Where's Blain???

Tomorrow I head to Myrtle Beach!! It's the National Club Championship and DC Tri Club is ready to come back in FIRST PLACE!!

My original plan was to swim in a relay. A simple 1000 meters. Then I found out the relays don't count for points. And there wasn't anyone signed up for the AquaVelo as an Athena. My thought was: that's too bad... Then Angela had a plan - have Steve swim the relay, I do the AV as an Athena, and I get the club 11 points. First place out of 1!!

I am a sucker. I am stupid. I said yes.

So now, Blain is packed in the car. Do you see him??? I was also in charge of picking up snacks for the post race club picnic - to celebrate our FIRST PLACE - due to my 11 points. Or that better be how Saturday goes...

But now I have to go pack. As I still need a wet suit and bike stuff...

A Bit Too Soon

I got talked into swimming with Toby and AJ tonight. Not sure why - I haven't seen them in awhile and I thought it would be fun to catch up. Sure, it would have been over drinks or dinner - but not swimming.

The best part - we were standing at the top of the lane line, avoiding getting into the pool, and the workout just went missing. One moment it was there, the next it was gone. It fell into the pool and into the drain. We should have taken that as a sign!

After Toby's long arms came to the rescue, we were off on or workout. There were TONS of giggles, and it was a good workout. I hit my 2000 meters, hopped out, sat in the hot tub, and was really glad I went.

Blain Is SOOO Clean!!

I haven't been home on a Sunday with NOTHING on the calendar in a long time. It was awesome! Especially because I wasn't moving very quickly.

It was a rainy morning so it was perfect to sleep in. I headed to the farmers market and grocery store. Made a wonderful lunch and looked at my messy (and slightly smelly) apartment. Instead of cleaning, I took Blain to the roof along with some White Lightning, a card board box, chain lube, and a lot of rags.

Boy, do I wish I took a before picture just to show the difference of the after. He is SSSOOOOO shiny and looks brand new!!! 90 minutes well spent!

I Am Two Thirds a ChesapeakeMan!

Note - Sorry - I was waiting for pictures... but there aren't any yet and I forgot my camera :-(


I have to say, I really do like this Aqua Velo thing! Who needs the run?!?! NOT ME!! Unfortunately, to do a 'full triathlon' I do need the run.

What a day! After a not great night in a smokey hotel room, Shannon and I were packed and ready to go. With a stop at Wawa for coffee, we were at the parking lot to grab the shuttle to Great Marsh Park. Emily was doing the full, Shannon, Becky, Cory and I were all doing the AV. A great group of ladies!! Before I knew it, I was body marked, wet suit on, and heading into the water.

That's about when I realized what I was about to do. 2.4 miles should take me less than 90 minutes. That's 3 tv shows - which I was thinking about because I am very behind on my DVR. That's a lot of time!! Luckily, right as I was starting to panic and realize my stupidity - I turned around to see the most amazing sunrise over the Choptank River (and yes, I was in river, but you know what I mean). Plus, I saw Cory and that was fun to share with someone.

The swim itself.
First of all, never use bag balm then touch your goggles. Not cool.
Overall, it was okay. There were only a few hundred people swimming, at the most, so it wasn't too bad. The biggest problem, besides the smudged goggles, was the beautiful sunrise. Half the course was swimming directly into the sun, so it made sighting IMPOSSIBLE!
But, all things considered, I really couldn't complain. I came in at 1 hour 25 minutes and a few seconds. And the results said I was first out of 5 for my age group for the swim :-)

I actually had a quick transition for my self - and again was first in age group.

The bike. Let's split this up into the 3 part mental game.
Part 1 - 22 mile out and back.
Felt pretty good. I got comfortable on the bike, fixed the shoes so they weren't too tight. Saw Becky at mile 8, Emily at mile 9, Cory passed me at mile 10 and I saw Shannon at mile 12. I was taking nutrition, and feeling pretty good.

Part 2 - the first 45 mile loop.
I have spent a lot of time on that loop so it was nice to know what was coming. And by that I mean the sun and wind. It's Cambridge, it was 10-12 degrees hotter than it ever had been for that race, and it felt like it. The rest stops couldn't come fast enough and as much as I tried to play the "I am only on a 45 mile ride (don't think about the first 22 miles or 2.4 mile swim)" game, it wasn't working. By mile 50 I had checked out and was going to stop at the special needs bag - the end of the first loop. It wasn't worth it to me, I hadn't trained, I didn't want to be on Blain any more. Dare I say it - I was almost wishing for a flat as an excuse to stop.
But, to my pleasant surprise, there was another rest stop, about 9 miles from the end of the loop. I stopped, had a water, talked to a few volunteers that perked me up a bit. And the last 9 miles weren't so bad. But I was still ready to stop.

Part 3 - the special needs area and the second loop.
516 was called out and there was my bag of stuff. Mini Snickers, Gu, pretzel M&M's, and organic chews. I made another bottle of Accelerade, and I stood there. I said "Someone please yell at me to go". They all laughed and one cheerleader girl came over and said "Come on, you can do it! That is if you really want to. Do you want to?"
My first thought, nope, I don't want to. I was hoping Shannon would show up and we could (illegally) ride together. Then a staff guy came over and said "Take a deep breath and go". So I threw my leg over Blain and stood there. He said it again, a bit more forcefully, and I clipped in on the left side. By the third time, he yelled and off I went to the cheers of the volunteers.

Of course loop two started right into the wind. I figured Shannon was right behind me so I kept looking. At the first rest stop I took my time, had a Pepsi (and I have no idea the last time I had a Pepsi), and kept going. It was so hot. Water wasn't cold. Things were sitting well in my stomach. And I could NOT be in areo. Eventually, very slowly, I made it to the next rest area, stopped, stretched, and eventually kept going. Still hot. And forming white lines around my jersey and shorts due to the salt.
At mile 100, I started talking to my self. There was NO ONE around. But I was sane, didn't see pirates holding their heads. And it was a very VERY long final 12 miles.

The Finish
I have never been so happy to get off my bike - AND NOT RUN. I finished, almost 8 hours later on the bike. A HORRIBLE time for myself, but I finished, and that always makes me happy.
And who was at the finish - Shannon. Poor girl sliced her foot coming out of the water and after the out and back, 1 loop, and a visit to the medic tent - she was out. But her time was awesome and she has time to get better before her full in November.

After
We met up with Becky and cheered on the runners. I have to say, we are awesome cheer-ers!! When we found Emily, I think she was a bit embarrassed - but embraced us anyway. AND, she came in 4th - OVERALL!!

Shannon and I headed back to the city - but of course, with 1 very important stop.

Tomorrow I Will Do Something Stupid

I don't know how I get my self into these situations but I do. And not I will make the best of it.

2.4 mile swim.
112 mile bike.

What a week!

And it has nothing to do with training.

I have been in Atlanta since Monday afternoon. I pushed off a meeting until Friday so I could sign up for Ironman Wisconsin and immediately flew down to the ATL. So, after I tried to get a few more friends in (aka I was running very VERY late) I headed down south. Luckily, I was at a great hotel with a fantastic roof top bar :-)

On Tuesday, I realized I only received 1 conformation, not 2 as Adam S received, and proceeded to panic that I didn't get in and was going to have to figure something out for Wednesday - when they were re-opening the registration. After multiple emails to Ironman dot com, a few phone calls to active dot com, and a check in my spam folder (thanks again Adam S!!!) I confirmed I was in!

So on Wednesday after lunch, I spent the afternoon of the conference quickly using up my iPhone battery as I check if my friends were getting in. Sandy, Lindsey, Tammy, Jenny, Emily, and Mimi (and I am sure a few more, but can't remember right now) all got in. My poor co-workers kept having to "Shh" me everything I got an e-mail or text that someone else was in, I did a little cheer. Of course, I had to celebrate (almost) everyone getting in. And some great news about my mom.

My presentation was Thursday, and it could have gone worse - so of course there were celebratory drinks after. Another meeting on Friday, and I was picked up my Sarah and Jason to spend the weekend.

So basically what I am saying is that I haven't worked out since my failed attempt on Saturday. And yes, please don't remind me that I have a little 114.2 mile 'race' on Saturday. I am very much aware, thank you very much.

I did mange to talk Sarah into going on a hike with me today. Where can you hike in Atlanta might you ask? Well, Stone Mountain Park!

And no, we didn't take tram, we hiked up. All 825+ feet. Starting at 1:15 pm. When it was 92 degrees. Yup, that was smart. Bike 90+ miles, sure. Hike straight up a granite mountain, not so much. Good times! At least it was some type of activity that didn't involve sitting in a conference, getting yelled at by people in a conference, eating out with other people at a conference, or drinking trying to forget you were at a conference.

And do I get to go home tomorrow? Nope. I am off to Alabama for 2 days.

Yup - I am really good at planning things before events...

Take Two

I just had a conversation with Charles about my blog title. He thinks I should re-name it. I decided that no, AfterIMMoo is just fine because the title was picked after my first Ironman. So, if I were to do a second Ironman, say in Wisconsin, it would still be "After IM MOO".

Guess what??? I am signed up again!! Now I just need active dot com to stop being stupid and let my friends in!!

Ride Fail. Again

But this time, not because of my tire.

I was meeting Tammy down by Peirce Mill and after she figured out the challenges of driving through Rock Creek Parkway, we were on our way to meet Shannon. She was waiting for us right where Beach Drive is closed to traffic - it makes a great place to do some biking and running without cars.

So I see Shannon, I clip out on my right side, put my foot down and it kept going. I just totally slid out and down I went. Hard. And because I clipped out my body had the chance to go every which way. And it did. I scrapped up my right elbow, am already bruising on my right hip, scraped up my right shoe - but that's not the worst part. My left leg was already clipped out so I completely stretched out my left hip, as Blain jabbed into my left inner thigh. Not Good.

Both Tammy and Shannon were trying not to laugh, but it I would have laughed, so I understood. I just fell over, even thought I was clipped out. It's funny.

I got up, and we took off. Right away, I knew something wasn't right. Blain seemed fine, but my left hip was not. I tried to stretch out while biking, but wasn't having much luck. We continued on, Tammy and I were talking and made it up to the top of the incline, I turned around and no Shannon. She texted me that she was having a front tire issue, so Tammy and I went back to help her out.

About this time, I realized this ride was doomed and maybe we should call it a day and go to brunch. Shannon already had 20+ miles in, Tammy could to meet others to ride, I could take some drugs and stretch. So we called it and Shannon and I went to brunch.

She also gave me a ride home because 1. I had a hard time getting off my bike, as I couldn't swing my leg around 2. I can't rotate my hip completely and 3. it just hurts sitting.

Stupid.Stupid.Stupid.

But brunch was good!!

Weak

That is how I feel this week.

Tuesday I tried to do my laundry but I just couldn't get off the couch. I was sucked into horrible tv and was too weak to get up and get my stuff done. I did go to yoga with yoga Steve, but didn't run or sit on my trainer as I should have.

Wednesday I forced myself to the gym for a weights class. DANG, I am weak!! A 'simple' 30 minute weights class kicked my butt. Squats, push-ups (which I do on the ballet bar - and I do feel I get a better workout that way than on my knees), shoulder presses... it really hurt. All in the good way, but still. WEAK!

And today, I was just too sore to do anything. I still have 2 'races', 2 rides and a fun run left this season. Weights need to be added to my workout, but maybe I should wait a bit longer.

A Solution?

I sure hope so!!

Yesterday I headed to Conte's to try and find a solution to my wheel, flat issue. Unfortunately, they were closed as the store was sponsoring a 100 mile mountain bike race. So, I tried again today.

But first, I had a lovely morning with Kristin at the driving range. It was a really beautiful day and so nice to be outside, but not swimming/biking/or running. My back has been acting up, which started about half way through my Colorado trip, so I as a bit concerned. However, it actually felt pretty good and almost like a really good stretch. This was followed by a wonderful sandwich.

Once all this was done, I was off to Conte's. I have to say, this is the first time I was really disappointed in the service. The people I usually work with were not at the store and the person I did work with, I was not impressed with. He didn't really listen, asked questions that I found insulting, and the worse offense - he didn't even offer to look at the wheel/tire. This was my 3rd time at the store in 2 months in regards to flat tires. LOOK AT THE TIRE!!

My frustration level was very high and Tammy was on her way to the Arlington store. I had her call me with who was working and if it was worth it for me to go. Luckily, the manager and owner were there, so I went over. And confirmed my love for them. The manager talked me through what the problems could be, including just bad luck, and not once made me feel like an idiot. He took the bike and within 5 minutes, found the (potential) issue.

See the holes around the wheel, where the spokes connect? There is something called rim tape that goes around the wheel to cover the holes. Apparently, somehow, it had shifted over and the tubes were probably getting sucked into the holes and popping, causing the flats. That would explain why they were happening every 50-60 miles (vs. right after each other).

My response, "Jason, can I hug you?" I gave him a hug, someone fixed my rim tape, I bought a lot of C02 and tubes (as I have to pay back Tammy, Shannon and Emily), headed over to Harris Teeter and bought the store cookies. A huge thanks to Jason and Conte's Arlington for (hopefully) solving my flat issues. And to Scott the owner who was very concerned with my Bethesda experience and seemed to really appreciate my understanding that these things happen.

This was followed up by a celebration nap at Tammy's and dinner at Karen's.

Happy Labor Day and hopefully a solution to my flat tire issues!

At Least This Time I Handled It Better

Yes, that title is referring to the fact that I had ANOTHER flat tire yesterday.

It was a 4:30 wake up call, headed down to Cambridge, MD for a 7:15 clip in time. There was a beautiful sunrise so I thought that was a sign of good things to come. Until I saw the white caps on the Choptank river. And the birds having a hard time flying into the wind. Not a good sign...

I got the meeting point to find Shannon getting ready, Emily pulled in behind me, and Melissa and Tammy were soon to follow.

Shannon, Emily and I rolled out with a challenge to Melissa and Tammy to catch us. Emily was long gone and that left Shannon and I. The ride was going well, into the wind or a crosswind. The first 45 mile loop was pretty uneventful. That was until we hit the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and Earl left us a little present. Some nice flooding to bike through. I meant to take a picture, but didn't get the opportunity.

After Shannon and I refueled and were about to head out when we saw Melissa and Tammy. After some discussion of the head and cross winds, we picked a new route and were on our way. Melissa turned back, Emily was still long gone, and we were down to 3. A few more stops, but I was feeling really good.

Then, about mile 68, I felt something in the back. I yelled at Shannon "Oh no". She didn't believe it until she rode up next to me. Sure enough, flat rear tire. We tried to put some air in to ride to the visitor center, but it wouldn't take. I managed to ride, standing (as to not put pressure on the rim) to a safer place change. And find Tammy. When we saw her, she just busted out laughing, not believe that I had another flat - on the rear tire.

With all my recent practice, and lesson from Conte's on how to change my rear tire without covering myself in chain grease, all went pretty well. I searched the rim of the wheel, the tire, and I could not find any reason to why I had another flat. At this point, I figured I would head back to the car, straight to Conte's and get a new wheel. But the tire was back on, filled with C02, and there was only tears from laughter.

Once we made it back to the cars, Emily was there (after she went for her run (yes, she is fast)) and told me to get back out there. I said earlier that morning I had to get in 91 miles. At some point I changed it to 101. After the flat, I was happy with 76. But Emily told me to get going, so I did (after I borrowed another C02), and I took Shannon with me. HA! After about 5 miles into a head wind, I was hating myself, and I think Shannon was too.

But, we did make it about 93 miles with a moving average around 15 mph. Given the wind, flooded areas, extra heat (it was over 80 - not expected), and flat, I was really happy with the ride. Especially my attitude in regards to another flat.

And yes, I did celebrate at Sonic on my way home.

New Shoes!

Take 47!

Okay, it might not be my 47th pair of shoes, but it sure feels like it.
Charles and I went to Pacers with our Groupons to get new shoes. This was after Charles talked me into going to the gym, just to do some light cardio, weights, and I took an abs class too. Go me! See, that Boulder-ness is sticking with me!

Anyway, after trying on multiple pairs, I went with the New Balance. They didn't have my Nike's in a wide (which they said they didn't come in a wide, but they do - on line...) but I will give these a shot.

Hopefully I will find some time this weekend to give them a go.