don't have an excuse to skip cross racing this year... That and sam is
tired of me rising my road bike on dirt all the time!
Many, many thanks for all of the birthday calls and wishes - the 25th
anniversary year is off to a good start! :)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Ready to get dirrrrrrty!
don't have an excuse to skip cross racing this year... That and sam is
tired of me rising my road bike on dirt all the time!
Friday, October 9, 2009
And We all Fall Down
Well, maybe not us, but the leaves for sure!
Usually, my birthday weekend means the height of the Fall Foliage coloring here in CT - not so much this year. Rain and crazy wind has dimmed the colors on most trees, but you can find a few beauties out there!
Things are returning to normal training-wise after last weekend's 1/2 Iron tri - a massage on Tuesday brought me right round, I'm even napping less this week than I was last week! By napping less, I mean that I nap on purpose...once...not multiple involuntary naps.
Someone asked me this week if I was sad to not be racing Kona this year and all I could say was "Thank goodness I'm not racing Kona this weekend!" I don't think he understood my excitement at NOT racing, but perhaps watching it this weekend online will inspire me to go back again...
Lots happening this week with race prep, Ironman prep and PARTY prep! This weekend marks my 25th year on this earth - woot!
After finishing 'The Lost Symbol' this morning, I decided to do a bit of cleanup for celebrations this weekend. It got me thinking about where I'm going, what I'd like to do, who I'd like to be and where I've been. I decided a long time ago to stop feeling regret, anger or upset about anything in the past. Even something horrific can be looked at in a positive light if given enough distance (and overused cliches).
At (just about) 25, I all of a sudden realized that my new 5 year plan includes some major life changes. It is pretty likely that in these next 5 years, I will finally want to settle down, start a family, buy a house. Gosh, I'm just not ready to be that adult yet! (Of course, the other part of my 5-year plan is to build my business, race and win a 100 mile running race, travel a bit more and climb a mountain - maybe not Everest in 5 years, but sometime!).
Chatting with a friend when out for a run this week, I asked her when she started her retirement fund, a fund for children and so on. I should preface this by saying that she is one of the most "together" people I know - her reply to me? "We didn't start any of that until well into our 30's - relax already, Mandy!"
Oh yea, Relaxing, why didn't I think of that? I remind myself to do that when training, racing, enjoying time with friends... why didn't it occur to me as I had this life-flip-out?! I suppose like a long distance race, we just need to take it one step, one moment, one feeling at a time.
Happy long weekend y'all and GOOD LUCK to everyone racing in Kona, Hartford and Chicago this weekend!
Usually, my birthday weekend means the height of the Fall Foliage coloring here in CT - not so much this year. Rain and crazy wind has dimmed the colors on most trees, but you can find a few beauties out there!
Things are returning to normal training-wise after last weekend's 1/2 Iron tri - a massage on Tuesday brought me right round, I'm even napping less this week than I was last week! By napping less, I mean that I nap on purpose...once...not multiple involuntary naps.
Someone asked me this week if I was sad to not be racing Kona this year and all I could say was "Thank goodness I'm not racing Kona this weekend!" I don't think he understood my excitement at NOT racing, but perhaps watching it this weekend online will inspire me to go back again...
Lots happening this week with race prep, Ironman prep and PARTY prep! This weekend marks my 25th year on this earth - woot!
After finishing 'The Lost Symbol' this morning, I decided to do a bit of cleanup for celebrations this weekend. It got me thinking about where I'm going, what I'd like to do, who I'd like to be and where I've been. I decided a long time ago to stop feeling regret, anger or upset about anything in the past. Even something horrific can be looked at in a positive light if given enough distance (and overused cliches).
At (just about) 25, I all of a sudden realized that my new 5 year plan includes some major life changes. It is pretty likely that in these next 5 years, I will finally want to settle down, start a family, buy a house. Gosh, I'm just not ready to be that adult yet! (Of course, the other part of my 5-year plan is to build my business, race and win a 100 mile running race, travel a bit more and climb a mountain - maybe not Everest in 5 years, but sometime!).
Chatting with a friend when out for a run this week, I asked her when she started her retirement fund, a fund for children and so on. I should preface this by saying that she is one of the most "together" people I know - her reply to me? "We didn't start any of that until well into our 30's - relax already, Mandy!"
Oh yea, Relaxing, why didn't I think of that? I remind myself to do that when training, racing, enjoying time with friends... why didn't it occur to me as I had this life-flip-out?! I suppose like a long distance race, we just need to take it one step, one moment, one feeling at a time.
Happy long weekend y'all and GOOD LUCK to everyone racing in Kona, Hartford and Chicago this weekend!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
I Felt the Air Rise Up in Me
This weekend was a test of sorts - a benchmark in this "new year". I loaded up the car - with pillows and blankets in case I could not find a place to crash besides my car - and made my way to dirty Jerz to RACE!
With test after test behind me and a nice 25+ hour training week in the books, I was looking to cap the week with a 1/2 Iron. The race seemed a good match, cold, long swim, windy long bike and long run.
What I got, beyond bonus fitness, was a lot of fun and a nice confidence boost. Sure as heck wasn't my fastest race, but on that day, it was good enough. A field of over 500 athletes made it that much more fun and a different crowd of competitors - mostly from the South, DC, Philly and Baltimore area.
My arrival on Saturday was pretty uneventful, I checked in and asked for suggestions on where to stay... "umm, there are a few 'lean-to's' open"... yea, I don't think so! The race is in this beautiful and massive park, but there's nothing else in the area, except Atlantic city a few stops down the Garden State. Back on the road, it occurred to me, all through the meeting I was looking at people, men and women and thinking, "I am going to kick her ass. I'm going to crush him. I'm going to win."
Yea, not the kindest thoughts, but there was a recognition there - FINALLY - after feeling so crummy and some dissapointments this year due to health or technical failures, I'm getting my groove back. That competitive edge usually shows up when I'm well rested, not suffering from Lyme, Mono and a faulty ticker simultaneasouly - and after a big training week.
Needless to say, I was amped. Comfy hotel, good food and a few chapters in my book later accompanied by some vino (yes, I drink wine before all of my races) and it was sleepy time.
The morning came fast, but I was eerily relaxed. Driving to the race site, I missed the exit - still no anxiety. Traffic at the entrance - no problem!
7 AM rolls around and the Sprint athletes are still mulling around. 7:30, they still haven't started. Some volunteer asks me why I don't have my wetsuit on and I smile and tell them, "if the sprint is 30 min. late, so are we - and my race doesn't start until 1 hr after the sprint!".
We ended up being delayed by about 90 min. and boy, was I happy for that extra comfort I got from my kick-around clothes. Some athletes were still soaked and freezing from the 62 degree water - they chose to get in the water early and it just looked painful.
The swim was uneventful - a 4ft deep pond was a better description of the "lake", but who cares - the course was long and we all swam slowly - I just laughed when I saw my swim time. A group of girls had dropped me early on as we started overtaking the men's swim waves and I never reconnected with them. They exited the water about 1:30 ahead of me, but I beat most out of the sandy transition.
Onto the bike, the wind was howling and - pop! - damn, my bottles fly clear out of the cages. I pulled the bike off, knowing the water stop wasn;t for another 29 miles, I ran back, grabbed the bottles and moved on. Better to get the bad luck out of the way early!
A lot of athletes were grumbling "I thought this course was flat!" - to which I could only laugh in response - there was maybe 80 feet of total climbing on this bike course. The one hill on the course, I didn't even notice. It was a lot of fun and a great prep - to get in 60 windy miles never leaving the aero position.
Onto the run, the sun was out and I was excited at how well my legs had performed on the bike. I picked people off the whole time and was in a happy space. Tummy felt good and so I skipped the first few aid stations to let it empty a bit.
The run was a blast - an xterra style off-road/on road mix of trails and paths in the park. I was feeling happy, just letting the legs come around for the first few miles and then things turned bad as I tried to speed up a bit. The tummy was all puffed out and distended and I was not feeling good at all. A few puke spurts later and I felt 5x5 again! I apologized to those around me for my "unlady-like" behavior and turned on the gas. The last few miles didn't "fly" by, but they definitely went by quick!
Across the finish and it was straight to a hose for a shower. I spoke with the RD and gave him my congrats on a fun event and told him I was heading out. A quick peak at the results made me smile, but I didn't feel the need to stay for the trophy.
While this was a strong race, it is just a stepping stone for the biggie. With a bit more focus, I"m ready to tackle the last training for Fla and really shine when I need to. Big hugs and many thanks to you all!! It is a happy new year already!!
With test after test behind me and a nice 25+ hour training week in the books, I was looking to cap the week with a 1/2 Iron. The race seemed a good match, cold, long swim, windy long bike and long run.
What I got, beyond bonus fitness, was a lot of fun and a nice confidence boost. Sure as heck wasn't my fastest race, but on that day, it was good enough. A field of over 500 athletes made it that much more fun and a different crowd of competitors - mostly from the South, DC, Philly and Baltimore area.
My arrival on Saturday was pretty uneventful, I checked in and asked for suggestions on where to stay... "umm, there are a few 'lean-to's' open"... yea, I don't think so! The race is in this beautiful and massive park, but there's nothing else in the area, except Atlantic city a few stops down the Garden State. Back on the road, it occurred to me, all through the meeting I was looking at people, men and women and thinking, "I am going to kick her ass. I'm going to crush him. I'm going to win."
Yea, not the kindest thoughts, but there was a recognition there - FINALLY - after feeling so crummy and some dissapointments this year due to health or technical failures, I'm getting my groove back. That competitive edge usually shows up when I'm well rested, not suffering from Lyme, Mono and a faulty ticker simultaneasouly - and after a big training week.
Needless to say, I was amped. Comfy hotel, good food and a few chapters in my book later accompanied by some vino (yes, I drink wine before all of my races) and it was sleepy time.
The morning came fast, but I was eerily relaxed. Driving to the race site, I missed the exit - still no anxiety. Traffic at the entrance - no problem!
7 AM rolls around and the Sprint athletes are still mulling around. 7:30, they still haven't started. Some volunteer asks me why I don't have my wetsuit on and I smile and tell them, "if the sprint is 30 min. late, so are we - and my race doesn't start until 1 hr after the sprint!".
We ended up being delayed by about 90 min. and boy, was I happy for that extra comfort I got from my kick-around clothes. Some athletes were still soaked and freezing from the 62 degree water - they chose to get in the water early and it just looked painful.
The swim was uneventful - a 4ft deep pond was a better description of the "lake", but who cares - the course was long and we all swam slowly - I just laughed when I saw my swim time. A group of girls had dropped me early on as we started overtaking the men's swim waves and I never reconnected with them. They exited the water about 1:30 ahead of me, but I beat most out of the sandy transition.
Onto the bike, the wind was howling and - pop! - damn, my bottles fly clear out of the cages. I pulled the bike off, knowing the water stop wasn;t for another 29 miles, I ran back, grabbed the bottles and moved on. Better to get the bad luck out of the way early!
A lot of athletes were grumbling "I thought this course was flat!" - to which I could only laugh in response - there was maybe 80 feet of total climbing on this bike course. The one hill on the course, I didn't even notice. It was a lot of fun and a great prep - to get in 60 windy miles never leaving the aero position.
Onto the run, the sun was out and I was excited at how well my legs had performed on the bike. I picked people off the whole time and was in a happy space. Tummy felt good and so I skipped the first few aid stations to let it empty a bit.
The run was a blast - an xterra style off-road/on road mix of trails and paths in the park. I was feeling happy, just letting the legs come around for the first few miles and then things turned bad as I tried to speed up a bit. The tummy was all puffed out and distended and I was not feeling good at all. A few puke spurts later and I felt 5x5 again! I apologized to those around me for my "unlady-like" behavior and turned on the gas. The last few miles didn't "fly" by, but they definitely went by quick!
Across the finish and it was straight to a hose for a shower. I spoke with the RD and gave him my congrats on a fun event and told him I was heading out. A quick peak at the results made me smile, but I didn't feel the need to stay for the trophy.
While this was a strong race, it is just a stepping stone for the biggie. With a bit more focus, I"m ready to tackle the last training for Fla and really shine when I need to. Big hugs and many thanks to you all!! It is a happy new year already!!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
TGIF
Wow, how'd that happen? All of a sudden, another week has gone by! It's been a busy one - in the middle of a BIG training block ending this weekend with a race - FINALLY! I am determined to kick this mono in the arse! Yea, I keep waking up from involuntary naps - in parking lots at the super market, working in my kitchen and so on, but the good news is that I'm getting in my training and it's going well.
Last night, I was swimming on a base pace of 1:25 and doing my speed sets on a 1:10-1:15 pace - yeeehaw! Coach Eric and I have backed off the swimming a lot this year. In the scheme of things, I was looking to improve my bike and run even more. Yea, I could swim 5x a week, but we've found swimming 2-3 times a week has kept me at a steady level, with maybe a bit of speed loss, but I'm not worrying about it.
The sun is finally shining, I'm getting to race and I will be 25 next week - Turnin' the tides, y'all!
Last night, I was swimming on a base pace of 1:25 and doing my speed sets on a 1:10-1:15 pace - yeeehaw! Coach Eric and I have backed off the swimming a lot this year. In the scheme of things, I was looking to improve my bike and run even more. Yea, I could swim 5x a week, but we've found swimming 2-3 times a week has kept me at a steady level, with maybe a bit of speed loss, but I'm not worrying about it.
The sun is finally shining, I'm getting to race and I will be 25 next week - Turnin' the tides, y'all!
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