I just realized I never recapped my last triathlon, which I PR'ed compared to last year. Oh, and I've done two long bike rides that I could have blogged about, and I didn't take a single picture. I guess I can do the Reader's Digest version of those things, and then just move on to greener pastures. I still want to blog, but as triathlon season comes to an end, and my focus shifts, I'd like to make this blog more of a daily diary style blog. I know some people aren't into that, and that's okay. I also want to start working on a blog that is more of a lifestyle blog, which I'm currently brainstorming on. So, let's review some highlights of this season.
Ramblin' Rose Rock Hill Sprint Triathlon
This was the scene of my very first triathlon, so in a way it feels like "home". I've done that bike route and run probably 10-15 times, and I like the pool at the aquatics center. The day started out great. I was well-prepared, and I had what might be my new pre-race breakfast, consisting of a Sugar Free Monster Energy Drink, and a boiled egg on a bagel thin or sandwich thin with a 2% cheese slice and a smear of light olive oil mayo. A lot of things mess with my stomach. I can't do coffee on race days because (TMI warning), it makes me poop. I usually have a pre-race nervous poop, but I don't like to add things to the mix that make more poop happen. Enough on poop. I can't do fruits or other very acidic things because I get heartburn/reflux. Learned this the hard way after burping banana for my very first 5K. I like the protein/carb ratio of the egg on bread with cheese, and none of that combo seems to "hang around" to irritate me while racing. The Monster drink was just kind of an experiment. I need caffeine every morning- EVERY MORNING, race day included. But since coffee is out, that doesn't leave a lot of open doors. I've tried Diet Mountain Dew, but something about it REALLY makes me have to pee. At least Monster has some vitamin element to it, even though I *fully* realize it's not that awesome for you. But I PR'ed after my Monster experiment, so it's my new favorite thing.
On race day, I got there in plenty of time. So much so, that I was able to travel around the transition area and help some of the new athletes from Tri It For Life get set up and get their jitters out. That might have been the most rewarding thing I did all season. When the race started, my friend Clare and I decided to move up into the next fastest swim group and hang to the back, and I actually passed someone. I didn't do any of the weird hyperventilating I tend to do in swim practices (for some reason I don't do this much in races, although it almost always happens when I train). My swim time for the 250 meter swim was 6:15, which was better than last year's 6:49. I was happy with this time and want to work to get under 6 minutes. I didn't feel as dizzy/disoriented at the end of the swim either.
The bike course was pretty good for me, with my time being 33:58, compared to last year on my mom's hybrid when my time was 33:25. Not sure what slowed me down, as I felt like I nailed the hills and went pretty fast. The only thing that I can think is that it was raining, and that probably slowed me down a bit out of caution. Those raindrops HURT, too. I couldn't wear my sunglasses due to the obvious rain, and I felt like I had my eyes closed for parts because the rain hitting my face stung so bad. Either way, the bike ride was more enjoyable this year on my road bike and with my clip-in pedals. I guess I'm pretty proud that I know I can lug a 50 pound hybrid just as fast as might light road bike, although I'd love to see myself get quicker since I love biking so much.
The run course is a flat out-and-back route, and it's kind of boring. It's on sidewalk for most of it, and then part of like a greenway system. I really talked myself up for the run portion and tried not to walk too terribly much or for too long. I didn't burn my legs up too much this time around on the bike, which helped my run since my legs didn't feel like they were wading through quicksand and made of jello. I did the run in 25:42. Since my normal "on a day I'm not swimming and biking" run pace is about a 12 minute mile, this time was great for me. Last year, it took me 28:47.
My transition times continue to be longer than I want them to be and that unfortunately affects my overall time. I find myself talking to my husband while I'm changing shoes, or fumbling around, or in the case of this race, taking all my shit out of plastic bags due to the rain. I really want to speed these up, because taking one minute to change shoes/clothes versus taking three minutes can shave two minutes off my total time. Duh- seems obvious here that I would try to rush through the transitions, but I also like to make sure I'm comfortable, because who wants to run uncomfortable? Not me. Anyway, hopefully I can make some progress in this arena during this weekend's race. Eyes on the prize. Anway, my total race time for this year was 1:12:06, and was 1:14:00 last year. See, if I had cut down my transitions this year, I might have gotten to 1:10:00. Grrrrrrrr!
Tour de Turns 25 Mile Bike Ride
This was my first "long" bike ride. As much as I LOVE riding my bike, I think the most I'd ridden at once prior to this day was 15 miles or so. I decided to do this ride at the last minute and MAN, was it tough! It's called Tour de Turns because it winds through several neighborhoods making mostly right turns. Good for safety and low traffic, bad for building up speed. Oh, and it was HILLY. The race page said it had "17 challenging hills", but I"m pretty sure I did 17 hills in the first five miles, and then there were plenty more. I had a hard time differentiating which ones were "challenging" and which ones weren't. I started the ride with a few triathlon friends, but due to several reasons, we got split up and well, I think I did about 20 miles kind of more or less by myself. And probably 10 of those miles were like for real out in the world riding by myself, wondering if I was the last person on the road (for the record, I wasn't). That made the ride kind of boring for me, and at no point was I really pushing myself because I wasn't trying to keep up with anyone. The upside was that the course went through some pretty great Charlotte neighborhoods, and it was fun to admire all the beautiful houses. The neighborhoods did a pretty good job participating in cheering us on too. The highlight was giving a little girl a high five as I rode by her on my bike and hearing her squeal with glee. There was also a gaggle of very young, elementary school age cheerleaders screaming, "GO BIKERS GO! GO BIKERS GO! GO BIKERS GO!" It was maybe the cutest thing ever. I felt really accomplished when I finished that 25 miles. This would be the last ride on my factory seat for my bike, as my crotch took about a week to recover. I was very tired that day and my legs were crazy sore. I also got a slight headache which was I suspect from dehydration. Total time was about 2 hours and 20 minutes for 25 miles. Average speed was 10.3 MPH, which is SLOW for me. It was definitely a "tour" instead of a "race".
Pedal For Pediatric Cancer 30 Mile Bike Ride
Now this was a bike ride! It was my first in Waxhaw, NC, which is a suburb of Charlotte, but is very country. But fancy country. Think giant houses on acres and acres of lands with horse pastures as front yards. Absolutely beautiful scenery. A few challenging hills and a lot of rolling hills, plus some pretty great flats to ramp up the speed. I stuck with a group of 3 other friends, which made for a spectacular ride. It went much faster and was a lot more enjoyable. The support stops were great. There were children who are cancer survivors handing out waters and snacks and they could not have been more excited to help us. It was so adorable. The weather was great minus a little bit of headwind that made for some harder riding, but the sun was shining and it was a crisp fall morning. There were loose dogs (friendly, thankfully), very little traffic, sharing of part of the course with a triathlon, and lots of animals to look at including cows, horses, sheep, goats, swans, geese, and a dead bunny. Poor bunny. My favorite was passing the pasture where a fat old yellow lab was just chillin', laying about five feet away from a goat. I think I want to move to Waxhaw and get some animals! I got a nice farmer's tan, and the only iffy part of the ride was the last mile or so when we were getting back into "town" and there was traffic from the triathlon people leaving and there were some impatient people passing us unsafely in their cars. Assholes. Fortunately, that was near the very end and it was honestly one of those moments where I looked up and said, "we're back???" Total time was 2:16:06 with an average speed of 13.1 MPH (I forgot to pause my GPS for one 5 minute or so stop). Oh, and my new bike seat is totally crotch-approved! I was barely sore at all after this ride, and my legs felt pretty good too.
Upcoming
This Sunday will be my last triathlon of the season in Huntersville, NC. Sadly, the Chapel Hill triathlon sold out of regular spots before I registered with my friend who was supposed to do it with me, and the charity slots are $150! That's just too much considering we'd also have to pay for gas, food and hotel. No thanks. Anyway, I feel like my swim time will be about the same, assuming good conditions. With my new bike seat and two big rides under my belt recently, I think I'll be more than ready to tackle the bike ride. It's a mile longer than the last course, but I hear it's very scenic and pretty. The run is just mostly getting my mind past how bad my legs feel. I read a tip that said to stand on your bike for the last little bit to start getting your legs adjusted, so, if I can remember to do it, I am going to see how that works for me. I don't stand up a lot on my bike while clipped in, so hopefully I don't fall off my bike. I hear there is at least one hill on the run and maybe I'll have to walk that, we'll see. Either way, this is the first race I will be doing where I haven't done any of the course prior to the race, so it will be an experience. I just hope it doesn't throw me off my game.
I'd really wanted to go for all six Ramblin' Rose triathlons this year, but it just didn't work out that way, and honestly, I'm kind of glad. Turns out, I still get bored with only swim/bike/run all season. I know that's a lot of variety, but sometimes you just want to do something else, you know? And I did that this past couple months and I don't feel like going to kickboxing class, spin class, weight lifting and going to Quick Fit (like bootcamp) hindered my progress at all, and gave me back my sanity. I will be earning a cool Brooks running jacket as a reward for completing three Ramblin' Rose Triathlons, so that's pretty awesome. Next up, I'm considering getting a trainer for a while. The lady who teaches my favorite kickboxing classes is also a personal trainer at the YMCA that I go to, and she is so fit. I think my next goal is to focus more on sculpting some muscles along with continuing to work on my running. I haven't fully committed to it, but I'm pretty sure I'm signing up for the Winter Galloway run training group to train for a half marathon. The half marathon that I want to do as my first is pretty challenging in terms of hillyness, but fortunately running all over Charlotte should help with hills. I want to do the inaugural Rock-n-Roll Raleigh half marathon next April. Raleigh was where I went to college, and my first love as a city away from home. I lived there for a combined total of about ten years, and I still love it so much. I can't think of a better city for my first half, so now I just have to wrap my mind around it....
Now that I've done a huge recap, stay tuned for more. I want to take this blog to a more daily recap of my progress style blog, which I know might be boring for some, but I will still try to highlight it with other fun stuff, but I think for the accountability aspect, this is the way to get the most benefit. I'm loosely tracking my nutrition using MyFitnessPal, and happy to say that I'm the least stressed/pressured about weight loss that I have ever been in my life. Actually WANTING to eat healthy and in smaller volumes feels natural and normal for me at this stage in the game, and I'm not obsessing over how fast or slow I'm losing weight. For the record, it's going slow, but it's going down. Since training for my first triathlon, I am a solid 15 pounds lighter, and there is no diet talk/self-shaming/desperation talk going on in my head, which feels SO nice. I'm in a good place.
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