StinkyLemsky: A Child of the 80s Grows Up

My first triathlon - Part 3

As I walked my bike into the transition area, I felt a little dazed. I had just finished the 21 mile ride in less than an hour and a half when I had planned on taking over two hours! I had averaged less than a 4:23 mile when my goal was 5 minutes!! (It's difficult to know my exact time and average because the race organizers tack on both of your transition times to the biking portion). I was FAR ahead of schedule, and I knew that I had enough energy left to finish five miles, even if I was forced to walk the whole way!

I met Ellen at the bike racks, and she helped me think clearly. Let's just say my brains were a little addled and I almost tried to put my hat on over my helmet! Hey, at least I had a good excuse for the shortage of brain power. After one more quick spray of sunscreen (still not a cloud to be seen), we were off!

 

I had to laugh when I spotted Mitch with the camera - he must have sprinted around the entire transition area to get from the bike-in portion to the run-out portion in time to take this picture! He deserved an award of his own after waking up at 5am & hanging out in the heat all day waiting for me to finish racing. Of course, he couldn't settle for just one picture... he snuck up on us again around the bend.

Well, hello there, Mitch! How'd you get there so fast?! For the rest of the race, I kept thinking I'd see him pop up out of a bush with the camera or something.

And the 5 miles, well - I'm not going to lie - it was tough. It was really, really tough. It was just SO HOT and even though 80% of the route was in the shade, the temperatures were starting to soar well above 90 degrees. Ellen and I had agreed to do 3 & 3 intervals of walking and jogging ahead of time. We had practiced together and it seemed to be a good fit for us. I don't have the best knees, and I was the most under-trained for running (my training had focused on my weaknesses of swimming and biking so much that they had quickly become my strengths - funny how that works). 

It quickly became apparent that I wasn't cut out for 3 & 3, so we switched it up to 2 & 2 - my legs had taken a beating from the 21 miles and were just operating on muscle memory at this point. Ellen was so understanding and was willing to do whatever I wanted to do - she said she was only there because I was & her team didn't care about timing, so we could just focus on crossing the finish line & that was that.

You'd think I'd feel bad about taking walking breaks during a triathlon, but if you had been there you'd understand. Probably 90% of the people racing with us were what I call "ST's," as in "Serious Triathletes." They had triathlon team jerseys on and lithe racing bodies and the newest, fanciest racing gear. These people had been around the tri-block if you know what I mean. And, of those 90% of racers? 50% of them were walking at least portions of the route. It was just necessary in the heat. As in, for survival. In fact, Ellen and I actually seemed to be taking the smartest strategy and were actually passing other racers!

Right about mile 4, I was pretty much hitting the wall. Ellen was chipper as can be - excited and thrilled to be nearing the end whereas I was just trying to put one foot in front of the other. At one point I said, "Okay, let's dial back the chipper-ness a notch," and got some laughter out of her. I was struggling. I was tired. Oh, and I'm pretty sure I was REALLY REALLY HOT. And yet, we continued on. Two more minutes, two more minutes. Just keep going.

Until...

Surely we weren't already at the finish line? Amazingly - we were! I told Ellen to go ahead and sprint, she deserved a celebratory finish!

 

And me? Well, I didn't really have a sprint left in my gas tank, but I managed a nice healthy jog across the finish line just the same.

 

I couldn't believe I had done it - it was OVER - I had acheived a goal that at many times had seemed out of my reach. Even a month prior to the race, I had considered dropping out and there I was at the finish line! Me, the antithesis of a "ST" or a "SR" (Serious Runner) - I had held my own and finished respectably. The finish line was still there and everything! There were still people behind me!  

 

All in all, I had averaged a 13:22 run. Yes, that's a slow mile pace - but when it's two hours into your workout in the blazing heat it's something to be darn proud of. My goal coming into the race was to finish between 3 1/2 hours and 3 3/4 hours.

My final time? 2:41:38, and I earned every single minute of it.   

My First Triathlon - Part 2

The comments on yesterdays post were great to read... Klutzymama - it took me about twelve minutes to finish the 500 meters. To give you an idea of my speed, my mom's teammate (an amazing swimmer) finished her 500 in just under 10 minutes and she was the 6th fastest swimmer in the WHOLE RACE. If she would have had open water & not been caught behind people once or twice, she'd have been even faster. Even though 78% of the racers had a faster swim time than me, I am still actually quite happy with 12 minutes. As far as Deb's comment about the hills goes, I had to giggle (for those of you who don't know, Deb is my mom).

Anyway, back to the story... I was climbing out of the pool and walking to the transition area when I heard Beth (my sister) tell me to run & not to slack off - so I picked up the pace. I couldn't help it, I was nervous about running onto the gravel / concrete barefoot! When I got to my bike I was still soaking wet and proceeded to run through my mental checklist... goggles & cap off (check), dry my feet, socks & shoes, sunscreen (why won't the bottle work?!), drink some water, HELMET, and finally bike (duh).

Prior to the race, I had attended a seminar at a local running store on beginner's triathlons - that's where I got the tip to bring a bucket to use as a seat to help get my shoes on. It also doubled as a convenient way to carry all my gear. This was probably the best advice I got because I didn't have to try to balance on one leg while I was drying my feet and tying my shoes!

After wrestling with the spray-on sunscreen cap for a good thirty seconds (it felt like an eternity!), I was ready to get my bike off the rack and head out!

 

You have to walk your bike to the edge of the transition area before mounting (it's a safety precaution). I really couldn't even tell you how long my transition took - probably less than two or three minutes. I was trying to be speedy without forgetting something crucial that would make my life more difficult over the next few hours (leaving a pebble in my sock or skipping the sunscreen, for example). It felt surreal as I smiled at Mitch and my sisters and headed onto the course.

Right away, I noticed I was riding significantly faster than my goal pace - even uphill. I had been training on a gravel trail (the Katy trail) for months and while I knew the road would be faster, I didn't realize how MUCH faster. My goal was an average of 5 minute miles, and right off the bat I was riding 3:30, 3:45 - all without a race bike! Yep, Mitch and I have road bikes - they're reasonably priced commuter bikes. Not exactly ideal for a triathlon, but it's not like I was in it to win it or anything. Um yeah - next time I'll be borrowing my mom's racing bike! People were FLYING by me and I know I could cut a huge amount of time if I was on a faster bike.

Once I hit the flat portion of the route (miles 3 to 18), I settled into a routine and stayed at a pace of around 4 minute miles. I was pushing hard and a bit nervous that I'd be out of steam for the five mile run ahead. Another idea passed on by my mom turned out to be a life saver... I had tied a bandana around my handlebar post and used it to dry my hands off as they got sweaty or wet from my water bottle. (I don't wear biking gloves). There's really no other way to describe the weather other than: it was hot. Vedy vedy hot. I was thanking my lucky stars that I had spent the last three weeks acclimating my body to the heat because that's really what got me through.

Seemingly before I knew it, I was heading back into town - coming up on the biggest hill of the race. I knew my training had prepared me for hills, but I was still nervous about tackling that giant - it was practically a mile long (and steep too). Right as I approached the base, another rider pulled up alongside me & made some small talk. That was one thing I noticed about this race compared to any others (5Ks, etc) I had done - there's really not a lot of spectators out on the route, so the other participants become your cheerleaders. Nearly EVERY person who passed me on the bike route said something encouraging as they went by. It was so motivating!

After chugging my way up the hill, I was within a third of a mile of the transition area and it was almost an HOUR earlier than anticipated.

I had to shout at my sister as I approached so she would be ready to run. (Even though my mom, her teammate, had finished an hour earlier, she had decided not to start her run until I got back. It was the nicest possible thing she could have done. Completely selfless). I fought back "the choke" as I walked my bike into the transition area - it was the first time I really let myself think I'd finish, and finish well. For months I had been convinced I would be the last one crossing the finish lines and had pleaded with my husband to make them keep the finish line up until I crossed. I couldn't believe there was only one obstacle in my way.

Well, five actually... five long miles in the soaring heat...

My first Triathlon - part 1

Well, my poor husband has already heard me recap every minute detail of the race, so he probably just died a little bit when he realized I was breaking my triathlon story into three parts. But, really, even if nobody reads this but myself, I still want to write about it. It was, after all, my FIRST triathlon. Let me tell you what, I was SO nervous. The heat index on the race was over 100 degrees and there was a heat advisory. Doesn't that just make you want to spend almost three hours racing outdoors?! In mostly zero shade?! With no clouds?! Saturday (the day before the race) my mom and I rode with Mitch and mapped out the bike route, so at least I knew what to expect - few hills, windy flats, and no shade. I was already familiar with the running path - which was (thank God) about 80% shaded.

So, Sunday morning - race day - arrived and I woke up bright and early at 5:00 am. My start time wasn't until 7:09 and thirty seconds (they start swimmers every 15 seconds so people don't get trampled), but I wanted to get up there with plenty of time to get my transition area settled and see my mom's team start at 6:08. Yes, you read that correctly, my mom raced too! She was on a team as the cyclist with a friend of ours (the swimmer) and my younger sister (the runner).

 Ellen and I pre-race.

AH! I am wearing the triathlon suit of dooooom. Well - actually I have to admit, it's a LOT less embarassing when you're surrounded by 300 other people wearing something very similar. So, I got the chance to see my mom's team start and cheered her on as she took off on the bike. Then, I waited in the stands with my hubby and my sisters (aka my cheering squad) before it was time to hit the pool deck.

 There I am down on the deck waiting for my turn. I was so so so nervous - checking out the people in front of and behind me & trying to determine if I'd need to pass anyone in the first few laps or if they'd need to pass me. I decided I would definitely be getting passed. I was lucky actually, as I had seen quite a few people who were obviously not prepared for the 500 and they were swimming sidestroke, breaststroke, doggy paddling, etc just to get through the swim. Not that I'm judging - they all probably run 4 minute miles, but my point is that it's hard to pass people who are swimming anything other than freestyle.

Only twenty two seconds until it's my turn! At this point I was trying to decide how to best jump into the water without my goggles flying off my head (you weren't allowed to dive in, you had to start in the water).

 And... I'm off! The swim was a "serpentine swim" which basically means that you have to duck under the lane rope at each end of the pool. It made me glad I hadn't stressed out about flip turns because they would have been difficult to do and not run into people. It took me a few laps to get the hang of things - I had started out too fast and couldn't get my breathing pace established. But, after a couple of laps (and once I got into the bigger lanes where I didn't have to worry about space quite so much), I really settled into a groove and felt like I could have gone longer.

 Before I knew it, it was time to get out of the pool. Can you see how the sun light was shining directly into the sliver of the pool by the ladder? I was blinded & couldn't see a thing! All I could think about was getting into the transition area and getting on my bike!

What do you get for the guy who just finished six straight months of solid studying?

Why - more study material of course!

Yes, after Mitch finished his six hour exam two weeks ago, we all met up at a local restaurant for pizza and happy hour beers. I surprised him with the certification material for SCUBA lessons! Yes, that's right - Mitch and I will be getting SCUBA certified this month by my sister's boyfriend (don't worry - he actually lived in the Bahamas and taught SCUBA lessons for a living so he's definitely qualified. No bargain basement SCUBA lessons for me). Now, class - who can tell me what SCUBA stands for? Double extra bonus points if you can guess what t.v. show I learned the acronym definition from (no googling for the answer, play fair!). I shall answer the trivia in my next post and give away a most excellent prize of admiration and accolades wrapped in a shiny bow of approval to the winner.

Cheers honey!

Here's his group of ardent fans and groupies. Well, I guess I'm pretty much the only groupie. To my knowledge, that is. Of course, you can't keep this group pinned down to one location and the party eventually transitioned to our humble abode for the unofficial bar-opening party of 2009 and a cornhole tournament.

That's bag toss for those of you who aren't in the know. Oh, and if you were wondering, the OFFICIAL bar opening party will take place 6/27 - when I can drink again & partake in the festivities. (I haven't been drinking during the last month or so of race training). If you live in the area (or, if you're a stalker and have some frequent flier miles), you're totally invited.

My first 'tagging'!

So, AC over at "A Novel Idea" tagged me with a real live blog award! How cool is that?

 

I just love her site - (the artwork and color on the masthead are so cute!). Of course, this is my first "tagging," so I'm a little nervous. There are all kinds of ettiquette rules in the blogging world, so I want to make sure I get this right! First I have to reveal five addictions and then tag five other bloggers to do the same. Here goes nothing:

1) My first addiction would have to be pizza - in all shapes and sizes. I'm not geographically biased - I'll take St. Louis style, New York style, or Chicago style any day of the week. Thin or thick crusts - meat or veggie toppings - I'll even indulge in a dessert pizza happily! Oh MAN, now I'm hungry...

2) Addiction #2 would have to be reading. Hmmm - I am sounding more and more boring by the second here, but I can't help it. I love to curl up with a good book before bed (and lately the 4th Twilight book is keeping me up WAY past my bedtime. There's so much action and suspense - I even read on my lunch break today just so I could get closer to finishing. By the way - I totally did not anticipate 90% of the plot so far!).

3) I have to admit... I have a deep-seated (seeded?!) addiction to office-supply shopping. If I'm bored at work, I know I can kill thirty minutes just by browsing the office catalog. Bliss = flipping through the pages of color-coded file folders, assorted sizes of binder clips, and many varieties of post-it notes (God's gift to mankind).

4) I'm really addicted to... well... guilty pleasure tv shows! Gossip Girl (Can I PLEASE have Blair's wardrobe?), The Biggest Loser, Grey's Anatomy, 90210, Desperate Housewives, Jon & Kate +8, and Lipstick Jungle (just to name a few). I've even been known to Ti-Faux episodes of Tori & Dean - Home Sweet Hollywood. It's a sickness - I know.

5) My final addiction would have to be... sweets. Yes, I'm just keepin' it real here. Put a bag of Red Vines and a box of Reese's Pieces in front of me at the movie theater and I'm one contended cookie. (See, even my nicknames are baked goods!) Ice cream, Hershey Kisses, Conversation Hearts... Oh, so tempting.

Suddenly, I'm reconsidering my 'tagging' excitment. I might not have any readers left after you all know how boring my addictions are. Why can't I be exciting and have fun things to share like "ornamental dragonfly collections" or "Kate Hudson film props" or "knife throwing competition medals?" Sigh. Please forgive me for my normalcy. Now, on to the tagging... I think I'll stick with four bloggers because I'm running out of time here at the office & want to get this posted today.

* Becca's blog is all about life with her new baby daughter, I think it's neat that we're both from St. Louis.

* I used to chat with Ren all the time on the Weight Watchers boards, when we were both losing weight for our December 07 weddings. She's planning for a new arrival now!

* Next up? There's always a fun tale to read over at the Mommiverse - today she's tackling the feeling of fitting in as an adult. Sometimes it seems like high school never ends, right?

* You think you have drama? Over at Noble Pig, Cathy will make you feel LOADS better about your neighbors...

You're up, ladies!

It just wasn't our night

9:00pm CST: Well, here I am, thirty minutes before the beginning of the women’s gymnastics team final competition. I thought I’d try something different tonight and do my own version of live blogging. Rather than using something like Twitter, I’m just going to put all my thoughts into this one post and publish it tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll have some exciting material to write about… 

And what’s happened so far? Well, not much really. I watched the women’s 10m platform synchro diving finals - an event which my sister’s friend and diving teammate was almost chosen to compete in. My sister, Beth, the one natural athlete among us girls, was an extremely successful high school diver, so I feel a little bit of a “six degrees of separation” thing with the diving team. Of course, the Chinese won the gold medal (with the US women coming in fifth). It’s crazy – just when you’re trying to convince yourself that the task of being completely in synch with another human being while jumping off a three story building to perform a perfect dive, the Chinese women come along and make it look completely natural. They’re just astonishingly perfect.

Okay – swimming has started – gotta run.

9:01pm CST: Ooooh – there’s going to be a ‘family edition’ of Biggest Loser. Should be cool.

9:04pm CST: Gah – I can’t take it. Semifinals of swimming aren’t successfully keeping my mind off of women’s gymnastics. I mean, tonight is just the night for women’s gymnastics. Of course I’ll be excited for the all-around competition and the event finals later this week, but this is really where the excitement is. The format is cruel – three up, three count – and it certainly doesn’t help my nerves to remember the 2000 Olympics when Carly Patterson couldn’t put it together for the team competition and went on to win the all-around against Svetlana Horkina. Will Shawn and Nastia pull through for us? Okay, commercials over…

9:05pm CST: What’s going on with Garret Weber-Gale’s eye? Looks like a contact lens malfunction –a semi-final race is not a good time to lose your vision!

9:11pm CST: Mitch is snoring.

9:12pm CST: Oh – Katie Hoff is swimming in a final event – I hope she wins.

9:16pm CST: What a bummer – fourth place has to be the worst – especially when the top three swimmers beat the world record time.

9:18pm CST: Michael Phelps is up next… will he make Olympic history? Ten lifetime gold medals? Only a few more minutes and the world will know…

9:24pm CST: HE DID IT!! And broke his own world record in the process! Don’t even tell me he was disappointed with that time and performance. I know he’s a perfectionist and all, but would it kill him to smile?

            Edited to add – in a later interview Michael explained that his goggles had filled with water during the race and that’s why he was frustrated. Okay, that makes sense.

9:28pm CST: Gymnastics are getting ready to start so this whole ‘live’ thing will have to take a backseat. I need to give this my complete attention – sorry Internet.

            p.s. Visa already has a ‘congratulations’ commercial for Michael Phelps ready to air? Nice timing. Okay, really signing off now – more tomorrow.

Epilogue: Well, I have to admit I’m disappointed. I really thought team USA had a shot at winning the gold medal. Especially after their first two rotations were solid. I feel sorry for Alicia Sacramone; she just couldn’t handle the pressure. Before her beam routine she looked absolutely terrified and it showed in her mount. She was just way too rattled to pull it together for the floor exercise, not that it really would have mattered at that point. Here’s a graphical representation of my emotions last night…

 

To be honest, I’m still kind of bummed out about the whole thing. The fact of the matter is this: we just didn’t have a gold-medal performance. Hopefully there will be some redemption in the all-around and event finals – in the meantime, I’m going to have some coffee. Maybe that will perk me up.

I can't help but wonder what I'd eat with 10,000 calories a day...

Did you watch last night? Oh my goodness, it was a great night of competition for team USA! Michael Phelps made it look easy when he won another gold medal (his third) in the 200m freestyle. Not only is he right on track to be the most decorated swimmer in Olympic history, he continues to break world records on a daily basis in the process. He's incredible! Did you see the montage they ran on him earlier in the evening? He eats 8,000 – 10,000 calories per day to fuel his body for training. Wow. Just, wow. There were some other incredible swimmers last night too – Aaron Piersol and Natalie Coughlin both won gold medals in 100m backstroke. (Piersol broke the world record and made it look easy; though I'm a little annoyed with the announcers' constant need to comment on his 'breezy Californian lifestyle').

And then, of course, the men’s gymnastics competition was much more exciting than it was expected to be. What a dramatic evening – the team was jubilant after four solid rotations, but started to falter on floor exercise. Jonathon Horton had the meet of his life to keep the US in contention for a medal. For a few rotations, it looked like they might even win silver!  Their last event was pommel horse – described by the announcers as the ‘Achilles heel’ of the team. I couldn’t stand the suspense as the hopes of the entire competition hung on the balance of Alexander Artemev’s performance. When he completed his routine successfully I was shouting, cheering, clapping, and just thrilled that he had clinched the bronze medal! Of course, Mitch was not quite so impressed – he had fallen asleep on the couch - let’s just say he’s not quite as interested in gymnastics as I am.

Now, women’s sand volleyball on the other hand – that he has no problem staying awake for. Is it just me, or do Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh have the most perfect bodies on the face of the earth? I couldn’t wear a white two-piece swimsuit and look that good in a million years, even with a contingent of personal trainers and nutritionists. They looked amazing and kept their gold medal hopes alive by breezing through the match. Did you see the opening broadcast? Where they showed the meeting between Kerri and the volunteer who found her wedding ring in the sand? He looked like he was dazzled to be in her presence, it was adorable!

 

Now, tonight, you just have to watch and cheer on the female gymnasts. I so hope they do well... This is my Superbowl, my Oscars, my Grammys. I'm not quite sure how I’m going to handle the excitement. The coverage of the women’s team final won’t be on until later in the evening - so you’ll have a chance to catch up on Project Runway if you’re not interested in any other Olympic events. Personally, I’ll be watching to see if Michael Phelps can become the only USA athlete ever to win more than nine medals in their career. (He’s racing in two event finals tonight).

This weekend: Olympics in a nutshell

Did you watch the Olympics this weekend? There’s so much coverage; I think “Olympic Games Watching” should be considered my part-time job at this point. Thanks to my trusty DVR, I was able to view the lengthy Opening Ceremonies coverage in approximately one hour (actual duration = 5 hours). Let me just say – WOW. I thought it was incredible. There were over 15,000 performers in the Bird’s Nest for that one event. Can you even imagine the logistics of putting that together? I think my favorite part of the show was when they revealed that it wasn’t a computer synchronizing the “wave” action on stage, but hundreds of people working in perfect harmony to create the illusions. Truly incredible.

So far, these games haven’t disappointed in the excitement factor. There’ve already been some memorable moments. Were you watching last night when the men’s relay won (by 8 hundredths of a second), upsetting the highly favored French team? It was amazing. Let’s hope that performance gives the entire team a boost of confidence – I’d love to see Katie Hoff and Dara Torres with golds too!

The men’s gymnastics team performed well enough to give them a slot in the team finals (broadcasting tonight). They’re a long shot for a medal, considering they placed fifth in preliminaries. But, with some more stuck landings and repeats of their standout stellar performances (Alexander Artemev on pommel horse for example); they may have a shot at the podium.

I was a nervous wreck watching the women’s gymnastics team preliminary competition. Before the event even started, our team suffered a setback when Samantha Pescek, an all-around solid performer, hurt her ankle during the warm up. Since she was only healthy enough to compete on uneven bars, our team was unable to send four members to each apparatus – and every score counted. I think it’s a testament to the incredible talent of the team that (even with some disappointing performances and unexpected mistakes), we were still able to finish in second place. Shawn Johnson was just as solid as ever, with only slight errors on floor and uneven bars – her beam routine was amazing and (in my opinion) underscored. I can’t help but feel sorry for Alicia Sacramone and Chellsie Memmel, whose errors put them out of contention for event medals. Let’s just hope they can rally for the team finals later this week!

Coming up tonight: Men’s gymnastics team final, Michael Phelps swims for his third potential gold medal, the chance to watch Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh extend their sand volleyball winning streak, and men’s platform synchronized diving.

Do you plan on watching?

And she did it all on one foot…

I’m not sure I can really express just how excited I am for the 2008 Summer Olympics! Do you realize they start Friday? Yes, Friday is the eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year (which is supposedly a very auspicious date in the Chinese culture). I’m already planning on watching the Opening Ceremonies; I’ve bookmarked this site so I can be sure I don’t miss anything important over the next few weeks; and I will definitely be watching the women’s gymnastics competitions – no matter where I am when they’re televised.

The sport of gymnastics has a special place in my heart. I still get goosebumps when I watch the clip of Kerri Strug finishing her vault in 1996, to clinch the team victory for the United States. And who could forget Paul Hamm’s amazing comeback in 2004 to win the all-around competition after a disastrous fall on the vault?

And this year, well – this year there are some great stories to look out for. With Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin on our team, will we reclaim the women's team all-around gold medal from the Romanians? How will Alicia Sacramone and Chellsie Memmel perform under pressure? They were both heartbroken when they missed the 2004 Olympics, and Memmel recently suffered an ankle injury while training in Singapore. Will the men be able to pull together after Paul Hamm’s announcement that he hasn't recovered enough to compete?

Then, of course, there are the stories from other sports. Can 41 year-old Dara Torres do the unthinkable and medal in her fifth Olympic games? After watching her impressive victory in the 50m freestyle event at the Trials, I can’t wait to find out. Will Michael Phelps make history by earning a gold medal in eight events? Not just any medals - gold medals? How many track events will be decided by a photo-finish? How many races will be separated by thousandths of a second? Medals awarded by hundredths of a point?

There will be heartbreak, there will be drama, and there will be tears. And I can’t wait to be a part of it.