I "HEART" Conte's

Really, I do. I called and e-mailed a few places and Conte's was the first to reply. I adjusted my day a bit, left work early so I could still swim, headed to Conte's and within 20 minutes, Carlos and his aero bars were as good as new. I even had time to go to the grocery store and get veggies!! YAY SALAD.

My intention was to get up and bike this morning, however due to my allergies, I took a Zyrtec last night. That W-I-P-E-D me O-U-T! I set my alarm for 5:35 pm instead of am. My the time the second alarm went off at 6, I decided more sleep was needed.

This evening was a first for me. I went to the gym after work for 40 minutes on the treadmill (that's not new) but I went to happy hour after (also not new). However, I had the Kristin special of cranberry and orange juice. And a water. I had questions of "no vodka?" and "not even 1 beer?" Nope. That was it. I didn't even order food when I was tempted by the crab/cheese pretzel... Ummm... crab pretzel... I used to have dreams about the crab pretzel before the Columbia wine festival it's so good.

Anyway, I stuck to my plan of not even one. My friends are getting used to my early departure and I think are happy that even show up.

Off to bed and setting my alarm for 5:45 am, not pm.

Stupid Stupid Stupid

I actually did get up at 5:30 to go biking. But it was really dark so I went back to sleep til 6 to go swimming. I got up at 6, put my suit on, changed my mind and changed to my biking outfit.

I had all my bike stuff packed and ready to go so I just grabbed my water and headed out the door. I threw Carlos into Marcus, adjusted the front wheel and handle bars as needed and drove down to Hains Point.

I started my first loop and just wanted to warm up before I concentrated on my cadence and aero position. At the start of the second loop, I went down into position and my left arm kept sliding off. I thought it was my fleece (I didn't dress properly for 50 degree biking and wore my emergency fleece from my rubbermaid container that stays in the Marcus) sliding off, but I wasn't having the same problem with the right side.

I then flashed back to when "I threw Carlos into Marcus, adjusted the front wheel and handle bars as needed" and remembered hearing a crack. I thought it was the top of the rubbermaid container. Nope, it was the left armrest of the aero bars.

STUPID STUPID STUPID!!

Had I just taken 5 extra seconds to put Carlos into the back of my car properly, this would not have happened. STUPID STUPID STUPID!!

I still managed to finish my 75 minute ride and did have some good aero practice. It was a good morning with few people, hardly any cars, little to no wind and good snot rocket practice.

Now I need to find a replacement armrest of my aero bars. Or a lot of duck tape.

Wow, That Was Unexpected

Yesterday's post was about how great my friends have been so far through this experience. Well, today hit a new level. Midwest Airlines was having a fair sale and there was a 10% off coupon. Jess, Kristin and Roxanne booked flights, and I think Lauren might have as well. Others are looking into where they are going to be and planning on being there. That is just so unbelievably great. I am very lucky and thankful to have the support I do. Thank you!!
Tomorrow I am going to do my best to get out of bed and on my bike. I really need to start getting up and on the bike!! Off to bed...

Friends are Great

I have said this before, but I really don't think I could be doing what I am trying to do without the support of my friends.

They calm me down on my random freak outs, plan to come with me to events, remind me of what I have done and overall - that it will be okay. Roxanne and I went for a swim tonight followed by a delicious greasy cheeseburger and fries. She is such a great resource to have though all of this because she knows exactly what I am going through. Last year she was training for her first Ironman, in Lake Placid.

And by the way 5 MONTHS!!! Only 5 MONTHS AWAY!!!

According to Google

5 months = 152.184249 days

10 Miles BABY!

And the first 'race' of the season is done. Here is my report

I woke up at 6 after an evening of watching the DC Roller Girls doing roller durby. Yes, Roller Durby. It was awesome.
And I woke up to rain. Yes rain. I was kind of hoping I would get a call from Kristin, Lauren, Rose, Jess, Charles.. someone asking if we were all still running. But no, no call so I started my routine. I went into this thinking of it as a long run, not a race. I got dressed in my smelly pullover (it was dirty but the best one for rain, it matched my outfit best, and I look good in green which is very important for the pictures), packed my fanny pack (it the special running one that holds a water bottle - NOT a typical tourist one!!), grabbed my safety pins for my race number and headed out. I had my knee braces, inhaler, Metro card and credit card for brunch after. My I.D. too, just in case.
Anyone notice what I missed... MY RACE CHIP!!! After all the issues with getting one yesterday, I totally for got to put it on my shoe. I made it down to the metro and was talking with this guy about how crazy it was to be up and running in the rain. I noticed his chip and realized I didn't have mine. There as no time to go back, so no official time for me. Dang!

I make it to the race start where it was cold and still raining. After some time we all found each other, took a few pre pictures, and were off about 10 minutes late. I will post pictures eventually, however I used a disposable and the official ones will take a few days.

Jess and I started together and said good by to the speedy ones. It was still cold, but stopped raining, then started again and was humid, stopped and was cold, started and was cold, etc. Not the best race weather but I will take that over HEAT any day. So Jess and I are moving along, mile by mile. I might have been pushing her just a bit, but she was great. After mile 5, Jess and I decided to go our own paces.

It was good for me to 'practice' being at the end and on my own. To not let the pressures of others during a race get to me, and just concentrate on putting one (wet) foot in front of the other. To watch the race people take down the mile marks and tear down the water stops, even though I was in front of the time cut off. I kept the pace I wanted to, walked when I planned, drank and had my Clif Shots when needed.

Overall, it was a great start to the race season for me. I finished strong and was happy with my time - even though it's not posted. My pain is limited and I know what I need to do for long runs (i.e. remember body glide).

Congrats to everyone who ran and finished!!

Oh, Packet Pick-up

I decided to take the day off from biking because my knee is a bit sore and Coach said it was okay. It is a beautiful day I hate to miss but that's okay.

So I went to the packet pick up with what felt like every other person running tomorrow. After I found my number, I got my packet but there was no chip in my numbered pouch. I was sent to the"Solutions desk" to figure out what to do. The solution... get another chip. How was this documented? On a legal size yellow note pad with a blue pen. Yup, the chances of my actual start and finish time being accurate are slim to none. The probability that I will be charged for not turning in my chip, pretty high.

But the best part of every packet pick up is the expo. I was looking for my Clif Shots - which were a bit harder to find as everyone uses Clif Blocks now (and I do biking, but not running). After I found some stuff I didn't need, I found the BEST T-SHIRT EVER! Dad, this shirt is for you but for me.

Good Swim

Finally. It's been awhile again since I had a decent swim. That might have to do with the fact I keep blowing off my swims. It's the one I feel most comfortable with so I can 'always make it up later'. Anyway, I got to the pool and it actually wasn't crowded, which was great. 5*500 with 45 seconds rest. I only had to circle the last 500, but it was a rough 500.

See, if you have ever swam or taking a swimming lesson, you know how important it is to blow the air out your nose. For some reason, I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have and I got to the end of the lane sooner than expected. I took a half stroke to get a breath and did some sort of flip turn thing. I was a bit flustered and pushed off weird. Before I knew knew it, the water was up my nose. If this has ever happened to you, you know EXACTLY what I am talking about. That stinging sensation and you get a few tears because it feels like the water went up your nose and is coming out your eyes. And it lasts at least a 50. But if that is the worst thing on a swim, I will take it.

Now it just needs to stop raining so I can get outside on Carlos. He doesn't like the tease of outside, than being on the trainer, trainer, trainer, outside, trainer, trainer, outside, trainer....

La La

Yesterday I had some down time and did a lot of reading. My reading of choice - Triathlon magazines of course! I have been reading books, websites, other blogs, and magazines all to help prepare myself for September. I even go so far as to mark articles or stories with little sticky flags so I can go back and re-read certain topics.

I start to worry because I am a bit over 5 months away and I haven't biked more than 22 miles or run more than 8. 5 months is a lot of time, but it's not. How do I stay positive? Everything I read talks about this challenge being so mental. In the back of my head, I know I will do my best, no matter what. If my friends and family come out and I don't finish, it will suck, but I will be okay.

This is what popped into my head today during my 40 minute easy run. I was grooving to a little JT, putting one foot in front of the other, and I panicked a bit. But, I kept going. I walked a bit, but kept going. These are the workouts I need to remember. The break through ones are good, but these are almost better.

I Get to do the 10 Miler on Sunday

I was I am by no means trained or ready for a 10 mile 'race' but I am going to do it anyway! My goal, pace in front of the 'pick up' bus.

I was debating telling Coach that Sunday was the race. This was because I was afraid he would say no. But, people reminded me that so far, he has been pretty right on a lot of situations. So, I told him. After some e-mail mishaps, I got my weeks schedule that included Sunday's race. YAY! He is even giving me Monday off!!!!

I have done a few extra workouts so far this week, so it is good to be ahead of schedule. My knees are doing okay - ice and ibuprofen help A LOT.

I just realized I started each of these paragraphs with I. Can you really be worried about being egotistical when you have a blog that is solely dedicated to yourself???

It's Almost Spring!!

There was a lot that I wanted to comment on today and I am sure I won't remember it all, but I will try.
I went for a run at lunch, right after it stopped raining. In DC, do you know what that means. HUMIDITY!!! It took me about 6 years to realize that when it rains, it does not cut the humidity and cool down the temperature, it makes it worse. Let's just say my hair was really pretty when I passed my boss on the mall.

At some point in the afternoon I realized it was beautiful outside. I decided to leave work a bit early, throw Carlos in the car and head to Hains Point.
After an hour sitting in traffic, it made me realize how lucky I am to hardly every drive during rush hour.
Anyway, I hoped on and took off. I was all ready to work on a higher cadence and my aero position. However, the wind had a different idea. There were little white caps on the Potomac. So, aero bar practice really didn't happen. But overall it was a pretty good ride.

Here were a few interesting points on the ride.
1. A beautiful Tuesday afternoon/evening during the Cherry Blossom festival means many MANY cars. Not just a lot of cars, but cars who don't know Hains Point is full of bikers and don't slow down.
2. There is one part of the loop I was doing were there was a back up of the above mentioned cars. I maneuvered between the car and the curb nervously well but it was so close, one of the boys in the drive leaned out and said "Hi Biking Lady". That is too close to cars for my comfort level.
3. Biking during the peak of the Cherry Blossoms means not to open your mouth, even when breathing, or parts of the blossoms might fly in.
4. Really R-E-A-L-L-Y fast bikers bike on Tuesday evenings. And not once did I hear an "On Your Left!" RUDE!
5. These bikers mentioned above: they can do the snot blowing out of the nostril really well. I was actually more jealous of the snot blowing than the speed of their biking.