back that all movement was painful and should therefore be avoided, so I had to go back to just doing my simple physical therapy exercises until things (literally) straightened themselves out again. I did a short run tonight (why is that everyone in my neighborhood feels like they can heckle me while I'm running? I know my ass is 'daaaaayum'-worthy, but you have to work for same as I did, people. C'mon!) and felt okay. 1.5 miles only, but I tried to pick up my pace from the speed I normally go. It went okay.

Swimming just went to the wayside because, as Kate has noted, sometimes it's hard to put in the effort to get in the pool. Once I'm there I'm always happy. Sigh. I'll go tomorrow.

A taper's not so bad at this point, just a little one, right? The next few weeks I can ramp it up and start to really push, and just in time taper again a week or two before the tri to get rested. Only 44 more days...yikes!



I need some advice on what to wear. Seriously.

thoughts...on most everything

On swimming

It occurred to me the other day that swimming in the Hilton pool, despite its shortness, might actually be a beneficial place to train for a triathlon in a lake for the following reasons:

1. It's always a little murky.
2. The constant interruption of laps due to its short length may accurately recreate the short distances I'll go before being interrupted by another racing swimmer.
3. Avoiding small, splashing children is perhaps more difficult than avoiding other racers.

That said...my kingdom for a regular lap pool. Seriously.

On biking

Oh what a marvelous 10 days it has been! 30 Days of Biking is in full swing and I have managed to get on my bicycle every day. Some days with longer mileage (today, for instance, I only pedaled half-heartedly around the block in the midst of a ginormous wind storm), but all told, enough to make for some tired legs and a slow, satisfied contentment creeping all over my bike-loving soul. 20 days left and hopefully the forecast will hold (it's been tremendously beautiful, this April, so far).

On running

It's getting better. My new shoes are still fantastic. Twice now I've run halfway up Victory Memorial Parkway and back for a total of 3 miles each time, and been happy with the result. I've been tired and I have some unique new blisters, but my legs are feeling stronger and it's getting easier to convince myself to keep going. Tomorrow I'll attempt Calhoun again.

On racing

I think...I think I'm so excited. I can't wait for the atmosphere, the crowd, the burn, the competition, THE RACE. And most of all I can't wait to be done, and so proud of myself and of Kate for what we have accomplished. And I can't wait to find out- will I get addicted? Will I want to do this over and over again? I think I might.

Yes, I think I just might.

Stupid Setbacks

While it's been beautiful for the past week (aka exactly what I was waiting for), I failed to stretch before running last week and therefore have been faced with completely obnoxious pain in my left foot upon any attempt to run. It's getting better day by day, but I think the worst idea would be to run on it before its good and ready, lest I damage it further/again.

In other news, my bike helmet has lost its ability to be adjustable and unfortunately is stuck in the "slightly loose" position. I've got an idea for a fix on that one, too, but it's made me wary of biking (amidst traffic, with the sun beating down on me and a humid 70+ degree breeze cooling me as I zip along the inviting, freshly cleaned streets).

It wasn't a total waste of a week, though. I lifted a bit and re-realized the importance of stretching, with the help of my foot and my mother, who sent along a set of stretching exercises from a Bellin training course she got herself entangled with.

Best Thing So Far Today

True, it's only about 8:30. But thanks to my cohort Lauren, I already have a favorite thing today and it's triathlon related...sort of.

We all look silly when we run--we're focused on running after all, not looking normal. For as ridiculous as people look when they run, basset hounds look a hundred times awesomer. Buzzfeed.com posted a bunch of pictures of basset hounds' faces just flopping all over the place as they run. It's hilarious, and it's linked right here.

Lazy Loretta and Goes-for-it Gus

It's me. I'm the Lazy Loretta.

I have only bad excuses--I was busy, I was out of town, it's just warm enough to be mucky outside, I haven't gotten my bike tuned up yet... All these and more are the reasons I have been slacking this month. Amazingly enough, June 6 doesn't care. Triathlon is going to just keep getting closer and closer until it's here, regardless whether I'm prepared.

So I've been developing a new training strategy for April and May: I will train intentionally rather than whimsically. I will make sure that I'm devoting appropriate amounts of time on each event (instead of avoiding swimming because it's really hard). I will keep records to track my progress (instead of assuming that I must be progressing because that's what happens with practice invariably). I will track of outdoor workouts as well as indoor ones (instead of being tricked into thinking that 10 minutes running on a treadmill is the same as 10 minutes running along the river).

I'll be bigger, faster, stronger. Or...at least two out of the three.

The Goes-for-it Gus in this story is my dad. I learned recently that he did a sprint triathlon (a more intense one than we've signed up for, but back when he was around our ages) and took third. Third. Only two people were faster than him on that course that day. While not at all a realistic goal for me, I'm pretty impressed that it was not only a realistic goal but an achieved goal for my kin.