Halloween Fun

This post is only related to training in that it gives me more fat to work off while training...and involved missing working out midweek due to costume prep and Halloween itself.

Our office had a contest for a $50 Melting Pot gift certificate (read: more fat) so I opted to join in the fray. I was trying to come up with something different and I thought, why not involve a real live prop?

I ended up going as a young queen Elizabeth (mostly because there were black wigs, not grey, left). It's hard to tell what I was mostly inspired by... my grandmother's mink wrap, having recently seen The Queen, or the fact that I happened to have a corgi handy.


In either case, we pulled it off well enough to get a tie for second place (for which we received nothing, just like Top Gun, no points for second best...).

But between the photo sent around to staff as well as an actual photo I sent around with it, I think I feel pretty good about the effort.

And Tilley of course was the belle of the ball, taking turns napping in my office to "play dates" with various colleagues...complete with a quick duck out to Krystal with Megan (her first!) to complete the day.



We scurried home to get ready for our own trick-or-treaters, and to de-queen, and get fairied. Both girls and I were fairies this year (Tilley's "Welsh Golfer" costume from Target sits collecting dust; she didn't want to "look like a boy dog"). We actually *HAD* trick or treaters, unlike last year's Great Pumpkin Debacle on SSI. 14, to be exact. Tilley had fun visiting the neighbors across the parking lot that we chat with sometimes when we are out there (tho was given no treats!) and pretend trick-or-treating at our own door (complete WITH treats). Please note the effective use of Sephora green glitter eye cream on all three of us.

Her most fun was this...as the first real group of kids who came who fawned over her and our candy ("I got CHOCOLATE!", I heard more than once), and then as the kids trundled off down the hallway Tilley went with them. "Bye Mom, see ya! Going with my new friends."

She and Laika made another bolt attempt later in the evening while we talked to our neighbors across the hall, we looked up and noted with interest that the girls were well on their way to "F it, let's go on our own!!!".

All in all, a fun day. And yes, we are well aware we need real children. ;)

Recreating Rock Creek

I miss my friends, and I miss Rock Creek. Rock Creek Park in DC is my favorite training location (and one of my favorite, period); countless hours have been spent there on long rides with the girls, runs/therapy sessions with the girls, various dates with past fellas (including one brief participation by me on the weekly Goon ride), walks with Mom and Dad, picnics with friends, napping and stretching under trees, hiking, I could go on. There have also been moments of self-realization, self-immersion, and self-healing on the bike or in running shoes (including one memorable moment on the bike after a snowfall, when the park was nearly all mine). It seems summer weekends were not complete without at least one day in Rock Creek.

So what now? I got in one incredible ride on a DC visit earlier this year that really kicked off my interest in training again. I know I can't find an equivalent, but have found a pretty good stand in. If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with.

I had seen cyclists turning onto Riverside drive from my recent run turnaround along the river, and Saturday opted to get in a good long hour-plus out in the fall air. John had to study, so I set out on my own. I was admittedly a little bummed-I just miss riding with my peeps. Or, lately, people at all. I struck out along Azalea drive down to Wileo, down past the Nature center, and back to Riverside. I was winding along the river and looked to the right and saw the river where it narrows and goes over some rocks. Total flashback to Rock Creek. I closed my eyes for a minute and it was close enough :)

Up the road coming in the opposite direction I saw a guy checking me out and I thought, nice! He slowed down and began to turn in the road to catch me, and I was like, oh my. I thought for a second, does he need directions? Then I thought, wait is this guy like hitting on me? Finally he got close enough for me to focus and then I realize, I am a dipshit, it's my husband!! He said he wanted to ride with me and felt bad I had to always go out alone. What a hero, huh?

So we rode out the rest of Riverside, totally beautiful river views and some sweet houses. We did a few little hills in the end neighborhood, then came back to Martin drive, where there's a bike lane for a bit leading to niiiice wiiiiide streets going up some little tiny rollers on and on and on....just a beautiful ride. So much so that after the turnaround I came up behind John and said, "Enough of this Sunday Stroll, Let's Hurt A Little Bit!" Well that was short-lived. A quick burst and then I was like ow. Hey, my moments of sass and trash-talk on the bike aren't terribly long-lasting just yet... but at least I am starting to have them!

All in all a great ride...looking forward to exploring back off Martin some more...there are some serious hills on the topo, will have to start adding those into the mix just for fun.

:D

Art Show

Art show time in Georgia! Mom and Dad came down this weekend for the Falling for Henry arts festival south of the city.

They even shacked up with us and the girls in the apartment, and we even turned over our king bed for their use...though given my family's size, me, John, Tilley, Laika, AND Mom and Dad could have all laid up like cordwood in the bed and never touched.

The art show was beautiful and had many talented artists, but Grandy only had one sale to Aunt Sandra (despite his consumption of a Red Bull, his first -- like the man needs any more energy?). We had a time with the sun hitting Dad's booth and kept rearranging to combat steam. Steam + Watercolor = BAD.

We had a great time though, visiting with my cousin Christina and Aunt Sandra, as well as our good friends Scott and Katherine Allen Coleman. Katherine won best in show!


Christina designs AMAZING jewelry...given that they lived all over the world, she has a true gift for designing things with such different cultural feels and uses beautiful gems and metals in her work. Some pieces feature the little bells that I always remember her having from all her travels when she was a cool teenager and I was a weirdo middle-schooler.

She has such great style, so much so that once she turned me from a bland 17-year old into (what appeared to be) a 24-year old Euro Club girl in order to get the three of us into a dance club in Mexico City (it worked).

It was great to hang out and catch up with them and also see her at work and see her amazing displays; I have seen her stuff (and am the proud owner of several, including two custom made pieces for the girls!) but had never seen her show booth. Very cool! She's also getting into running and hopefully next spring we are going to tackle a 5k together in Chattanooga. We recently went out at the cabin with Alex and went to go walking to Pine Grove...and ended up running the whole way back. She's a rock star.

(Max) Back in (Pink and) Black

Today was a good day and the official kickoff to fall base training. It could have gone south...starting with not being able to find my whole wheat english muffins for my breakfast eggwich...but I absconded with one of John's croissants as a stand in - sinful but delicious. I got to work early to meet up with a few coworkers who are interested in doing tris...in some cases their first, others have done just one, and a third was one of two coworkers that were in my first wave of victims for our tri club and did their first race under my quasi-coaching this past summer. Work has been relatively sane this week, so I did something unheard of.

I left the office for lunch. But not just any lunch.

This has happened probably all of 4 times in the past year, but today's crisp(er) air (by Atlanta standards), the flawless and outrageously blue sky, and my desire to sling the race cooties out of my arms added up to the decision. I headed out to the Lifetime pool at 12:11 with a goal of getting up, getting in 600, and getting back in an hour. In the locker room, I had a landmark moment. Since I started training again, I had yet to swim in an honest-to-gawd swimsuit. I was wearing tri shorts and a top and fine with that, but had purchased months ago a lovely Tyr Maxback (my favorite training suit) in reversible jet black and hot pink.

Today, I put it on. Grabbed my race swim cap and acoutrements. And walked out on to the outside pool deck, reborn.

I did an easy 600 split evenly between regular swim/pull buoy/regular swim, with some focus on left-side (my off side) breathing, and called it a day. After a stop at the gym's cafe for a sandwich (financial splurge), I realized that was my mistake; I had to wait 3 minutes in line and almost 10 for the sandwich. So the whole ordeal was a 1:20 endeavor, much longer than I wanted, but enjoyable nonetheless. Since most my swims will be much longer moving forward, this was a nice treat to enjoy a fall day, recover from the race, and mark a new chapter into base training.

I kept the celebration going well into the early evening - after returning to the apartment from work and letting the girls out, I grabbed Tilley, placated Laika with a Chicken Stick, and we headed out for a 3 mile run at dusk to greet the night along the river amidst the earliest of fall leaves that just can't hang on for the fall color change to drop. I felt really(oddly) strong - what I had assumed would be a perfunctory return to the run ended up being a smilefest all the way to the turnaround and back...despite the plethora of ingested mosquitoes and spiderwebs.

Welcome, base training.

Emerald Pointe Triathlon: Executive Summary Numbers

The best way to enjoy a race report is in person. The second best is a longwinded written account of every detail that is music to the ears of some and torture to others (who admittedly aren't likely reading this blog). The third and perhaps most entertaining, is - as always - by the numbers.

Emerald Pointe Triathlon
Sunday October 7, 2007
400 m swim - 13 mi bike - 5K run
Race start: 7:30 am

The Trip:
- Time I had to wake to get to said race start: 4:45 am
- Left the house: 5:15 am
- # in my race crew/caravan: 1: A little dog named Tilley
- Breakfasts eaten en route: 1: Shared oatmeal with Tilley
- Wake up calls-checking to make sure I made it out and for moral support: 1: JoMarie
- Other callers on the drive: 1: John-who has been awesome in supporting my time training whilst he studied away

Race Site Arrival and Transition Setup:
- guys cussing out their friend for not holding his bike right for him: 1
- guys cussing out "that f*ing dog" (Mine who barked when we pulled up): 1
- guys I wanted to go over and say you are the reason this sport gets a bad rap: 1
- Miles walked from parking spot to transition area and check-in: just under 2
- Warm up runs done with Tilley because of said distance: 0
- Number chicken sticks crumbled and stuffed into bone to entertain dog: 1
- My race number, bodymarked on well despite humid post-walk skin: 622
- Other number of people doing the race, making for a big transition area: 799
- Cushy neoprene ankle straps I brought from home for my timing chip: 0
- Crappy, itchy velcro straps I slathered with BodyGlide instead: 1
- People who looked at me like I had horns or ignored me utterly when I made pleasant chatter: 4
- People who were actually nice while setting up: 2
- potty breaks had on race site before race: 0 (a personal first)
- vows made self to remember to tinkle in the lake: several

Swim and T1:
- strangers involved in wetsuit zipping: 2 (I asked one, and later one asked me)
- strangers I told "hi, please take these hairclips as a gift I am afraid they will rip my swimcap":1
- number of people I had to pound/hi five/go git em with: 0
- nice people I met waiting for our wave to go in the chute: 1 - Dana - she complimented my toes :)
- biggest mistake: going out slow and left as usual
- moment of realization of mistake: getting stuck behind 3 women frog-kicking that I was unable to get past until 1/2 way point in the swim
- happiest swim moment: turning the buoy to the homestretch and realizing, I am not going to get spooked
- people I almost beat senseless: woman on the last 100 yards who wouldn't get off me so I just kept my line (sorry, but I had had enoughathat)
- biggest coup: remembering to pull off wetsuit top pre-photo (they hold water and add yet another 10 lbs)
- second biggest coup: remembering to stash (and them remembering to retrieve) water bottle for the very long jog/walk up to T1.
- missed opportunity: forgot to pee, after all those self-made promises. RATS.

The Bike
- Number of hybrids and first timers: a LOT (I am all for first timers as you all know, many of you firsthand-but it also means that these are folks who may not know the rules or be as cautious about other bikes...as evidenced by my jumping over a guy's tire once years ago)
- nasty downhills out of T1: 1
- times I thought, this isn't flat: probably about 8
- Sure enough, vertical elevation gain on my watch post-race: 1100-not a mountain but not flat
- people I saw walking bikes up some hills: 4
- people I saw pulled over vomiting partway up a hill: 1 (I feel for this guy, but yet it validates the not-flat point)
- times some stranger told me I was in the wrong gear: 1 (to which I replied, I am keeping my cadence up and letting my legs recover) - gee thanks "Coach"
- times someone told me to keep to the right unless I was passing (no shit, sherlock) - as I was passing someone (not fast enough for their taste apparently): 1
- number cars I was sandwiched inbetween trying to pass a clump of people back into the park, including waving backwards with my hand for the truck to back off till I passed: 3
- times I passed or was passed by the two 36-year old women: countless (I ended up finally getting them on the bike with a fierce 29mph downhill performance down back into the park...that's where I really make up speed when people coast)
- Times I passed the Tilleymobile: 2 (yelled TILLEY only one of those)
- surprised self: 1 - had thought I would walk up the steep hill into T2, especially if there was chaos, but I floated right up it, quick like a bunny, and did a tidy dismount (kept shoes on)

T2 and the Run
- Times I thought, this is great in T2: 1 - so quick! rack bike, swap shoes, grab pile containing hat, water, gel, race belt, and go...putting things on as I ran out
- Times I thought, "this too, is not flat": several, including the one 30-sec walk moment I took to get my heart rate in check up one of the hills
- Times passed by/passing those two 36-year old women: 1, sadly. them passing me. Though I will say I too would have run faster with company.
- Times I passed the self-appointed Coach lady: 1. Woohoo! How's that low-cadence high-gear tactic working for you NOW, lady?
- References made on the smell of BBQ on the course (heavenly!): 2
- 15 year olds who passed me on the course (who I told she was a total badass): 1
- Times I smiled going into the finishing chute: 3
- Total time to complete course: 1:45 and change

The Aftermath
- Things I did after getting my chip removed and being handed water before going to get Tilley: 0
- Surprised dogs who gave me the "oh, you, back are you?" blank stare: 1
- Dogs who slathered me with kisses and licked my race number: 1
- Number of us who ended up wearing peanut butter: 2 (Tilley's head, my arm)
- Folks who came up to see Tilley: Thousands
- Attempted transition area break-ins by doglet: several in one sitting (see video below)
- USAT officials who came to pet Tilley: 2
- ChampionChip officials who gave Tilley her own water bottle:
- Time it took to get home: 50 minutes
- Time it took me to bonk: 2.5 hours (after Steak n Shake, Target, Staples, and dog park)
- Naps had: 2 (me, Tilley)
....and now, the video of Tilley tunneling into transition (after the fence biting:) (has sound)



Stay tuned this week for another geek-o-rama post with results breakdown and splits by sport, detailed analysis and the inevitable self-deprecation and self-re-inflation, actual race photos, and photos of the various folks you read about in today's post :)

My Nervousness Exists on Several Levels

So it was the day before the race, and I was nervous. After spending week's end doing exciting things like picking up my race packet at Roswell Bicycles, and not so fun things like fighting a serious head cold, it was with mixed emotions that I finally caved and elected to drive out to Lake Lanier on Saturday to check out the course.

I think it was mostly for my mental benefit since obviously what I would find there would leave me little to do other than just know what was in store, which is actually important in a race. Things like where are the hills, are there any tricky downhills and turns, what's the pavement like...all things I knew I wouldn't be able to see at o-dark-thirty on race morning.

So I packed up Tilley and Laika and out we went. Thanks to a side window that wouldn't roll up all the way and a pacing, window scratching Laika, I was really jittery on the drive out. I was fine once I got there, and could see it - really picture it - in my minds' eye. John asked me later why I was so jittery and I said it boiled down to performance anxiety stemming from a few things. In no order:

1. It's been a while....a long while. My last race (the mini triathlon we put on for our wedding in June 05 notwithstanding) was in April 2005. Would I remember what to do? When I did, would my body respond in the right way?
2. That last race was unfun. A swim of 62 degrees, 42 outside, and enough rocking and rolling on the swim to turn months of dedicated training into a panic fest. This topped by a rolling hilly bike where my legs never really thawed out, and it wasn't one to reflect back and and say, ah, I miss that. And believe me, two and a half years is pleeeenty of time to replay THAT in one's head maaaany times.
3. I was going to be alone. Being new to the city and with a husband at an all-day training, this would be my first race totally alone. I was also bummed that there was no way for Tilley to hang out and watch the race after all the running she's been doing with me. Laika's cheered me on at tons of races, but this would have been Tilley's first. For me, so much of the race ritual has been about friendship and family - racing together, or taking turns going to each others races for moral support. I think doing a race solo would be less of a deal if either I had raced recently, or at least knew folks in the community a la TriCATS in DC. There would be none of that. I finally decided to take Tilley and let her nap in the car during the race itself, much like she had done with me in the past for brick workouts at Columns Drive.
4. I was sick. Despite taking the afternoon Friday to rest, I was counting on Claritin to get me through the race. I knew that even though I might have drier sinuses, I would still be "down" and have to be really careful about hydration to not get the chills on the run.
5. I was bloated. Yes! I had 9 weeks to do the math to figure out I would be at peak PMS for this race, and two months to pull off alchemy to change those dates, and didn't. So imagine - if you will - packing on about 6 extra pounds of aqua saddlebags around the waist and the chest just in time for a race. Looking forward to packing all THAT into a wetsuit.
6. I was going to be slow, and I knew it. Not only did I only start really training 9 weeks ago, but I had no base. In past races, effort would hurt but my muscles were buffered by several years of biking. That was gone now.

Ultimately, I had to take this race at face value. The goal was to remember what it was like, and to start again with inspiration and experience, and begin to build again.

I splurged and bought a new race top for the occasion, and carefully, ritualistically laid out everything I needed for the next day. I selected alternating black and silver toenail polish for the occasion. I hydrated. I took a hot bath. I set my alarms, and I was ready.