Atlanta's Finest Revenge

I was so excited for JoMarie to come visit us in Atlanta...she was planning on coming down for a Red Cross training and the weekend.

We would get to spend Tues nite, Weds nite, Thurs nite, and then from Friday afternoon on through Sunday together - wahhoooo! Seriously needed girl time.

But then. Just after she arrived. Macon. Tornadoes!

As a soldier for disaster fundraising for the Red Cross, JoMarie often responds to disaster needs from the DC office.

When the tornadoes hit central Georgia it just so happened that she was a mere 100 miles away...so she got assigned to go there to support on the ground fundraising instead of to the training.

SO, Wednesday morning she headed out and didn't come back till the wee hours of the morning on Friday.

BOOOOO!

The good news is she got to go with us to CANINE CAPERS Tuesday night to get to see Tilley in action (see video for a sneak peek!).

Then she was gone. Snif.

On Saturday, we headed into the gritty city to Piedmont Park for Atlanta's Finest 5k. Put on by our clients the Atlanta Police Foundation and sponsored by longtime clients Boardwalk Consulting, Northridge sent a contingent of racers and volunteers.

Among us were me and JoMarie, Tilley (up for anything, always), and my coworker Holly who was doing her first 5k with us. Tilley's race was first. She was actually registered as Tilley Hodgeski as a 2 year old (no where on the form did it say "check here to confirm you are a human", so what the hell).

We got her checked in and we all got race numbers in order :). JoMarie ran with me and Tilley, and Holly's son Connor did the 5k as well.

Tilley and Connor both went out fast, and Connor walked a little so JoMarie and I stuck with him either just ahead or in back to make sure he was cool.

As we rounded the final turn Tilley said "all bets are off!" and I dropped her leash and let her finish on her own. She was given a finisher's ribbon and an Atlanta Police badge by a very nice volunteer whom she showered with kisses "thanks for the ribbon, lady!".

Then it was our turn. We left Tilley and Connor with Amy and the rest of the Northridge crew and headed out, running, then walking, and alternating throughout the course. Holly kept a great pace and my knee was mostly ok until the last mile - and then it hurt like a mofo. Sigh. Not that I expected less but oh well. We finished in fine form and then hung out for a while in the sunshine and I did a little work with Tilley on obedience.

On the way out, we asked the po-lice if we could get a pic near their bike and, because of course he did, he offered for JoMarie and I to git on it :). When a cop asks if you want to sit on his bike? You say YES.

We headed back north with a very sleepy Connor and Tilley in the back seat. We rallied with John and headed out for lunch then the girls - all of the girls - including Laika, Tilley, and Erah, went shopping for canine couture and spent way too much time...and money, but had a great time. JoMarie was still wiped from work and having all of 3h of sleep...so I kept plying her with caffeine all day, which worked well through a fabulous dinner at Rice Thai in Roswell and into TV and girl time that night. We also had a few secret missions related to a certain upcoming wedding that will remain unpublished at this time ;).

On Sunday we headed out on an adventure for shoes which was unfruitful...but Tilley made LOTS of friends. We clinched the night with a little takeout from Mr. Taco and yes - more Sex and the City in preparation for the movie release next week. Monday after a quick stop at the office, JoMarie and Erah were on their way back to DC. WAHH!

We had a GREAT time even though our visit was shorter than originally expected. I was glad she was able to support the fine folks in Macon and to do her duty for the Red Cross. But it was a disappointment.

SO, to make sure it doesn't happen on a future visit, I hired her to work for us as our on the ground nonprofit gal in DC.

SNAP! Nobody puts Baby in a corner!!

:D

Video of Tilley moving from the tunnel to the a-frame then over the jump:

Race Report: Super Dolphin Day: St. Simons Island, GA

I retreated this weekend to St. Simons to participate in the 30th running of the Dolphins. The Super Dolphin Day Races, that is. Sponsored by the local elementary school, where else can you do a race that features a pasta dinner sitting at elementary school lunch tables, and the tee shirt features the tagline “Faster than a Speeding Mullet”?

Now let me be extremely clear. I have NOT been doing any speedwork. At. All. In fact, I’ve only had one real tempo run of just over 4 miles a few weeks ago and even that netted out to be a blistering 10:52 pace. So suffice to say, expectations were low and unknown. My primary goal was to not go out too fast and get discombobulated, but rather just run a sound race and not totally beat my legs up.

Dad and I went to the pre-registration and pasta dinner Friday night, where I was informed that Tilley could NOT register, despite the fact that the posted rules had no mention of no dogs. iPods? Sure. Strollers? Absolutely. Weaving 6 year olds all over the course? But of course. Dogs? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Which really sucks…I was really looking forward to this moment: “….and for the 10K, in the 1-8 female age group….Tilley Hodgeski!” And then watch the crowd go apeshit when a corgi wearing her own race number and ChampionChip waddles up to the table to get her medal and her picture taken with the Super Dolphin. Sigh.

After enjoying our feast, we did our best to drive the course even though the start was rather ambiguous, so we drove it in reverse. I wasn’t sure if they would have mile markers and I wanted to get a handle on my pace in some way at least at the 1 and 3 mile marks.

After a night of fitful sleep as the last of the southeastern storms (that I drove through Friday) expired themselves along the coast, I rose at 6am for a half bowl of oatmeal and a hot shower. I always shower before a race, since it both loosens me up and relaxes me. By 6:45 I was out the door, leaving a seriously confused and mildly irritated Tilley behind. I left a note for Dad with my approximate times on the course and directions to the finish line with instructions to bring Tilley. Turns out it was for not; and the only on-course race shot of me would be a quasi-sasquatch shot at the top of this post proffered by the race photographers. Order yours now ;).

It was a pretty tame turnout, and felt pretty low key. I warmed up a little and wandered over to the start line…which as it turns out wasn’t chipped, so even though it was a chip timed race, we had a gun start. So my time is probably about 4 seconds longer than true. And yes, every second counts :).

I sized up the competition…there were some SERIOUS runners there, most of them women about my age. There were a few token wife/girlfriend running with serious runner male types, and a few token overdressed runners (it was 61 degrees). With little fanfare, we were off. As usual, everyone burst out like a shot and I just kept it steady to get into a rhythm. Before I knew it, we were at the first mile maker with a nice person calling out times. 10:20. Right on.

After a little weaving through the back neighborhoods in the village, we struck out on Mallery up towards East Beach. The course was great; it really gets in a lot of the island from village to marsh to sound to ocean. A lot of people ran on the sidewalks, but probably 70% of us stayed on the road. I would say 80% raced with music. I train with music, but find racing with it both a distraction as well as not being terribly safe. I had a little cat and mouse re-catching some folks who had passed me, and one guy who had the heaviest feet EVER and insisted on staying (what felt like) two feet off my left elbow (the one moment where I wished for not music, but maybe earplugs). As a reward for not clocking the guy, I arrived at the three mile mark to hear “THIRTY”. 10:00 minute miles. PERFECT.

I think I was worried about losing it somewhere between 4 and 5.5 miles, because I must have slowed down to try to leave too much in the tank. I also hit a brutal headwind for probably the last 1.5 miles of the race which didn’t help….but overall I felt good, in control, and nothing was falling off (sadly, including my 6 spare pounds of PMS water).

I finished under the clock at 1:04:50, so 1:04:46. I wandered around aimlessly (repeat: Grandy stood me up!) and made a few friends including a woman who lives on Jekyll and two women who did the race as a run-walk, they are just starting to race. They are patients and big fans of Dr. Berg and were *so* nice. I regret not going to breakfast with them; I waited for the results since in all the past years only 2-4 women were in my age group. Turns out, this year there were nine. And I was ninth place. Breakfast would have been a much better call :)

Ouch! The age group brass finishes were like well under an hour. The truth is, I think I deserve a medal – I ran the race exactly as I had planned, and did better than I thought. If I had come across anywhere south of 11:30 minute miles I would not have been surprised, so I feel really good about the effort. Even better was the fact that I totally could have run longer….granted not at race pace, but it makes me feel like the Shamrock half won’t be a complete joke. Plus I will have my sidekicks with me which inevitably will make it much more entertaining than just high fiving the volunteer kids on the route (which ain’t bad fun either).

I went home to retrieve Tilley and Grandy for a quick breakfast at Dressner’s then a walk around the village. They were just then giving out awards so Tilley got in her requisite “CAN I PET YOUR DOG” time with strangers. And?

Our picture with the Super Dolphin.

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.