Up and riding! :)

Much to our disappointment, Scott and I had to pull out of the River Cities Tri. We just were not physically ready to take that on after not having worked out in two months. We went on a 20 mile bike ride the day before the tri and I got sick, not eating healthy will do that to you, and was worn down till the following Monday. It really showed me how much I had lost by not working out for 2 months.

Watching Tonya start and finish each event was so inspiring and got us excited for next year….Scott was looking for a tri for us to do in the fall even before we left Cypress Lake! We are SO proud of Tonya! She was happy throughout the entire event and an encouragement to all! I can’t wait to race with her next year!

So after returning from the tri we were really pumped but knew we needed to start out slowly with our workouts and needed to start eating healthier. I have once again quit drinking Diet Coke. I still LOVE Diet Coke but don’t have a taste for it right now….get back with me in the winter tho….it pairs so well with Crown.  hehe

Anyway…..I do feel better by not drinking it and in turn it makes me want to exercise more. We have been riding on Saturdays with our group and it has been a blast. We do at least 20-30 miles each Saturday, with the group doing 40 miles last weekend but Scott’s knee was really bothering him so we turned around at 16.5 miles. I ordered Rock Tape for Scott after you sent the link, Tonya! So hopefully it will help out.

On Tuesday nights we are taking a spin class. It is one hour of pure HELL. We are taking it at my church so I can just give the instructor go to hell looks and nothing else. I truly do NOT like spin. I am working on eating properly on spin days so I don’t pass out. Yes, I have seen black spots (twice in one class) in my peripheral vision and just barely brought myself out of it. That night after class I laid down on the floor for a good 5 minutes. It takes me an entire day to recover. BUT…..on a higher note…..it is helping me out with my cycling. So I am going to stick with it and go on Thursday nights when they offer it in the winter.

My son, Triston, has joined his schools cross country team so this is propelling us to get out and run again! We have started the couch to 5K program again with my boys and Scott’s kids when they are at his house! I like running with Andrew (6) because we can run slow. Hehe. But I step up to the plate and TRY to keep up with Scott and his LONG legs when the boys head to the house.

I am ready to find some time to add swimming back into the mix. I truly miss it. It’s my favorite 30 minutes in a day. Of course school is going to start back for me next Friday, and it’s going to be tough to work out but I don’t want to lose any that has been gained in the last month.

Tomorrow we are going on a 30 mile ride with our group. There will be some “few long, sustaining hills” as our group leader put it, along with wind gusts, as Tropical Storm Lee rides in to visit us. So wish us luck! We will need it!! 

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River Cities Triathlon – Complete!

The culmination of this blog happened this past Sunday with the 31st annual River Cities Triathlon.

I was disappointed that Scott, Tammy and Gwen weren’t going to be racing with me but did have other friends who would be. I’m still amazed that I can do a triathlon that has over 1000 participants and STILL run into people I know. So very cool!

Scott and Tammy did take me out to a nice pasta dinner on Saturday night as well as show up bright and early on Sunday morning to cheer me on. Between them, my mom, my kids and my boyfriend, I had an awesome cheering section throughout the various points of the tri.

Me & my momma

 

Part of my cheering section

 

I woke up Sunday morning with an upset stomach but thankfully, that feeling quickly disappeared among the loud upbeat music and high energy of the other athletes at the park.

 

 

I did get in the water for a short pre-race swim – which I highly recommend. I’ve done that the past few tris and have found it really helps me to wash away some of the nervousness of the swim. This time, my kids enjoyed swimming with me too.

Soon it was time to go. The cannon blew LOUDLY and off we went!

 

Go go go!!

 

The first thing I noticed was how I wanted to be IN the pack of swimmers instead of behind them. The race announcer said something about drafting and how it saves energy so I wanted to try it. I was proud of myself for not being scared of being kicked, shoved or, as it happened, swam over! Literally, a few over zealous swimmers swam right over the top of me!

As my norm, I panicked in places (read: swam on my back) on the way out to the first buoy but as I made the turn, I found some calm and trudged on through to the end. I actually shaved 4 minutes off of my previous River Cities swim time!

Swim: 30:31.3 (pace 3:28) vs. previous 34:47  (pace 4:21)

 

Ready to ride

 

Out of the water, I ran up the beach and to the transition area. Note to self: ALWAYS remember to bring a towel to transition. I’d forgotten one but thankfully, my friend Jenn had an extra one for me to borrow. Even still, trying to slip into cycling gloves and socks while still dripping wet is quite the challenge.  I appreciate Scott and Tammy being there to encourage me during my transition.

 

T1: 3:57.2 vs. previous 3:28

 

The bike portion of the tri is a relatively flat 18.2 miles. I really enjoy the biking because it feels like a vacation to me in relation to swimming and running. I felt like I was able to maintain at least an average of 15 mph… sometimes I was up to 21 and others I was down to 10 on a few hills. I seemed strong after ingesting a mini-Clif bar during my transition. I also had a few peanut butter crackers and drank an entire bottle of Gatorade to stay hydrated while riding. Note to self: wear my Camelbak if at all possible during one of these triathlons in 90 plus temperatures. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about reaching down to grab a bottle while cycling.

 

Coming back in after the ride

 

Bike: 1:13:09.8 (pace 14.9) vs. previous 1:12:20 (pace 15.4)

 

My legs were jello after the bike ride but I did my best to rush into transition and get ready for the run. In my head, I was getting excited that I only had 3.2 miles left to the finish line.

 

T2: 3:22 vs. previous 3:22!

 

I didn’t really feel up to running even though I did run out of transition. I ran for about 100 yards and then settled into a comfortable walk. I tried jogging but just didn’t have it in me. Then I came upon my boyfriend and kids who cheered me on. When my youngest daughter joined me for part of the run, it inspired me to push it harder.

 

Looks like a good start

 

She inspired me to try harder

 

I noticed that there were not many who were running at this point in the competition. I had an idea in my head of my time and wanted to beat my last course record so I ran as much as I could, only stopping to walk when they handed out water along the run route.

I passed a few people who were exhausted from the heat or dehydrated. I was proud of myself for still feeling strong. I drank Gatorade at every stop and poured ice into my cap. I ran through sprinklers and grabbed the ice cold towels to stay cool. I had a feeling that I must have done well at staying hydrated since I had to pee during most of the race. I’m guessing you wouldn’t have that feeling if you were dehydrated. (I’d also been drinking at least 8 oz of Gatorade every day all week long and a TON of water too.)

I couldn’t wait to cross that finish line just to stop moving! I didn’t enjoy the final 50 yards being all sand because my ankles were pretty weak by that point but the finish line was a welcome sight.

Even better was being greeted by my family and friends!

 

Run: 36:31.3 (pace 11:47) vs. previous 34:44 (pace 11:13)

 

Finished: red faced but still feeling strong!

 

Total triathlon finish time: 2:27:31.7 vs. previous 2:28:39 <- a full minute off my previous time!

***

I’m still a little body weary from the weekend but pretty excited about the possibility of beating my time again next year! Looking forward to racing with Scott and Tammy for sure! And whomever else we can talk into it.

So, how’d you guys enjoy the tri goodies? A race jacket, socks, t-shirt, technical shirt, and a most excellent triathlon backpack… good stuff, eh?

And what’s that you say about kicking my ass next year? Bring it!

 

 

 

Back in the Saddle Again….

Well…we are going to see how long we last in the saddle. It’s 97* with a heat index of 110*. It will be our first ride since the Bulldog Tri. We are going to ride with a new group tonight and it’s a No Rider Left Behind ride! I will need that! (hehe) Hopefully it will start to go down in the next 45 minutes. That’s a big HOPE! Scott thinks his helmet warped in the car! Oops! I am seriously hoping for a cool front to come through on Aug 6 weekend.

It’s been super crazy this summer. I thought I would slow down just a tad but that hasn’t happened yet. Scott nor I have ran in weeks. We have walked a good bit (in Seattle, that counts, right?) and I moved from a town house to a little house last weekend, so maybe that will count too? The last time we swam, I actually did better than ever, but I am not up to 800 meters yet. I still want to try the tri tho. I may be last (seriously) but I hope we can do it.

Ok, off to ride down Hwy 167! Thinking positive! We CAN do this!