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August 30, 2007

Beth's "My Story" is up on Triathlon.org

Check out the official triathlon website and read why Beth was a "My Story" finalist here.

Time to leave for school. Have a great Thursday.

O

Posted by beth at 6:05 AM | Comments (1)

August 29, 2007

News from Beth

Hi all this is O again. To start off, some news you actually care about--an email from Beth to me:

i was going to type up one of my own entries but decided that you would probably do a better job of it so maybe i'll just let you do it! plus these keyboards are really crazy and i keep typing the wrong things. worst of all is that the z is usually where the y is!!

anyway today we picked up my packet and my mystery prize (from being one of the 10 ITU My Story finalists) - a really nice orca duffle bag!! we took several taxi rides which are fun and adventurous but very $$$. we haven't figured out the subway system yet. we checked out the race site (water is very COLD!) and have been meeting and talking with several other team USA people. it's very cool here - as in jeans and a sweatshirt and i was still cold walking around! and i've never seen so many VW, BMWs or Saabs!!! in fact that is the only cars we've seen!

Sounds like Beth's having a great time so far. I talked with her on the phone today, too. She said that her bike survived the trip, it's back together with the USA mechanic's stamp of approval, and she's going to ride it tomorrow. She said she's also looking forward to the Parade of Nations and Team Photo tomorrow. That's pretty awesome. One funny thing she said is that many of the USA athletes (and mechanics) forgot their tire pumps. So, Beth is a pretty popular figure in the hotel since she has hers.

Another item she mentioned on the phone was that she travelled over on the same flight with two big time triathletes. One was Emma Snowsill and I forget the other. Beth said that they were in first class.....remember they're big time.

As far as my exciting week flying solo, I haven't started the laundry or done the grocery shopping yet tonight. The pooch and I are just hanging out so far. I'm a little pooped because of XC practice today. Read further to find out why.....how's that for a hook to the reader!!)

It sure it hot out there. Our XC boys had a 4 x 1600 workout (with full recovery rest) on the track today. The top two groups ran 5:20 - 5:16 - 5:12 - 5:08. And, one of the guys busted out a 4:58 on the last one. Yikes! I can't believe how hot it was. I wasn't as successful. My first one was with group 3 that also did 5:20 (okay 5:26) for the first 1600. I kept telling myself to pace the 100's (20sec-40-60-80) for 4 laps. It was tough. I was toast after that since it was 84 degrees and sunny and humid today. I jumped into one of the JV groups for the 2nd mile and ran 6:02. I was spent.

So, the nice thing about being an assistant coach and not an athlete is I shifted from a runner to a coach for the last two 1600's. I felt like a sellout since I didn't finish the workout with the varsity guys on a hot day, but I tried to encourage them as much as I could while they were going. The head coach sent out all of the JV guys out on the roads after the first two 1600's, so I didn't feel as bad.

Our guys are going to hopefully have a decent season on the state level. On PennTrackXC.com, they posted a supposed ranking of the top 10 teams in PA where they allegedly surveyed a bunch of coaches. I'm a little skeptical of the scientific nature of the poll (being a math teacher), but was pleased to see that we were regarded pretty high. We were ranked #5 in the poll for the state and the comment beside our ranking said, "Strong returning group with six of PIAA #9." PIAA is our state high school athletic ruling body in case you're not from around these parts.

Well, that's about it for now. I'll be sure to give more updates from Beth tomorrow. Take care!

O

Posted by beth at 6:50 PM | Comments (1)

August 28, 2007

O's livin' the life of a bachelor......yeah right!

Hi all, this is O filling in for Beth while she's in Germany. It's a little before 9pm and she's 3 hours into her trip somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. As for me and the pooch, we're holding down the fort while Beth's gone.

So I'm (not) living it up now that Beth's gone. Here's what I've done so far:

3:00 - end of the school day; off to cross country practice
5:30 - cross country practice; leave to come home
6:30 - feed Roxy the pooch and eat dinner (pizza, of course)
7:30 - mow the grass.
9:00 - eat a bowl of ice cream and write Beth's blog entry

If you think that's exciting, wait until tomorrow when I detail my exciting night of grocery shopping and doing laundry!!!!!

On a more relevant note, my softball season ended last night with my team winning the championship. I play in an adult men's fastpitch softball league with 5 teams. There used to be 20 teams back in the 80's. I guess people are more busy these days. I'm glad the season's over so my body can heal from the pitching and collisions--that way I'll be more fresh for running.For all of you one or two people who read Beth's running blog AND are softball fans, you can check out the details here.

Speaking of running, my alumni XC meet a few saturdays ago didn't go exactly how I expected. Place-wise, I finished in 8th place behind 2 alumni runners (both run in college currently) and 5 varsity guys. That I was satisfied with. However, the time was a different story. There had been a lot of rennovations at my high school as they updated the sports facilities over the last 5 years. With these changes, they had to change the XC course.

The old course (which Beth thought was really dull when she ran there as "the enemy") consisted of two laps on the track, a loop up a hill and around a water tower, another lap on the track, another lap up and around the water tower, then a 200 on the track to the finish. The new course was all on the upper plateau near the water tower--but now in the woods. This new course may as well have been called a trail run. It consisted of two laps around in the woods. It was brutal!!! The winning time was in the low 18's (when the top two guys run in the 16's on a normal cross country course) for 3.0 miles--not even a full 5k!!

After training with my high school guys all summer, I was pumped and expected to be in the high 18's or low 19's. But, based on the winning time, you can see I didn't accomplish this goal. My time--20:33. Ugh! I told you it was a brutal course!

When I hear from Beth, I'll be sure to pass along some info to you. Check out the links from Beth's previous blog a few days ago for race updates and about the "my story" that she'll have published. Beth's story isn't up yet, but story #2 is an amazing story about a woman from Canada who was rear-ended while driving a car (among other tragedies and trials) and now competes in the disability division. This woman sure has persevered a lot.

Good night and have a great Wednesday!

O

Posted by beth at 8:43 PM | Comments (5)

August 27, 2007

And Away We Go!

Well I got my two workouts in for the day. I finished up my last day of work for the next 9 days. My mom is on her way (with O) from the airport to our house (so we can only turn around tomorrow morning and drive back out to the airport to leave again!). My bike is packed up. My paperwork is all neatly organized. I am ready to go! Except one small detail of course...the actual packing of just about everything else I need to take. Of course I left my least favorite job of all until the very end...packing. Major yuck. Who knows, maybe one of these days I'll learn to like it.

Anyway, this morning I headed to the track to make sure my racing flats still work and did 1.5 miles of straights hard, curves easy. It felt great to run hard again and I felt surprisingly good coming off a pretty big weekend of training. Then, after work today I treked to the Pitt pool (YMCA closed all this week - good timing seeing as how I won't be here!) for a 2000 yd workout. Felt pretty good in the water too, although I always seem to swim faster in that pool. Must be something in the water. Either that or it's a shorter pool than I think. :)

Tomorrow is a quick workout on the bike and then off to the airport for a flight first to Newark and then straight to Hamburg. Because of the time difference we actually get to Germany on Wednesday morning.

Unfortunately I don't think I'll have much internet access while I'm on my trip. To take the computer would just be one more thing to (1) carry in the airport and (2) worry about. O does have blog instructions and passwords/user names though in the case that he would like to post a few entries while I'm gone. But alas, I'm sure you'll be able to survive without me. The question is...will I be able to survive without you? :)

Hope everyone has a great week and a wonderful holiday weekend! I will be back Labor Day with many stories and pictures!

Posted by beth at 5:02 PM | Comments (4)

August 26, 2007

Check It Out!

First the boring stuff...training (!):

AM - 1:50 run with O on the trail; nice run
PM - 3000 meter swim; my YMCA and the Pitt pools were both closed today so that lead to a 35 minute drive (one-way) to the North Park outdoor pool. This pool is 50 meters which is awesome. I would swim there more often but it's just too far away. Hard to justify driving 35 minutes one way when my YMCA is a 4 minute drive. Anyway, the North Park pool is about to close for the season so they had the deep end closed (where the lane lines/lap lanes usually are). This made things a little interesting. I just swam along the divider to where the deep end was and pretending like I was swimming in open water. It really was a lot like open water in that there was nothing much to guide my direction, it was 50 meters (vs my usual pushing off the way every 25 yds), and there were little kids floating in and out and around me the whole time. Not the most conducive for a fast workout but I got the yardage in so I'm really not too worried.

ANYWAY - several weeks back the ITU emailed everyone competing in Age Group Worlds about a contest called "My Story". They didn't give much direction - just that if you wanted you could email them your story about training or racing and how you made it to Hamburg. Well I can never pass up the opportunity to win something so I wrote up a little 4 or 5 paragraph story about getting hit by the truck and still deciding to go out to Portland for Age Group Nationals, etc... You all know the story. :)

Anyway, I found out today that I was one of the 10 finalists! How exciting! I win some sort of mystery prize that I will have to pick up once I'm in Hamburg (can't wait to find out what it is!) and they will publish my story on the ITU website. How fun is that?!

Well I looked on the ITU website today and read about the first My Story finalist. (I'm not sure how they plan on doing this - perhaps one or two stories a day?). And what a tool I feel like! The first story is an amazing tale of a man from Great Britian that overcame a battle with pancreatic cancer (3 surgeries and multiple rounds of chemo/radiation) to make it to Hamburg! Awesome! I feel sort of embarrassed that my little tale of woe (boy, I was sore for what - all of 2 or 3 weeks? :) will be up on the website now! But oh well. What can you do?

So my excitement is building beyond belief right now. Part of which is probably due to the facts that (1) we are leaving in a day and (2) I'm finally going to start my taper. Now it will really feel like a race is pending! I'll have to admit that I'm a little anxious about some (okay A LOT) of the details like traveling, my bike, finding places to train while we are there, getting lost in a foreign country, etc... But I'm doing my very best to not let the details get to me. It's okay if everything isn't perfect. I will race hard regardless and enjoy the whole amazing experience like I should!

Anyway - got to go pack up the bike now (and take very detailed notes as to how to put it back together... ;)

Posted by beth at 8:03 PM | Comments (2)

August 25, 2007

Just Say No to Beeping!

I've recently been making a greater effort than ever before (at my coach's request) to keep my HR within each workout's prescribed limits. I've done very well (on most occasions) with keeping my AVERAGE HR within the correct limits since I've started this program but that's not good enough. When the HR range is 146-156 that means NO GOING OVER 156 - not once, don't even think about it, don't even mutter a 157. And that, my friends, is really much harder to do. But it's been made clear to me that it's very important so by golly I'm going to do it if it kills me!

So I tried and tried and tried and although I'm getting better it's quite hard to never go over the top. Two things get me - (1) hills and (2) sometimes I start to get rolling either when I'm running or riding and the HR just creeps up ever so slightly until WHAMO - I've done it again.

In my frustration I decided to set my watch to beep at me when my HR gets near it's limit - so for example if my limit for the workout is 156, I have my HR monitor start beeping at 154 - so I know to back off. This has helped a ton. I'm still not perfect on every workout but I'm getting closer.

That is until today. Imagine if you will 85 degrees and EXTREMELY humid. As in the suffocating kind of humidity that makes you want to turn around and march right back into the AC. The kind that turns your stomach. The kind where the air feels so heavy and wet that you're almost certain it's raining, but you're not even lucky enough for it to rain. This is Pittsburgh today. (and I know I have no right to complain because I'm sure it's way worse in other places but still... :)

So as I'm starting my 3 hour ride this morning I know it's going to be hard to keep my HR in check. I was just standing next to my bike - just standing there! - and my HR was 100. Hmm.... But I was going to do my best to keep the HR under 156. So here we go...

I started off pretty well and actually wasn't doing so bad. But as the temps rose and I turned off the flat main road into the hills, the beeping started. Ah yes...the beeping. My HR monitor letting me know I was getting too close to the top. I had conceded around mile 25 that this was going to be tough with the heat and humidity so I told myself to just make sure I didn't go over 160. In order to ensure that I kept the bike moving forward (forget actual speed!) I was going to have to make some concessions.

And that was actually a pretty good plan that I did pretty well sticking too. But that didn't help the matter of this beeping. This incessant beeping that made my ears ring and my head hurt. It was almost like a little chirping bird in my ear. At one point I actually yelled aloud - "STOP that beeping!"

But the beeping went on. And on. And on.

About half way into the ride I wanted to cry. The beeping. The heat. The humidity. I had already gone through 2 of my fluid bottles and I only had one left. The sweat was stinging my eyes and the salt was starting to form major crust all along the outside of my sunglasses. Then I opened up a gel to eat and before I could get it into my mouth about half of it oozed out onto my newly cleaned bike frame (it was more like water than gel). Worse yet my cycling computer started in on the beeping!! I have no idea what it's problem was. It never beeps (except when you press buttons on it). At first I thought I was imaging things. Is that a different beep or the same beep? Is there really beeping at all or am I just hearing things? Is this some sort of cruel, beeping joke that is designed to push me over the edge?

Luckily things took a turn for the better in the form of a tailwind when I was about an hour from home. Thank. God. The beeping slowed down considerably and now I was able to move a little. And I could smell the finish line. If this tailwind hadn't found me, I still might be out on Freeport Road, a sticky, sweaty, salty mess of a triathlete, in a puddle on the side of the road. And still beeping.

Once home I smiled. No more bike. But I made the mistake of leaving my running shoes inside the house thereby insuring that I had to walk into the nice cool AC to get them. That sucked. Bad move on my part. Next time just leave them outside so you're not tempted to lay on the kitchen floor and poor cold water all over your body.

But I got the job done - shoes on and a 30 minute transition run where my legs felt much better than they did on the bike and I was able to keep the beeping under control.

How do people live in the south?

Such is life. I think it's good to have tough training sessions like this every once in a while. Where you don't necessarily challenge your body by pushing it faster and faster but rather by adding some heat and a whole bunch of humidity and then some hills. And then some beeping. :) Because you survive nonetheless and are definitely stronger for it. Now excuse me while I go drink another gallon of water or two...and pour some salt down my throat... :)

Posted by beth at 1:53 PM | Comments (1)

August 24, 2007

Swim, Lift, Sweat

Holy cats is it hot around here. Good thing I was basically inside all day. I always wonder how people who have to work outside survive days like this. Yikes.

Anyway, this morning I did a 3K swim workout including 20x100. I think 20x100 used to be my favorite main set but it has now turned into my least favorite main set. Boring. And I have trouble counting that high when I'm swimming. :) I survived just fine though. After the swim I headed to the weight room and lifted and that constituted my training for the day.

Tomorrow I won't be able to avoid the heat with a 3 hour ride and a transition run after that. The good news is that the forecast for Hamburg involves MUCH cooler weather - as in 50s and 60s. Now that's my kind of weather. Excellent for running although I will admit swimming in cold water in those temps and then getting on your bike and riding around at 22 mph sort of complicates things. Either way, I still say I prefer cooler weather for racing (even tris) than hot, hot, hot.

Nonetheless I have a lot to get done so I better go about getting started. It mostly involves making sure I have everything I need for our trip and making sure things are in order before I go. Four more days until liftoff! :)

Posted by beth at 6:14 PM | Comments (1)

August 23, 2007

More Storms

Man has it been raining/storming around here for about the past 5 months. Or 5 weeks. Or maybe only 5 days... Still, it seems like everytime I want to ride my bike outside the lightening, thunder and hail start and I'm more concerned with coaxing Roxy out from underneath the bed than actually getting my helmet and cycling shoes on.

Nonetheless, life goes on.

I woke up this morning and didn't want to do anything but go back to sleep. Luckily I talked myself out of that notion and got my running gear on. And then I proceeded to have a delightful run. I really like running early in the morning, more so than riding or swimming. Probably because it's so much cooler and it just seems like you and you only out there. The run was 50 minutes - moderate and I actually had to push it a little to get my HR where it was supposed to be.

As I was driving home from work the aforementioned storms were brewing so I knew the trainer it would be. And oh did it storm! So much so that I was thinking of joining Roxy underneath the bed! But I got my 1:45 in on the bike while I watched my What It Takes DVD. I've seriously watched the movie about 20 times.

Alas, still much to do and it's already late. Good thing I have tomorrow off work! :)

Posted by beth at 8:56 PM | Comments (0)

August 22, 2007

Evidence of Aging

First of all - scratch that recent post of mine regarding fall. When I ran this afternoon it was 85 degrees and humid as all get out. Yep, summer is still here. :)

So anyway, the Pitt freshman moved into the dorms today. Utter chaos always ensues when the Pitt students come back. There isn't enough room for parking as is. Wait until the upper classmen come back too. Serious weeping and gnashing of teeth. Anyway, as I was walking down to work I made a very disturbing discovery. These young, new college students, about to be on their very own for the first time looked...well...they looked so YOUNG! I couldn't believe my eyes. If you lined them up I would have guessed 15 or 16 tops.

I mentioned this to my co-worker of which she replied "well you know Beth, they are 10 years younger than you." Ouch. 10 years?! Since when did I get old? And before you start - I know, 28 isn't old, I know. But I'm pretty sure I can no longer associate with a college crowd, that is unless I want to be the one that is 10 years older than everyone else. Oh my.

This got me to thinking about medical students and residents. Each July a new batch comes to Presby. And each July I note how young the new residents look. You see when I started at my current job I was younger than the residents - they have 4 years of college THEN 4 years of medical school, then residency. But now I'm older and it's not too cool. Before you know it I'll be older than the new fellows and then *gasp* older than new attending physicians! A very disturbing trend for sure...although a trend I'm unlikely to stop or alter. Ah...such is life... :)

I digress! Training for the day - 3500 yd swim this morning including 5x500, 2 of which were pull. One day my arms will be strong and I'll be able to pull well. That day has not come yet. After work I came home for an easy 30 minute run and weights at the YMCA.

I was definitely the slacker of the household in terms of training today though. O put in a big day with his cross country kids - 7 miles in the morning including 15x400 w/minimal rest @80 and then another 6 miles at afternoon practice. It's been a LONG time since I did that kind of big mileage on my legs. And you know what? I don't miss it one bit... :)

Have a great night everyone!

Posted by beth at 7:26 PM | Comments (3)

August 21, 2007

Something is Stankin'

So I walk into our "office" room after work today and instantly catch a whiff of something that smells...well...not so nice (to put it kindly). Kind of like wet, dirty towels. Yuck. Roxy was outside so I knew it wasn't her. My wet running shoes from the morning were downstairs, so I knew it wasn't them. O was still at work so I knew...(just kidding, he doesn't usually smell too bad :)...

Upon further investigation it became very clear very quickly that the stench was from my still wet heart rate monitor strap. Nasty, nasty, nasty! Boy did it stink and the fact that I was about to put it back on in about 2 minutes didn't make me feel any better. Still wet, really smelly...and then I started to ponder all that that HR strap has been through including over a year of tons of workouts, gallons of sweat, several races, lots of not-so-clean water (including none other than the Allegheny River) and it even made it through my crash with me. In fact I remember trying to take it off in the hospital and the ER doc comes flying over wondering what exactly I was trying to do. I assured him I wasn't pulling IVs, just taking off my stinky HR monitor strap...

While I was on my ride I could actually smell myself (or rather my HR strap). Now that's when you know it's bad. I'm going to have to do something about it. Maybe scrub it up with a little soap? Should I have been doing this all along? I swear I'm a generally clean person... :)

ANYWAY - today was a pretty standard day. I got up and ran 70 minutes in the rain this morning. I feel like it's been raining for years (although it's only been about 3 days). Then I came home from work and it was still raining so I did my 1 hour moderate ride on the trainer in the basement (with stinky HR strap in tow). And I finally topped things off with a 2500 yd swim once O got home from work/practice. He joined me which made for a nicer pool workout. He's cool that like.

Have a great night everyone! And thanks a million for all your nice comments re: Germany! You guys are the very best! :)

Posted by beth at 8:41 PM | Comments (0)

August 20, 2007

The Scoop

Um yeah...I AM LEAVING FOR GERMANY IN 7 DAYS!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!

Whew! I think it's starting to set in. In fact I just looked up my number and wave start time on the ITU webpage. Yep, it's for real. I will be there on the starting line ready to roll Sept 2! (and I can only hope and pray that Scotty the bike will be with me... :)

So the real question is - what are YOU doing at 3:30 am EST on Sunday, Sept 2? If you answered that you would be following along during the live coverage of my race you are VERY correct! I suspect you'll all be setting your alarms so you won't miss a beat. :) Ya right! Although my night owl sister really might still be up then and my early morning father may be eating breakfast by that time... :)

I think I am ready for the trip! Passport and all other important documents are in my possession. We have Euros. We have calling cards. We have credit cards (do you really need anything else?). I did take 5 years of German in high school but don't remember a single thing. I'm banking some Germans speak English (and I'm really not trying to sound like the arrogant American that expects everyone to speak their language but more like the uncultured American that never really learned another language and is hoping someone will take pity on me).

The bad news is that O can't go!! I will definitely be lost without my #1 equipment manager! But it's the first full week of school for him with the kids coming back and since teachers only have 3 personal days for the whole year it would be a bit much to ask him to squander all 3 in the first week. This is the only time it stinks to be a teacher.

The good news is though that I have an incredibly supportive family and my mom is going instead! I am thrilled to have her accompany me and share in this awesome experience. (and thankful too that she is willing to part with precious vacation time)

I'm really unsure of what I'm most excited about. The actual race itself is obviously way up there, especially give the fact that I feel like USAT Nationals was such a subpar race coming off my cycling accident. I feel like I want to prove myself a little better than that performance. (I can feel my heart rate rising as I type this...)

But I'm also really looking forward to the trip. To seeing a different country. To seeing athletes from all around the world. To seeing the best in the world compete! The elites (as in the pros that will be in the Olympics, etc...) will be competing in Hamburg as well, albeit on a different course, but right along with us! I'm excited for the Parade of Nations. To wear a USA uniform. I'm excited to meet other triathletes from this country and make new friends (Pittsburgh isn't exactly the hot bed of triathlon so I don't really know too many other triathletes for real - as in not on the internet... :) Heck, I'll just be excited to ride in an airplane again!

Anyway, that's the scoop for the day. No training today. Good thing because it was 60 degrees, pouring down rain and looked like night pretty much all day today. When I got home from work I didn't mind one bit curling up in bed with Roxy and reading a magazine instead of training... :)

Posted by beth at 7:53 PM | Comments (8)

August 19, 2007

Fall is Upon Us

I know, I know, it's only August and mid-August at that. But the signs are definitely starting to point to the fact that fall is almost here:

1) cooler weather - the high in Pittsburgh today is in the mid 60s and our thermometer has read in the high 50s all day! Now I know it will get hot again; I know. And I certainly haven't gone as far as to actually wear a shirt while running. But I actually "thought" of wearing a shirt today. That's the first step.

2) O has to go back to work - tomorrow is the day! The teachers go back this week, the kids the following week. I'm pretty sure I'm more sad than O that he has to go back. I really like having a stay-at-home husband that is more than willing (and has the time) to take on just about any task! I will miss having him around all the time!

3) football - it's on tv; there is talk of it in the papers; O gets more and more excited about Penn State's season as the days pass and baseball talk takes a back seat. Plus when I was up running near the high school the other day I saw the football team practicing, the cheerleaders out and I heard the band. Need I say more?

4) the feel - I've written about the "feel" before. Oddly enough it was this very same time last year that I was writing about this very same topic (only 2 days off).

Regardless, I'm always a little sad to have that "summer is almost over" feeling. At the same time, fall is my absolute favorite! A win-win situation for me!

As for my training for the day - this morning O and I ran 1:30 on my favorite trail and I felt pretty darn good. We ran easy as is usually the case for my long runs. I also have an hour ride on tap this evening. Considering it's pouring down rain outside I'm guessing I'll be in the basement, on the trainer, listening to my tunes.

Have a great week everyone!

Posted by beth at 4:07 PM | Comments (2)

August 18, 2007

I DEMAND a Burrito - NOW!

I really, really, really want a burrito right now. With lots of chips. And salsa. I'm thinking it's almost burrito...er...dinner time! (I can always talk O into a burrito). And while I definitely love burritos and all foods Mexican, I think what I'm truly hankering for is SALT!

Ever since I took up this crazy sport of triathlon I've turned to love all things salty. Don't get me wrong - I love my sweets too (I'm not one to turn down a bowl of ice cream) but I prefer salty things - chips and pretzels and cheese and hmm...I have visions of salt dancing in my head! I'm especially hungry for salt after a long ride or a long run (or a long race for that matter). After Steelhead, while I was taking a shower at the hotel, I sent O to the grocery store next door with the charge of coming back with something, anything salty! He choose tortilla chips (one of my favs) but if he had come back with a salt shaker I would haven't cared. I would have just licked that salt right up. Okay...I may be grossing some people out now. :)

Anyway, after my three workouts today I'm definitely craving some salt right now! I started the morning with a 2:30 ride followed by a 30 min run off the bike. It was a glorious morning - chilly almost as when I started it was a nippy 52 degrees! It warmed up into a beautiful sunny day though. After some recovery at home from the brick I went to the pool for a 3000 yd swim that involved 150s and 300s.

Of course we took a nap this afternoon (O was tired from his cross country race this morning in which he ran very, very well!) and now it's time to actually get some things accomplished around the house. Although first we will definitely need a burrito...and chips...and salsa... :) Have a great one everybody!

Posted by beth at 4:41 PM | Comments (0)

August 17, 2007

Random Thoughts

1) I did a 3000 yd swim workout this morning. When my alarm went off I wanted to cry. Seriously - how does 7 hours go by so quickly? But I got up and the workout was just fine. I shared a lane with the fast guy (aren't too many fast guys at my YMCA - mostly older people who float along...) which I always enjoy. I like to chase after him and that definitely helps pull me along. And it always makes me think that I need to either (a) find a swimming partner or (b) occasionally go to Pitt masters so I have someone to chase

2) Work was busy and rough and I'm glad I'm done! I got in a fight with a transplant surgeon who apparently thinks he knows more about nutrition than me. Seriously dude - you leave the nutrition to me and I'll leave the cutting and transplanting to you. Deal?

3) I still have to go lift at the YMCA.

4) Blogging is a very good way to procrastinate.

5) O has a big race tomorrow - his high school alumni cross country race! I'm excited for him. He's been working out a lot with his current cross country team (assistant coach at the school where he now teaches) and just recently did an 8x800 workout running 2:40-2:50 pace. Yikes! I think he's going to surprise himself tomorrow!

6) After reading Becky's blog - I too realized that I missed my 3 year blog-versary! Three years of listening to all my rants and raves and up and downs. You all deserve an award for putting up with that. ;)

7) Okay - I really have to go lift now because I'm starting to get hungry and I'm going to be wanting dinner really soon...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted by beth at 4:35 PM | Comments (2)

August 16, 2007

Chance Meeting

The man that mowed Scotty and I over on that fateful day in June lives about a mile from where we live. I know this because I run past his house all the time and his white pickup truck (that still has the dent that Scotty and I made in it) sits outside. When I run by I always wonder if I'll ever see the driver. Or if one day I'll be in the Subway in town and he'll walk in. Or we'll pump gas next to each other at the BP on the corner. Natrona Heights isn't that big. Of course if the driver smacked me upside the head I wouldn't know who he was. Because I've never seen him. I was, after all, unconcious the last time we met. But I do know the truck. There was a picture of it in the paper and then I run past it all the time.

So imagine my surprise as I was running down the road today, about 200 yds from where I was hit, when I stop to let a truck go past (he had the right of way this time!) and look up to find that it's "The Truck" with "The Driver" inside! AH! He didn't give me a second glance. I wonder if he would recognize me? (he probably got a better look at me than I did at him anyway) Kind of funny. I sort of want to talk with him and tell him that while I did not in any way appreciate being run over I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose and of course I do forgive him. At least he stopped. As I've learned from many a cyclist I was lucky of at least that.

Anyway, chance meeting aside, I had a very nice run (45 minutes). Actually, I started off feeling pretty rough but felt better as the run progressed. I ran in the afternoon heat (about 82 degrees and humid) because when I woke up this morning there was some crazy storms going through and I didn't feel like getting hit by lightening. Instead I did my ride (1:30) on the trainer inside in the am and then ran after work.

In other news - Roxy has bad breath. Any ideas about that one? (it doesn't help that she attempts to eat at least one dead thing each morning on her walk)

So it's Thursday already! This week has gone fast. Training is going pretty well - Germany will be here before I know it! You may note no speed training in the works this week (or more likely you could care less). I was hoping for some speed this week but was out-voted by my coach. Still recovering from Steelhead I suppose. I'll soon be making my plea for some speed next week. :)

Good night all!

Posted by beth at 7:36 PM | Comments (4)

August 15, 2007

Pool Time

Back to the pool this morning where I spent some more time splashing around. Today was a long swim. It included 4x600. Ouch. Haven't done that for a while. I find long intervals in the pool like that to be more mentally challenging than anything. Very easy to lose focus, even more so when you are doing them alone. Very good practice for racing. Maintaining focus is key. I'm queen of the short sentences this morning. :)

Anyway, after the swim I came home and ran an easy 30 minutes. Our cooler weather continues and I couldn't be more happy. 65 degrees this morning with low humidity definitely felt like a breathe of fresh air. This Friday night it's supposed to go into the low 50s - can't wait for my Saturday morning ride! ;)

I have the day off work today so I'm trying to get some stuff done (laundry being top on the list) as well as some relaxing (I'm sure there will be a nap in there somewhere). I'll go back over to the YMCA later on this afternoon for some lifting as well. What a day!

Have a great one everybody!

Posted by beth at 11:29 AM | Comments (1)

August 14, 2007

Today's Training

5:20 am - 1 hour run; 57 degrees; felt like winter; loved every second of it

4:30 pm - 2500 yd swim which included some pull which I'm loving more each time I do it

6:10 pm - moderate 1 hour ride on the trainer while watching Law and Order; every time I'm convinced I've watched every single Law and Order that there is to watch, a new one comes on

Posted by beth at 9:37 PM | Comments (0)

Dreaming of Kona

For the past three nights in a row I've dreamt about Kona. It's different every time. Last night I dreamt I was riding out in the lava fields and the heat was so very oppressive. It's strange - but I know why I'm dreaming about it. On Saturday night O and I watched my tape of Kona 2006 and apparentely I've been thinking about it ever since...

I honestly have been thinking about it a lot lately. You see it's about this time of year that the triathlete has to start planning next year's season. Ludicrous I know. And it drives me crazy. I mean how am I to know what I'll feel like racing next season when this one isn't even done yet? But races like Eagleman are almost sold out for 2008 and I was just contacted about representing the US again at Age Group Worlds in 2008. Age Group Worlds is really early next year because of the Olympics and so you qualify for it as based on races in 2007. Ugh.

So this sent O and I into a discussion about next year and what races I might plan on doing. Which brought up many, many other questions. Did I want to stick with shorter races (ie: Olympic distance) or sprinkle some half IMs in there too? If I did do a half IM - early season or late? Focus on the shorter stuff or make the longer stuff my "A" race. Try to qualify for Best of the US? Try to make it back to Portland for Age Group Nationals? Turn pro at the very first opportunity I get or wait a bit until I get more experience? Really try to make a run at being the best amateur at some of the biggest races? And perhaps central to it all...put all my heart and soul into trying to qualify for Kona now or wait to do that until later?

My problem is the fact that I'm greedy and I want it all. I want to do Kona, I want to do the shorter races, I want to PR at this distance and that distance and I want to do some cycling races and...the list just goes on and on. My coach would probably cry if he read this. If there is one thing that I've learned this year it's that you can't have it all. You really have to focus on just 2 or 3 races for the whole season. And the rest is just part of the buildup.

What I do know is this - I've decided that I would really like Kona to be my first full distance IM (you can qualify for Kona via a select few half IMs around the country - otherwise you have to qualify via a full distance IM).

Because Kona just seems too majestic a race to have it not be your first. And as brutal as Kona probably is, I would want to go in with no expectations other than enjoying every moment...all the way to the finish.

I don't know if I'll change my mind on that. I don't know if that's naive thinking. I really don't know what I'm talking about at all to tell you the truth. But something else I learned this season is that sometimes ignorance is bliss. And not knowing any better isn't such a bad thing at all.

We didn't really come up with any hard and fast answers to all my scheduling questions. I have so many goals and so many things I want to acheive in this sport. I have to remember that it can't happen all in one season. Although let me tell you, if I could figure out a way to make it work...

In the mean time I'll be dreaming of lava fields and ocean swims and lots of other good stuff. Better put that tape away before I start running in my sleep...

Posted by beth at 8:04 PM | Comments (5)

August 13, 2007

Nap-a-holic

I could seriously win a napping contest. Hands down. As in no contest. I rock at napping.

Some people don't like to nap and that I will never understand. Than there are those people that can't nap (my mom is one of them - luckily I got good napping genes from my dad) - and that's just downright sad.

I seem to be one of the lucky few who could nap every single day and then have no trouble sleeping again when it's time for bed.

This afternoon I came home from work and took advantage of the fact that I have the day off from training and down I went for a nap. I thought I would sleep for 30-45 minutes. An hour and a half later I woke up. Opps! It felt so good though. And I know that has to help in my recovery. Of course I don't have time for that every day (darn work gets in the way) but I definitely take every chance I can get... :)

In other news...wait...I don't have any other news. Pretty routine day, which is just fine by me... :)

Hope everyone has a great night!

Posted by beth at 7:08 PM | Comments (0)

August 12, 2007

I Love Sundays

Seriously - this is the life. Long run this morning (only 70 minutes). Church. Home to read the newspaper and eat lunch. Blog. Nap (can't wait for that). And the rest is TBA although I have no more training for the day (coach still taking it easy on me) and we already got all our chores done for the weekend (cleaning, laundry, cutting the grass, etc...) so we are sitting pretty. I just saw an ad in the paper that my running shoes are on sale at the mall and I have about 400 miles on my current pair so...

Way spoiled.

Hope everyone is as relaxed as I am... :)

Posted by beth at 1:44 PM | Comments (0)

August 11, 2007

Scotty is Sick

Scotty is my bike of course...in case you were wondering.

Anyway, today I took him back out on the roads for my long ride and his back derailleur was none to happy. I suspect it's from changing back and forth from the different wheels (which makes a very good case for ALWAYS leaving race wheels on... :)

Regardless, he was certainly okay enough for our 55 miles this morning (~3 hours) but O and I dropped him off at the bike shop this afternoon to get tuned up. His chain also needs cleaned and other such stuff that I should do myself all the time but never seem to do ever. I am a very bad owner.

Beside the ride this morning I did a 2500 yd swim that involved 1400 yds of pull. That was painful for my very sore arms which I blame solely on lifting. I worked really hard on the pull though because I really, really want my shoulders and stroke to be stronger and I know that lots of pull will help. My kick needs no help. In fact I need to do anti-kick drills if such a thing exists...

So that was pretty much our day. And now it's time for sleep... :)

Posted by beth at 9:46 PM | Comments (1)

August 10, 2007

Training Update

Back at it:

Thursday - 45 min run in the morning, 1:45 on the bike in the evening (on the trainer due to some very bad storms outside)!

Friday - 2500 yds in the pool and back to the weight room for a lifting session (I almost forgot where the weight room was...)

Tomorrow I have a swim and a long ride on tap and then Sunday is a long(ish) run. The following week I'm really back at it. I love it! :)

Posted by beth at 6:57 PM | Comments (0)

The Power of a Positive Attitude

My grandmother was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. They first found a mass in her colon and then another on the head of the pancreas. Her past month has been a whirlwind of doctor's appointments and tests and procedures and more tests and more appointments and then repeat all over again x 5. Then, on the Thursday that O and I left for Steelhead, she underwent major surgery (called a whipple) to remove all the cancer that they could.

Because the majority of the tests and appointments and then the surgery were done at the hospital that I work at I was able to be with my grandmother for much of that whirlwind. It broke my heart a little that I couldn't be there when she actually had the surgery (as we were in Michigan) but of course my other family was there with her and she wouldn't even have me consider the possibilty of not racing!

And the good news is she did just fine. In fact more than fine. She was that super-star patient where everything went well. She was discharged home yesterday, just 7 days after surgery where the average length of stay for a patient of her type is 10 days and I've definitely seen some stay much longer, weeks and even months later.

She won the hearts of everyone on her hospital floor. I actually worked on that very floor for 2 years (I've since changed units) and everyone would gush to me every time I came to visit "your grandmother is the best, she is so sweet, she has such a positive attitude, etc..." Her surgeon, the nurses, even the cleaning lady loved her!

And while I know she has a long road ahead yet (6 months of chemo) I have no doubt that she will make it through just fine.

I thought a lot about my grandmother on the bike in Steelhead. I thought that if I had just 10% of the toughness she had, I would make it through this 1/2 IM just fine. I thought about her dedication to her family and to her church and to her friends. I thought about her faith. I thought about the pain that she was probably feeling from the surgery. I thought about her smile, the one she always has on her face. And I thought about her good sense of humor. She never misses a beat.

But mostly what I thought about was her positive attitude. Her absolutely amazing positive attitude.

Pancreatic cancer is not a good diagnosis. And I was there when the surgeon point blank told her that and then proceeded to tell her how extensive the surgery to have the cancer removed was. He did not mince words. But you know what? My grandmother didn't even blink an eye. So many people give up before they even start fighting. They choose to not even have the surgery. And certainly that is their choice. But my grandmother didn't even consider that as an option. She had her mind made up early - whatever they needed to do, well then lets get on with it because she has lots of life planned ahead.

I simply could not believe as I visited each day after the surgery how positive she was. She was smiling and looking great as ever. When most people complain of the pain and the food and the care and the nurses and everything else you could think of, she did none of that. Instead, she laughed and smiled and had a nice comment for every nurse, doctor, nurse's aid, cleaning person, etc... that came through the door.

These past couple days my grandmother has taught me a lot. I feel like I've learned this lesson before, but that I keep having to relearn it because I'm a little on the slow side. Or maybe forgetful side. Her lesson was simply this - the only thing in this world that we can control is our attitude and the only kind of attitude worth ever having is one that is positive.

I know in my heart that the reason she is doing so well right now is because she choose to believe that she was going to be just fine. She choose to believe that she would make it through the surgery, that she will make it through the chemo and that through it all she will look on the bright side of things. Because that's the only way she lives her life. And I know that's the only way to live mine.

Posted by beth at 6:16 PM | Comments (3)

August 8, 2007

My Newest Theory

I'm thinking that somehow on the way home from work I took a wrong turn and instead of ending up at our home in Pittsburgh, PA I ended up in a Columbian rainforest. (do they even have rainforests in Columbia?) This is the only possible explanation for the absolute unbearable heat and humidity that we are enduring. And lest you remind me YET AGAIN, yes, it was me who whined and complained pretty much all winter about how I hated the cold and I wanted desperately to move to Austin. Yes, yes, I know.

Anyway, this morning when I woke up at 4:45 AM it was 79 degrees with about 10 billion percent humidity. What. The. Heck?!?! At least for my run it was dark and the sun wasn't beating down too! And I really shouldn't complain that much because it also started raining while I was running and while it didn't really cool things down at least I felt somewhat better. Despite all this I had a good run. I didn't expect to feel too good because I can still feel Saturday's race in my legs but I actually didn't feel too bad at all. Of course I was running very, very easy. I ran for 46:30.

This afternoon after work I got a massage. Oh my did I need that! My legs definitely needed some work but my back and shoulders also needed some serious lovin' too. Massages are the way to go.

So tomorrow we get back to business a little. I talked with my coach on the phone this evening and he will be cooking up a new plan with Clearwater as my "A" goal race in November and of course the Worlds in Germany in there too. I also have 2 running races that I'd like to fit in if possible in October. I think I would race every weekend if left to my own devices!

Posted by beth at 8:14 PM | Comments (1)

August 7, 2007

Beach Starts and Recovery

I forgot to mention in my race report about the start of the race - the BEACH start of the race.

Somewhere along the way it occured to me that we weren't going to get to start in the water like I'm used to. In all my triathlons thus far we all get in the water and then someone yells go and we all start swimming like crazy. This is what I'm used to. So when I realized Saturday was going to be a start on dry land I started to have some anxiety. I wondered how it worked...did you run in the water...did you dive in...did you just start swimming...how quickly did the water drop off? It was all very worrisome.

But luckily I wasn't in the first wave. So I watched the start of the pro wave because if anyone would know how to do it it would be the pros. And boy was I surprised! The starter yelled go and all of a sudden all the pros were running down the beach on the hard sand! There was no swimming to be found! I was befuddled. Until they got good and lined up with the first buoy...then they started into the water, first running and then doing these dolphin like moves until they finally started to swim. I think they were already out to the first buoy by the time some of them took their first stroke! Of course this makes sense though - swimming is obviously much slower than running.

So I'm all ready to do the same when it's my turn except the problem is...or should I say problems are...that (1) there are about 200 people in my wave so running down the beach is not going to be as easy (there were only about 10 pros total) and (2) I have no idea how to do that dolphin move like they did. So what did I do? Some odd combo of diving and then swimming and then getting up and running some and then diving again and then thankfully at some point I finally reached deep enough water to just swim. I can only imagine how ugly that was. :) If I encounter any more of those types of starts I definitely need to practice a bit more! :)

Anyway, my recovery is definitely starting to come around. Today I could actually walk normally. The day after the race I jogged (but really should have just walked as it might have been faster) for 15 minutes. On Monday I swam 500 yds. (I know - don't go overboard right?! :) and then this morning I spun a very easy 45 minutes on the trainer before work. Tomorrow I'm going to run again - maybe 35-45 minutes and then I will email my coach and the new "plan" begins! Oh...did I mention I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow? What better timing?! ;)

And so it goes! Hope everyone has a great night!

Posted by beth at 8:01 PM | Comments (0)

August 6, 2007

Some Pics

O's forte is cheering and being EVERYWHERE on the course (letting me know where I stand, telling me I look good when I don't, etc...). This doesn't leave a lot of time for picture taking. But he did get a few...

Me, before the start of the swim. I chose to wear my sleeveless wetsuit because Lake Michigan was a toasty 76 degrees!

On the bike with my (okay, they aren't really mine...) snappy race wheels!

After it was all said and done, with my medal, the jazzy new transition bag I won and the certificate/paperwork for the 70.3 Worlds in hand.

And, as requested, a picture of some of my Team USA gear for Germany! :)

Posted by beth at 6:42 PM | Comments (1)

Steelhead 70.3 Race Report

Where to begin? I'm still pretty excited about this race so I warn you now - there will be many exclamation points!! :)

First of all, the trip itself. Probably one of the lowest stress trips we've had. The ride to Michigan was long (although keep in mind anything longer than 90 minutes in the car is long to me) but it went smoothly and we arrived around dinner time on Thursday. One quick comment - Ohio and Indiana in my eyes consist of nothing but flat cornfields and farms. That's all I saw at least.

We grabbed some dinner on Thursday and then drove the bike course. It was pretty nice - some rolling hills but overall much flatter than I was expecting.

Friday was the usual pre-race routine - doing a little of each sport, checking my bike in, getting my packet, preparing all my nutrition and praying it would cool down some. It was just so dang hot, as in high 80s and low 90s and very humid.

My prayers must have been answered because Saturday morning it was miraculously cooler and much less humid! Thank God!

I have to admit, I was pretty nervous for this race. I get nervous for all my races but this one had an element of the unknown that was a little unsettling. After getting my stuff set up in transition O and I started the 1.2 mile trek out to the swim start. I was so very excited to see that Lake Michigan looked calm and smooth, unlike the previous day when it was wavy and choppy and I swallowed more than my fair share of water trying to swim out to one of the buoys that had already been set up.

The Swim: goal time = 30 min/actual time = 32:34

Let me just mention that part of the swim time included running up a beach in deep sand. When I actually got out of the water I looked at my watch and saw 31:xx. I was relatively pleased. But more than anything what I have to say about the swim is IT WENT BY SO FAST, and that NEVER happens for me. I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked up once to site and I saw the last orange buoy that signaled home. Holy Cats! I felt strong and relaxed in the water and although I didn't go as fast as I wanted I was okay with that (for now).

T1 (2:50)

So running up out of water and then up through sand is not such an easy thing to do. I was dying! But I finally got up to my bike and got situated and got moving. I think I still have sand in between my toes and I'm assuming I'll never get it totally out of my cycling shoes... :)

The Bike: goal time = 2:40/actual time = 2:36:40

This was the biggest unknown for me. My fear was that if I pushed too hard the half marathon in 80 degree temps to come would be my death. 56 miles, after all, is a relatively long way to go. But of course I'm competitive and letting someone just pass me right by really isn't an option either. So I tried to find a happy medium. I really enjoyed the ride. It was that nice place where you are definitely working hard but you aren't red-lining it either. If I want to really improve at this distance this is the discipline I need to do it in - push harder on the bike but still be able to run strong. That might be easier said than done.

Regardless, my main focus on the bike was making sure I took some nutrition in. Despite my anti-nausea fixes before the swim my stomach was still pretty unsettled. I forced myself to take in 2 gels though and about 16 oz of (high calorie) fluid. Was it enough? No. But it was honestly all I could force in.

With about 5 miles to go I really wanted off my bike. And I thought about doing a full IM and not even being halfway done and that made me think I don't want to do a full IM any time soon. :)

T2 (2:12)

I was happy to leave my bike behind and get my running shoes on. Very happy.

The Run: goal time = 1:40/actual time = 1:35:56

Happy to get my running shoes on that is until I realized how bad my nausea was. UGH! Immediately upon starting the run my stomach was NOT happy. I let myself feel sorry for myself for about 3 minutes before I decided I had to just deal with it. The reality was, this nausea and I might be together for the next 13.1 miles so I better not fight it. I tried to relax and then I started to do math. I could keep my nausea at bay running 7:35-7:45 pace and if I could somehow just manage that for the next 13 miles I would still get my time goal of 5 hours. Just. Hang. In. There.

Around mile 3.5 of the run I saw O and he told me I was in 3rd place in my age group. I don't know if it was the excitement of realizing that I just might qualify for the this race or what but about a half mile later I threw up big time. Not pleasant, no but I instantly felt about 1000 times better!!!! I saw O again about another half mile later and screamed at him "I just threw up and I feel GREAT!" to which he replied "I love it when you throw up!" I wanted to cry with joy! Now I was comfortably running 7-7:15 pace and loving life. About a mile later I passed the 1st place girl in my age group.

After passing her and knowing my main goal was to protect my spot, I started to really try and focus all energy on getting from one aid station to the next. Because all of a sudden, it was getting really hot and the reality of having 6-7 more miles to go started to set in. At each station I made sure to get in a full cup of water. And I also started to hoard the best invention known to man - the ice cold rectangular sponges they were handing out. Holy Double Cats! These things were amazing. They were just simple little sponges but filled with cold, cold water that everyone was stuffing in their tops or under their hats and...oh my...I was beside myself with joy every time I got one!

Although I was starting to tire considerably I was still running in the 7:15-7:20 range. And with each passing mile the possibility of breaking 5 hours started to turn into reality. And I started to get emotional. Because just like anything that you work really, really, really, really hard for...when you realize that it just may happen...you truly feel a deep, deep joy.

The last mile was tough. Very tough. It felt much like the last mile of a marathon actually. But I knew I had a great race on my hands so I just kept pushing. And when I rounded the last corner and saw the finish line about 200 yds away I finally allowed myself to smile.

I kid you not when I say the moment I stepped over that line and heard the beeping of my chip registering my time, I threw up again, and again, and again. I have no idea how that didn't happen earlier in the race - but I thank God it didn't! The medical volunteers dragged me (and when I say drag, I mean drag) to the medical tent and threw me up on the table, legs up, ice cold towels all over me, bags of ice all over me and then the jabbing of the IV in my hand. But you know what? I couldn't have cared less. I was so happy to have finished and accomplished my 2 goals by going under 5 hours (4:50:09) and also by earning a slot at the 70.3 World Champs in Clearwater, Florida in November.

After about 10 minutes in the medical tent I started to feel much better but they wanted me to get the full liter of IV fluids so I laid there for another 30 minutes or so and I just watched through the side of the tent as everyone finished - some looking strong and some looking haggard but all looking very, very happy.

When they finally let me go I found O and we celebrated. We got my stuff from transition and then we waited around for the awards. I happily stood in line to claim my Clearwater slot. I'm pretty sure that smile from the finish line never left my face all night.

Now a couple days later (and still VERY sore! :), I am still pleased with how things went but definitely scheming for the next race and how I can make it better. After looking over the full results and comparing splits my theory is, the best place to make up more time is on the bike. And of course, figure out my nausea so I can run the way I want to for the whole race and not just 2/3rds of it.

So after a few very light days of training it's back to business! My motivation right now probably can't get any higher. Nor could my appreciation for all those that support and encourage me day in and day out. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Pictures to come...

And just in case you are interested, mile splits for the run: (missed the first one), 7:39, 7:31, 7:38, 7:10, 7:06, 6:59, 7:12, 7:17, 7:23, 7:28, 7:22, 7:21, :38.

Posted by beth at 4:42 PM | Comments (6)

August 4, 2007

Cloud Nine

Absolutely thrilled with my race today! I had two goals going in. (1) qualify for the World 1/2 Ironman Championships in Clearwater, Florida in November (accomplished by placing in the top 4 in my age group) and (2) breaking 5 hours. I truly wasn't sure what to expect though. First of all, it was my first 1/2 IM and just like your first marathon you really aren't exactly sure what to aim for. Plus, the longer the race, the higher the likelihood of things going wrong! Also, the temps were forecasted into the high 80s and while that wouldn't affect my placing in my age group (everyone has to deal with the heat), it surely would affect my time.

The good news is, I went 4:50:09 AND I won my age group, sealing my spot in Clearwater. I was absolutely thrilled. Definite full race report to follow with all the ups and downs of the day (my battle with nausea continues including throwing up 4 times at the finish that earned me a trip to the medical tent and my very own IV!). But I just wanted to thank everyone for their good luck wishes and support! Trust me when I say when you do a 5 hour race you have a lot of time to yourself to think and I thought about everything, including how lucky I am to have so many people support and encourage me!

For now I'm going to nurse my aching legs, all my sore spots, oh...and sleep for about 12 hours! :)

Posted by beth at 7:13 PM | Comments (5)

August 1, 2007

PS

In my excitement about the race wheels I forgot to mention that I received my Team USA uniform in the mail today for Worlds! Now how cool is that? I opted for the regular swimsuit vs the shorts/top. Unfortunately ITU rules dictate that the torso must be covered which I don't prefer (after being a runner for years - it feels weird to race with something on my belly! :) I'm sure I'll survive. Anyway, also in the package was a Team USA polo shirt, our "parade shirt" (there is some sort of parade of nations or something) and a few other goodies.

PPS - I think our bat really is gone. No sign of him last night again. Thank goodness! (by the way - thanks to all those who offered up bat advice - seeing as how we are bat rookies, we appreciated your words of wisdom)

Posted by beth at 7:39 PM | Comments (3)

Holy Cats!

Of course my title is one of my favorite sayings, stolen from none other than Barb! :)

Anyway, the "holy cats" is in reference to our heat wave. Wow was it hot today. I'm talking melting hot. Like can't breathe because it's so hot. Like you walk into your 85 degree house and it actually feels cool compared to outside!

Regardless, it was sort of cool this morning when I did a short and easy 30 minute run (which came after a short and easy 1500 meters in the pool at the YMCA).

It was not cool this afternoon when I went out for my 90 minute ride though! Holy cats! I was soaked within minutes. Luckily I was very distracted from the temps because I was much more focused on trying the race wheels! Double holy cats! I can see why people pay $3000 for a set of these bad boys. I felt like I was flying! I always try to tell myself that stuff like race wheels, aerohelmets, lighter bike components, etc... don't make that much difference but after today's ride I threw that theory out the window. Wowsers! I felt like a bit of a tool riding my bike around town with race wheels (and a disc in the back no less) but truth be told the people around where I live likely don't know the difference between a disc wheel and a mountain bike tire.

Anyway, one of the best things about the disc (other than making you faster of course) is the noise is makes when you are riding...sort of like a whirr, whirr, whirr with each pedal stroke. I was thoroughly enjoying myself. And I came right home and emailed the owner of said wheels that I definitely would not be returning them any time soon. :) One downside to these wheels however is that they are tubulars (vs the clinchers I usually use). This means I can pump them up to 140-150 psi. This in and of itself isn't a bad thing of course (part of the reason you can go faster!) other than for fools like me who have trouble pumping their tires up to 120 let alone 150! And unfortunately on race morning I have to be the one pumping as O won't be allowed in the transition area. Perhaps some big tri dude will take pity on me and help me out. :)

So we are leaving tomorrow morning for southwestern Michigan! I'm pretty excited for the race and just for the trip in general. We will be close to Notre Dame so even though we are NOT Notre Dame fans we are going to stop by campus to at least check it out. O also found a minor league baseball team that plays very close by so if I'm not in a coma on Saturday night we'll probably go to that (race is Saturday, not leaving for home until Sunday).

Will report back after the race!

Posted by beth at 6:56 PM | Comments (1)