Running Shorts

The relay

The relay was fabulous.  NH is fabulous.  There were 70+ people from my club at the race and everyone got to meet new people which I think is good b/c, like most groups, the club can be a bit cliquey (sp?).  Even if not intentionally so, people tend to hang with who they know so this was a fun way for people to meet new peeps.  PLUS, my club is fast (our men's master's team, for example, was 2nd overall-of any division) so we scored major glassware, including my team!  When we went out of dinner and drinks we drank out of our prizes!

I was supposed to have a super easy 4 mile leg for the race but I switched to a somewhat hilly 6.4 mile leg due to an injury of one our other runners.  I thought it would be fine...um, so hilly.  7:40 min/mile pace (49:07 total).  Eeck.  I wanted to use the run as a gage for the 10K I plan to run in 2 weeks, but I'm not sure what my pace means.  I had one crazy uphill but also a lot of downhill.  So who knows how 10K fit I am.  Out of 96 people running my leg (men and women combined) I was 35th.  Out of 96 teams, our team was 24th.  Out of our division, mixed open, our team was 6/30.  I feel like we were strong and dear god we have some fast women on the team.

Anywhoo, there was running, figuring out where the exchanges were, condoing, hot tubbing, pool volleyball, drinks, dinner, and hanging out.

The runners are coming the runners are coming

My mileage has been pretty low and I've been semi-intrigued by the idea of a 1/2 marathon this winter since J mentioned it.  [He originally suggested November but we're both thinking we won't be ready.]  Soooo, I went out for a 5.8 mile run this evening instead of my usual 3.9.  Woohooo, craziness over here.  It was warm out-75 degrees F-and I'm looking forward to the temperature drop tonight.  FALL IS HERE!!

This weekend should be fun.  About 80 people from my running club are heading to NH to participate in a relay around a lake.  We're making 10 teams of 8 people and there are condos and hotels involved.  Should be a party :)  Oh crazy runners.

still doesn't know

J still doesn't know about the blog so i am posting before i head over to his place.

my thoughts on the day are that i am clearly into a heavy racing schedule b/c i have 0 motivation to plan next season and i'm not excited to add another race to my schedule this fall.  J wants company for a 1/2 marathon and i was kind of, eh.

i think i am completely boring and need more hobbies.  but seriously, if i haven't found one by now what are the chances i'm going to fall into one.  i have had the same hobbies my entire life:  sports, books, and tv.  just add alcohol and my childhood hobbies are pretty much up-to-date.

i wish i could work when it was dark out so i could play during the day.

i walk 2-4 miles a day commuting and such.  it's better than getting on the crowded T.  New England weather is glorious right now.

off to my dinner date.  we're COOKING.  super weird.

Ow, my eyes

After J's rugby game I came home and took a gander at the official results.  MY POOR EYEBALLS!

Did I lose 3rd place in my AG in transition??  The top 3 women in my age group all had T1 times approximately 1 minute faster than me (mine was 2:30 and theirs were 1:30) and to recap I missed 3rd place by 14 seconds.  Now this was actually shocking b/c I feel like I am a strong transitioner and I've learned my lesson about every second counting-this isn't the first (or second) race I've missed placing by 12-14 seconds.  These days I hustle through transition!  I was bemoaning to J what a poor transitioner I am (since it was so cold out I didn't swim with my shirt on and then had to drag that on in T-1-not easy when you're wet-and I also put on a biking vest windbreaker and biking gloves) and he pointed out that maybe I would have biked slower without all of that stuff.  Truth be told I did go with the biking gloves b/c my hands get cold really easily and I'm not sure I could have biked without them.  So...that's just the way it goes.  Sometimes it's hard to always know which choice would have been better.  Also of note is that the 3rd place girl had arm warmers on which-at least for me-are not quick to put on.  So maybe it was all equal and I am just slow at changing?  The top three women definitely rocked T1.

I feel good about my T2.  It was quick.  I decided to keep the windbreaker and bike gloves on to save time.  This was good b/c I finished JUST ahead of two 23 y/o women and a 29 y/o women.  If I had lingered at all in T2 I would have been back from that pack of women.  The 5th place in my AG finished only 4 seconds back from me.

As for the individual disciplines, things went well during the swim (6/23 AG), my bike was strong (3/23 AG), and the run went okay (6/23 AG-i didn't do any better in the run than the swim??).  I can't believe I've been biking so well this year.  One, I never train on the bike.  Ever.  The traffic and road conditions (potholes) make it too scary for me where I live.  Two, I'm still generally nervous biking.  I slow down A LOT on turns.  I don't fly down hills as fast as I could.  I use the breaks a lot.  I'd rather climb than descend.  Three, I'm not using a tri bike.  I haven't ridden mine outside since my accident.  It's a small act of courage to get on a bike so I've been going with a road bike I feel comfortable on.  Finally, even if I were to use my tri bike, I've always thought I was slower on my tri bike than my road bike and I need to figure this out.  I have a GREAT bike fit on the tri bike-people ask me who did my bike fit it's so good-but I think I lose power in the tri position that I don't make up for by being aero.  I've been inspired to work hard at triathlon this winter and in 2010 (this year was an ad hoc year b/c I was so pro-running and so anti-biking) so hopefully I can work on all of these things (plus I'll swim more!) to be a stronger triathlete in the future.

However, I am never doing this race again.  It's the first time this race was run and the course was bad.  The roads were congested with cyclists and runners really close together and you have to start and end the bike on dirt and rocks.  Also, I wish new triathletes would learn the rules.  I'm not being a snob!!  It would make things safer.  The main thing is that cyclist have to stay to the right when they're not passing.  Finally, I need one of the race people not to grab/yank my arm at the finish while telling me not to leave w/out giving someone my timing chip.  WHETHER OR NOT I REMEMBERED TO GIVE SOMEONE MY CHIP (i was still slowing down from finishing the race and fully planned on handing it over-but this doesn't even matter) DON'T TOUCH ME.  I saw him doing this to another woman.  NOT OKAY.

That's the scoop.  It was a good race with a good battle near the end.  I think 30-34 will be okay.  I have one more duathlon as a 29 y/o.  Darn you USAT for making me turn 30 on Jan. 1!!!

Good racing mojo

The official results aren't up but I had a race I was really proud of.  I was 4th in my AG-missing 3rd by 14 seconds.  This race series double dips awards (the third place overall woman, an acquaintance of mine, is in my AG) so alas, I did not take home prizes.  BUT, I made some good transition decisions, I raced hard, I led a small pack of aged 29 and under women into the finish (who were all so nice after the race) so I feel good about holding them off, and I just could not stay with the 29 y/o woman who finished 14 seconds in front of me.  She had me.  I would like to give a giant shout out to 29 y/o women!!  There were so many of us w/ 29s on the course!!  It was awesome to see women exactly my age out there.

I'm really happy to be in the mix of things with my recent triathlons which is a very new development.  It's exciting racing knowing you might do well if you really put it out there and the decisions you make could make or break you.  You have to be smart and I feel like I am putting my tri experience to use.

More later but other quick notes: it was soooo cold this morning!  This was my coldest triathlon by far.  Also, my aging up fears were eased...in the 30-34 AG I would have been second.  It's nice to know things won't necessarily plummet next year :p  AND, THE WINNER OF THE WOMEN's RACE WAS IN THE 50-54 AG.  It's so awesome that there are many more years ahead to look forward to and that people can be competitive at any age.  The sky is the limit, right??

Anywhoo, off to watch my first rugby match!  Have a great weekend!

quick pre-weekend note

I am so not amused that the female 29 and under swim wave is mixed in with Clydesdale men.  I've never been in a co-ed wave before though I've been swum over by men who have caught up to me and it sucks.  Wooohooo.  (That was a sarcastic woohooo).  I don't want to swim with the men.

Other than that I had a good week at work.  I'm about to go on a date w/ J.  I have a race tomorrow and then I may be watching my first rugby game and then I head to the beach with J and his friends...and their kids.  Yeah, his mid-late 30something friends don't really roll at the beach like my friends do.  For example, this weekend we're bringing Scrabble, not booze :)  But, I haven't been to Rhode Island in over 20 years and I'm looking forward to meeting some of J's non-running mutual friends that we share, so this should be good.  Bye!

Recovery

Post-races I take the day off from running.  I'm resting!  On two occasions now J has asked if I was going for a run on the day after a race and I was like, HELLOOoo-I'M RECOVERING!  Post-race you can typically find me taking a nap and eating a lot (both goals achieved today-I love you belgian waffles).  And it's really not a "I raced I deserve to eat whatever I want" mentality.  I am legit hungry the day after I race.  I'm workin' it on that race course!

I'm not super sore from yesterday's race.  I went swimming today.  One more week of swimming before my last 2009 tri and then a mini swim-break (it could last months)!  I can't wait!

6:45

THAT WAS MY PACE!!  MY PACE/MILE HAS A 6 IN IT!  I WANT TO MAKE THIS WHOLE POST IN CAPITAL LETTERS I AM SO EXCITED!  I BROKE MY 5 YEAR OLD PR!  I ALSO WON THE RACE!  BASED ON PREVIOUS YEARS' RESULTS I FELT LIKE I COULD BE COMPETITIVE IN THIS FIELD BUT I THOUGHT I WOULD BE ANYWHERE FROM 2-5, NOT #1.  WHICH I WAS!

Okay, the caps are getting annoying.  I got to the race and had some pre-race anxiety.  I saw people pinning numbers on little girls and I thought OMG if a kid is racing he or she must be good-I am going to get beat by a 10 y/o.  Then I realized I was the only woman warming up.  Hmmm.  A few guys were warming up.  I started on the starting line next to them.  There were a couple of guys who beat me who started a row behind me (I was 12th overall) but they didn't seem interested in starting on the front line and since I was trying to PR in this non-chip race (and since at least one kid was up there who shouldn't have been) I had no qualms about getting up there myself.  Besides, I felt like there should be at least one woman on the starting line to represent!  I had done my research on finishing times and I felt like my presence was reasonable.  (If someone were to read my blog straight through over the years I think they would find my confidence as a runner has grown since I started writing in 2005).

We started.  A teenage girl ran with me for less than a quarter mile before she dropped off the pace.  Then I led.  For the rest of the race.  I honestly never felt like I was going to die.  I never considered quitting (a usual emotion I typically work through during shorter races).  My stomach never hurt afterwards (the usual when I race).  I passed a couple of guys in the middle.  One guy passed me near the end.  I saw I was going to break 21 but it was close so I hustled.  (My finishing pic is not going to be pretty.)  But even when picking it up I never felt like I wanted to die or I hated either running or racing (other typical racing emotions for me).  After the race a quick local participant told me how this isn't a fast course so that kind of assuages my always there fear of-was the course short??

Previous 5K:  21:42

Today's 5K:  20:55

I got a sweet running trophy (it has a female runner on it!) and a gift certificate to my fav running store.  I also wandered around Plymouth Rock (the end of the point-to-point race) looking for the famous rock.  There are a lot of rocks there with plaques on them!  A local finally pointed me in the right direction-nowhere near the rocks I had been admiring.

So. Swimming.

For the most part my running club tri peeps have closed their tri seasons to prepare for fall marathons.  Alas, I am still putting laps in at the pool in anticipation of my last triathlon of 2009 later this month.  I'm comfortably rocking out 1:49ish 100s and I just did a comfortable 14:57 800.  It's not brilliant.  I've been better; I've been worse.  This may, however, be on the better end of what my swimming has looked like in preparation for a tri.  My best swim times are from the spring of 2008 when I was in a walking boot and all I could do was swim.  (2008 was a rough year for me physically!)  These swim times are the result of more well-rounded training and a more fun, bootless life :)

Roundup

J and I saw the movie Julie & Julia which is about, among other topics, blogging.  It was super weird of me not to mention HEY BY THE WAY, I'VE BEEN A BLOGGER FOR 4 YEARS!  I've also been talking about thing I've read on blogs recently (two bloggers currently have posts up that I can't contain my thoughts on) and during a conversation about finding out info about people on-line I started talking about site statistics.  J was all, How do you know this?  Do you have a website?  With the follow-up question: Is it about racing?

I don't lie so he now knows I have a website.  (I didn't give him the address but he's a smart one:  Hello J!)  In the usual ways I am self-conscious.  B/c you can find out so much information about me from here I've made it a practice not to share the website with locals in the running and tri communities and I don't share it with the guys I date.  How super fabulous J fits into both of those categories!  Plus, the guy can write-very well.  What if he's writing-judging me??

On the other hand-I kind of don't have the strength to care if he's currently reading through four years worth of writing.  I publish my diary on the internet.  How shocked can I be if people read it?  Plus, I don't mind if J knows stuff about me.  (I say that, of course, without being able to recall all of the posts...)

In quick summation of the weekend: J and I did some sporty activities.  Running (at the same time but separately b/c I like to run alone plus we were going on day 3 of being together), swimming (me-I have one more tri to train for) and running (him-I had run the day before plus the small group he went with is too fast for my blood), and canoeing (together-but he did most of the rowing!).  We ate lots b/c we share a love for burritos.  I also met his family.  All of the guys (brothers and a nephew) brought their girlfriends.  He says there has never been so many girlfriends at a family gathering before!  There must be something in the water.  Now...relaxing before week 2 of work.