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April 16, 2007
Catching Up...
As O and I left Virginia today to head back home we were very saddened to hear about the students shot at Virginia Tech. When we first heard about it the reports said 1 student had died. By the time we made it up to the PA stateline the count was up to 30 (and unfortunately continues to grow). I know things like this will never make sense but I have such a burning desire to try to understand "why". Both O and I went to Virginia Tech to start our PhDs and absolutely loved it there. It was an amazing town with amazing people and a wonderful school. We left after just one semester but that had nothing to do with the school, just life decisions that we made. Regardless, our thoughts and prayers to the victims' families and friends, and to all those involved in the situation. There will be so much to sort out...
On a lighter note, O and I made it back up to PA safe and sound around 3:15 this afternoon. Before we left we went on a quick 20 minute run this morning to work out the kinks. I surprisingly didn't feel too bad. My back is a little sore but I think that has more to do with sitting in a car for 6 hours on Saturday and then again today.
Once home I sorted out the mess of bags and bike equipment and then headed to the YMCA for a swim. It was just 1000 yds - again to work out the kinks with a main set of 3x(1x200, 2x25). It was short and sweet and although I really didn't want to go when I got home, I'm glad I did. Once home from the YMCA I jumped on my bike for an easy 45 minute spin to...you guessed it...work out the cycling kinks. Monday is usually my day off but coach thinks it's best to do a little of each sport after a race (especially such a short race) to loosen up. If I was feeling really sore or bad I didn't have to do it all but I felt fine. Tomorrow it's back to real business. I am just really excited now that my racing has started though. My next race is in 5 weeks and then from there they are about every 2-3 weeks - this race this weekend just gave me a bit of a taste of it - now I want the full bite!
The results of the race with splits are now up. Nothing too surprising - I did (just barely) dip under 20 minutes for the 5K. By bike split was actually faster than I expected (~21 MPH average in crappy conditions). My swim split doesn't mean much to me because in addition to the 300 meters I swam that time includes getting myself out of the pool, running down a ramp, up some stairs and down another ramp to the mat that timed the first portion of the race. If you ever look at triathlon results and swim times, just know that the time you see is probably much more than the actual time spent in the water. There are usually all sorts of crazy maneuvers required to get to that timing mat...
As expected my transitions were truly awful. I do take some solance in the fact that everyone's are really slow. Getting extra clothes on and dealing with wet, cold hands made it tough. I think I may have forgotten to mention that in T2 my race belt (with my number on it) broke and before I realized I could just tie the dumb thing around my waist I actually tried to fix it. What in the world was I thinking? :) Always something to learn...
Regardless, I wanted to thank everyone first for their good luck wishes and then for your nice comments of congratulations. I always so appreciate it! Each comment makes me smile and happy to be a part of this community.
Summary for the week (a day late)
Monday - off
Tuesday - 3000 yd swim in am, 1:10 interval workout on bike and 1:15 run in pm, 2x25 pushups, 2x100 crunchers
Wednesday - 4500 yd swim in am, 30 min run and weight session in pm
Thursday - 1000 yd swim and 38 min bike in am, 28 min run in pm, core/feet exercises
Friday - off
Saturday - 45 min bike and 500 yd swim in am, 20 min run in pm
Sunday - Angels Sprint Tri (300m/25K/5K)
Monday - 20 min run in am, 1000 yd swim and 45 min bike in pm
PS Great job to all the Boston Marathon runners today! I'm sure the weather was awful - can't wait to read about it and see how wonderful everyone did toughing it out in rough conditions!
Posted by beth at April 16, 2007 8:28 PM