Old Coot

I’m at the point in my training were I start playing little games with myself, talking to myself and talking myself into thinking that all this working out is really good for me.

Last year I decided to name my inner voice. Last week was a little tough and I actually was wondering where the hell Helen had gone. She hadn’t shown up yet or been shouting out positive reinforcement. But, I am happy to announce, she showed up yesterday. She’s still nice, but I think she went to boot camp over the winter because she’s a bit tougher than I remember.

Two weeks ago, after a 15 mile run, my big toe joint hurt so bad I thought I was going to throw up for several days. I decided to take my sock off and actually look at it and realized over the cold hard winter, that my right toe now slants real nice like waaay to the right and has a bony protrusion that accompanies it. It’s been a bit of a bitch and a pain that made me feel like I am actually (dare I say it?) getting old. Because let’s face it, do you see a lot of 23 year olds walking around with bunions?

So, now that I have an inner voice talking to me and a foot that is screaming at me most of the time, I decided that it was time to name her…her the bunion. And I have named her Agnes.

I really think I hit the name on the head with Agnes, as far as a name goes, until today. Since I have been teaching swimming lessons and training, I have been in the pool a lot and have gotten to see and chat with a lot of the “regulars”. Well, there is this one ol’gal who is crotchety as the day is long, complains about EVERYTHING, says she won’t ever come back (but always does), says the temperature is always wrong, it’s too hard to get around with her walker, and on and on and on.

Today, the pool was busy. This ol’gal was there, she was complaining about there being no space for her. I asked her if she wanted to share a lane. She told me the last time she tried to share a lane with someone the girl clawed at her with her fingernails and left a mark. I told her I wouldn’t do that and she was more than welcome to share with me.

As I swam, I began to realize I had named my bunion the wrong name. My bunion needed to be named whatever this old coots name was, because she is how my bunion sounds. As I got out of the pool, her gear was sitting on the edge. I looked down and noticed that something was written on her flotation belt, and hopefully it was her name.

As she swam the almost drowning side stroke, I waited until she was at the other end of the pool so there would be absolutely no way she could see me rearrange her things. When I felt safe, I moved the towel off the belt. And what name did I see?

MARY.

Race #1…done!

13.1 Finished!

Originally uploaded by sellke

Cheers to Erika and Todd for finishing their first 1/2 marathon! And Courtney, thanks for joining in the fun.

Running is so much more fun with all of you guys around.

And so it shall be

My friend Aimee asked if I had started training yet for the season.  I told her I hadn’t, but that I can feel it coming.  It’s like a train you can hear in the distance, you know it’s coming, you can hear it, you start to feel it and by the time it hits you, it is running on all cylinders and practically knocks you down.

This year’s race schedule is going to be a little different. There seems to be a lot more running. I’m going to blame this on my running group.  Too much time together running makes you think crazy thoughts, like marathons you vowed never to do again. My hope is that with these people, it will be easier, better and maybe even fun.

With all that extra running it could go one of two ways: (1) I am going to have the best season of my life or (2) I will go down in a raging ball of flames.

So here’s what this season looks like:

January:  Securian Frozen Half Marathon

May: Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon

June: Buffalo Triathlon (sprint) & Grandma’s Marathon

July: Life Time Fitness Triathlon (olympic) & Chisago Lakes Half Ironman 

And then I will rest.

70.3

So last Sunday was it…race day, the big one.  I have spent months preparing for this one event, this 1/2 ironman.  My hope during the entire season was that the training plan I had so haphazardly chosen last fall would allow me to finish, unhurt, all intact and maybe even want to do it all again once the challenge was complete. 

The entire weekend was filled with races.  First, CT and a couple buddies got to try their hands at doing a triathlon.  I had to pick up all my race information at the race site and they just so happen to make a day out of it for the kids.  Talk about amazing, these kids (ages 3-12) had to keep it all together through three different sporting events without parental help (ok the three year olds got help).  Once over the finish line all CT talked about was doing his NEXT race. I hope we haven’t created a monster.

So the race…I was nervous.  Very nervous.  Jen decided spontaneously Saturday night to sign up for the sprint distance race, she got in, which meant she drove with me to the race at 5:00 am.  There’s nothing better than having a friend by your side when you’re that nervous.  Thanks Jen.

It was a beautiful morning standing on the edge of the lake waiting for the gun to go off.  The swim portion was almost uneventful.  I finished in 36 minutes, which wasn’t earth shattering but kept plenty of reserve in the tank for everything else.

The bike was next, 56 miles of road ahead of me.  My hope was I could finish it in 3 hours.  Do you know what goes through a persons mind, alone at 20 mph, on hot corn field roads for that amount of time?  Well let me tell you, a lot. 

The day before I had stopped to buy CT some Yanks for his shoes for the race (we haven’t mastered tying yet) and while I was at the running store I started talking to the manager about my race and my race nutrition.  This woman imparted so much information to me that I took it all, devoured it and worked in into the race plan.  And then hoped to God it was going to work. 

She had me eating or drinking something every 15 minutes and at the top of the hour it just started all over again.  This made the time pass and every time I ingested something I thought of this woman and how lucky I was I bumped into her just yesterday.  Thanks Ann.

About every seven miles I would suddenly burst into tears, happy tears, tears of thankfulness for my health, my family, my friends, my life, tears that I’m lucky enough to be able to even do try to attempt this feat.  And as the tears would come I would suddenly think of my friend Nathan.  Nathan does this thing where he tells a story and at the end of it he takes his hands and in a very effeminate fashion waves them (at the wrist) up and down by his eyes like a delicate china doll fan and says, “And then I wept.”  So every time I started to cry, at the same moment, I would think of that and start to laugh.  Thanks Nathan.

Hour three of the race got tough.  The negative thoughts started coming in.  I started thinking of Adam, the three kids, my parents and his dad all driving down in the same car.  What if they all got killed?  Would they call me off the course?  I had to shake that off as fast as it came. 

I was still on my bike and I was feeling tired.  The heat was setting in.  I knew I could beat 3 hours if I just kept plugging along. As I pulled up to the transition area my computer read 2 hours and 50 minutes, I was very pleased.  Not only with my time but to see my family (alive) waiting there and cheering me on.

My bike was situated right on the outer edge so I could talk with them while I changed into my running shoes, slapped on some sun screen and  grabbed my shot blocks.  I handed PJ my cherry lip balm, in case I never returned, and then took off. 

The thought of a 13.1 mile run was daunting; I was feeling “it”.  The first two miles of the run consisted of severe leg cramps.  I had to just plod along, I stopped several times to massage my legs.  I tried to stretch but when I did my legs would just seize up. 

People were flying past me.  I had to find it in my head to be “ok” with that.  At this point, it needed to not matter that people were passing me.  I needed to will the cramps in my legs to go away, they had to go away.

There were moments were I would tell myself, “Just run to the next cone, then you can walk”.  This went on until mile six when I saw them, I needed to see them, hear them, stop and talk with them, tell them it was so hard and so hot.  I’m not sure I could have made it without them there.  Thank you Adam, CT, PJ, KP, mom, dad, Jen, Erika, Peter & Papa.  They gave me the strength to keep going.  

I walked through all the remaining water stops to take in as much water and Gatorade as I could and then moved on.  In my mind I kept signing that little ditty, “put on foot in front of the other” over and over and over. 

I finally got to mile 11.  Just two miles left.  And then, as Nathan says, I wept.  Right then and there I realized I could do it, I was really going to finish.  It was real, two miles away was the finish line.

I rounded the park where I just yesterday saw CT run through the finish line, I saw PJ and Papa buy the swings, CT right by the path and my family and friends on the hill yelling for me and cheering me on.  Thanks Erik and Aimee for being there too.

As I ran through the balloon arched finish line with a time of 5 hours and 45 seconds, there was no way I was going to do that race again.  Once was defiantly enough.  I hugged Adam and started to cry, so happy to have completed the journey and even more happy to be done.

As I stood in line to get a massage after the race, Jen walked over with my race results, I took fourth in my age group and 31st out of all the woman. 

Oh, now wait one minute…that changes everything.  See ya next year!

08’s Challenge?

Adam came home late from a meeting last week.  As we were catching up on the day’s events he told me of this co-worker of his who use to do marathons (until his knees got shot) and now participates in triathlons and for the fun of it just for a challenge, swims The Minnetonka Challenge.

How wonderfully ridiculous is that? 

15.2 seconds away from 3rd

What an amazing race and what an amazing head-case I am.

Around 6:15 am the officials made the determination that the amateur athletes could wear their wet-suits.  This one simple little thing made my head spin.  You see if you wear a wet-suit in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon you would not be able to place in the top three. 

So there it was…was I good enough?  Was today a day I could make top three?  With this level of competition could I make top three?  With a 1/2 Ironman two weeks away, is it even smart to try?  Who the hell am I to think I could ever make top three in only my 6th triathlon?  In only my first full Olympic distance course that had not been shortened? 

In those five to ten minutes I had put so much pressure on myself I could barley breathe and I  had no idea how to proceed. 

That new found inner voice started talking me off the ledge, telling me it was ok and that it would be ok however I placed.  So I heeded those words and decided I can simply do my best…today.  So I took my wet suit, against Jen’s advice, and just swam, biked and ran the best possible race I could.

This was a day that taught me a lot about myself, my racing, my abilities and my ability to hold back just enough to save myself from myself and still be really happy with whatever the outcome. 

 At 37, I think I might just be growing up. And yes…I really was 15.2 seconds away from 3rd place.

Results.

Photos.

Tri Dreams

Every year, right before a big race, I have a triathlon related dream.  These dreams typically include me, the race and something not so good happening during the race.

My dream last year included my bike getting stolen.  This year’s dream also included my bike.  Hmmm, that’s interesting for so many reasons. 

ANYWAY, in last night’s dream, I had mounted my bike and was heading down some street with many other racers beside me.  Suddenly my tires went flat and then started to completely shred into tiny bits until they finally fell completely off my bike rendering me absolutely incapable of finishing the race.

I just love those success story dreams.

First, first

My goal: 1 hour, 20 minutes
My actual time: 1 hour, 16 minutes and 35 seconds

And a first place medal in my age group to boot.

1st triathlon of the season

Today kicks off the first race of the season for me. I’ve done many of the things the experts tell you not to: re-fit your bike the day before a race, introduce new foods the day of the race and wear new clothing that you have never worn before (in my case a wet suit for the 68 degree water).

I’m either extremely stupid, just don’t care or will kick some serious ass. I’ll let you know how it all pans out.

Looking down the barrel

A month or so ago I signed up to do a ½ Ironman this summer. I have been feeling particularly laid back about how this is all going to pan out.

I’ve done races before. It’s just the next progression in the rung. Of course I can do it, what’s the big deal?

Well, training starts this Sunday and now the butterflies have officially made their way into the pit of my stomach. The past four months have been easy breezy runs with Jen and nothing else. I’ve deserved it, right? Why continue swimming, biking and lifting? I so needed that break!

I guess we’ll see just how good of a break it was. Here is what the first week of the 5:00 am, 18 week training schedule looks like:

Sunday: 30 minute bike, 45 minute swim
Monday: off (LOVE THAT!)
Tuesday: 30 minute run, 45 minute swim
Wednesday: 1 ½ hour bike
Thursday: 30 minute run
Friday: 50 minute bike
Saturday: 55 minute run

After writing that out it doesn’t seem so bad. Well, to be honest, the 5:00 am still does.