I'm hoping after the Team in Training kick off this weekend maybe some energy and enthusiasm from my fellow TNT'ers will help draw me out of this funk.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
I'd like to say I've turned over a new leaf for 2007, but....
it hasn't happened yet. I'm still struggling mentally and physically. I'm doing Saint Anthony's in a little over 3 months, and I can't run for more then a few minutes at a time. I love triathlon, but I'm not sure if I can cope with doing it if at the age 53 I'm reduced to walking a large portion of the run. I was hoping that I could put that off until I was in my late 70s.
I'm hoping after the Team in Training kick off this weekend maybe some energy and enthusiasm from my fellow TNT'ers will help draw me out of this funk.
I'm hoping after the Team in Training kick off this weekend maybe some energy and enthusiasm from my fellow TNT'ers will help draw me out of this funk.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Good Bye and Good Riddance to 2006
Ayear ago today I posted pictures from my trip to Honolulu for the ITU Age Group World Championships. I was full of hope and optimism for 2006. I was looking forward to another successful triathlon season starting with another good result at Saint Anthony's in April, and taking off from there. I was also looking forward to trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grow up, and where I might want to do so. So here it is a year later, and nothing has changed except I'm a year older and the body isn't so forgiving after three straight hardcore racing seasons. Two words describes 2006; shit happens.
Here is my 2006 triathlon season in a nutshell;
Saint Anthony's (Olympic) 3:07:51 21/49 age group
Capitol of Texas (Olympic) 2:58:59 9/17 age group
Pawling Triathlon (Sprint) 1:24:39 3/9 age group
Even though I had the fastest bike split in my age group at Cap Tex I pretty much decided there and then that a return trip to Kansas City was not realistic. As much as I wanted to actually wanted to race the course in KC, it seemed like a waste of time and money. Saint Petersburg, FL and Austin, TX gave me my fill of triathlon travel for the season. Anything else had to be within driving distance. I also decided the only triathlon I was committed to do was Westchester. My focus would be on training to walk the Nike Women's marathon with Team in Training. If nothing else I was determined to complete the TNT "Triple Crown". From June to September I wasn't going to enter anything in advance. If I got a hankering to race, I'd find a race and enter late.
It's funny how one can make decisions like these for whatever reason, and discover down the road the wisdom of these decisions. Little did I know deciding to skip Nationals and not to enter anymore races ahead of time would save me money and heart aches.
On June 27th I was on a training ride with friends. We were going hard and fast, and the rider in front of me went down. When one is going 25-30 mph and 2 inches away from wheel of the guy in front there is no time to react. One can just hope that the body and bike don't sustain too much damage from the impact. My bike was fine. My helmet gave its life to save mine. My ribs weren't so lucky, and I broke three of them.
Like I said earlier, shit happens. But I suppose if I was going to have a season ending bike accident 2006 was a good year to have it. After all I had come to the decision to scrap all big time competitive ambitions for the year, and just concentrate on the very non-competitive goal of walking a marathon. I could still walk even with broken ribs. It would have been very frustrating to have to cancel out of the nationals, and any other race I had scheduled. Though it was difficult to opt out of doing Westchester, I knew it was the right thing to do. There was a waiting list for people to join TNT for Westchester. By opting out I freed up a spot for someone else, and I could still contribute to the team effort as a non-competing mentor.
No matter how old one is there is the need to let her dad know she had a "boo-boo." My father witnessed my first bike accident when teaching me how to ride a two wheeler. I had not quite mastered the art of braking, and managed to stop myself by crashing into a brick wall. I was fine, but I did snap a pedal off the bike. He also was riding with me when I didn't take a corner very well. Another pedal mishap. (Inside foot up when cornering!)
I was spaced out on pain killers so my husband left a message on my dad's answering machine to the effect that his 52 year old daughter was being "Mrs. Evil Knevil" again. I received that nick name from an ER doctor who had treated me in 1989 after another spectacular bike accident. He came out to the waiting room and asked my husband if he was the spouse of Mrs. Evil Knevil. I guess he wasn't too accustomed to having a 35 year old women arriving in his ER at 8:30 PM on a Tuesday evening needing stitches in her hip from a bike crash.
Dad called me back on Thursday June 30th. We talked about my accident, and his upcoming long weekend at the Jersey shore for the 4th of July. I didn't realize at the time that it would be the last time I'd hear his voice, and that I'd end out joining him at the Jersey shore for all the wrong reasons. Wednesday July 5th he drove him self to the ER complaining of stomach pains. On Thursday July 6th I rushed down to Stone Harbor, NJ to be by his side. Friday July 7th he was gone.
Dad was 87 going on 57. He played 18 holes of golf on the Monday before he died. He was in the process of planning his next trip, a cruise around Norway. This was a man that I thought would live well into his 90s. But what do I know?
What I did know was, shit happens, but it seems to happen for a reason. The injuries, the lack of competitive fire and focus made it so that I wasn't flying to Kansas City on July 6th to compete in the nationals on July 8th. Instead I was flying down the Garden State Parkway be with my dad. I can be thankful that I did not have to deal with the angst of being alone in hotel 1/2 way across the country while my dad died, and facing the decision of leaving or staying, racing or not racing.
I saw a sign in someone's office that said something like"If God brought me to it, He will get me through it." That's how I felt about 2006. My finish line photo from the Nike Women's Marathon summarizes how I felt about getting through the marathon. It also summarizes how I feel about 2006 being over.
Woo hoo!!!! I made it!!
Here is my 2006 triathlon season in a nutshell;
Saint Anthony's (Olympic) 3:07:51 21/49 age group
Capitol of Texas (Olympic) 2:58:59 9/17 age group
Pawling Triathlon (Sprint) 1:24:39 3/9 age group
Even though I had the fastest bike split in my age group at Cap Tex I pretty much decided there and then that a return trip to Kansas City was not realistic. As much as I wanted to actually wanted to race the course in KC, it seemed like a waste of time and money. Saint Petersburg, FL and Austin, TX gave me my fill of triathlon travel for the season. Anything else had to be within driving distance. I also decided the only triathlon I was committed to do was Westchester. My focus would be on training to walk the Nike Women's marathon with Team in Training. If nothing else I was determined to complete the TNT "Triple Crown". From June to September I wasn't going to enter anything in advance. If I got a hankering to race, I'd find a race and enter late.
It's funny how one can make decisions like these for whatever reason, and discover down the road the wisdom of these decisions. Little did I know deciding to skip Nationals and not to enter anymore races ahead of time would save me money and heart aches.
On June 27th I was on a training ride with friends. We were going hard and fast, and the rider in front of me went down. When one is going 25-30 mph and 2 inches away from wheel of the guy in front there is no time to react. One can just hope that the body and bike don't sustain too much damage from the impact. My bike was fine. My helmet gave its life to save mine. My ribs weren't so lucky, and I broke three of them.
Like I said earlier, shit happens. But I suppose if I was going to have a season ending bike accident 2006 was a good year to have it. After all I had come to the decision to scrap all big time competitive ambitions for the year, and just concentrate on the very non-competitive goal of walking a marathon. I could still walk even with broken ribs. It would have been very frustrating to have to cancel out of the nationals, and any other race I had scheduled. Though it was difficult to opt out of doing Westchester, I knew it was the right thing to do. There was a waiting list for people to join TNT for Westchester. By opting out I freed up a spot for someone else, and I could still contribute to the team effort as a non-competing mentor.
No matter how old one is there is the need to let her dad know she had a "boo-boo." My father witnessed my first bike accident when teaching me how to ride a two wheeler. I had not quite mastered the art of braking, and managed to stop myself by crashing into a brick wall. I was fine, but I did snap a pedal off the bike. He also was riding with me when I didn't take a corner very well. Another pedal mishap. (Inside foot up when cornering!)
I was spaced out on pain killers so my husband left a message on my dad's answering machine to the effect that his 52 year old daughter was being "Mrs. Evil Knevil" again. I received that nick name from an ER doctor who had treated me in 1989 after another spectacular bike accident. He came out to the waiting room and asked my husband if he was the spouse of Mrs. Evil Knevil. I guess he wasn't too accustomed to having a 35 year old women arriving in his ER at 8:30 PM on a Tuesday evening needing stitches in her hip from a bike crash.
Dad called me back on Thursday June 30th. We talked about my accident, and his upcoming long weekend at the Jersey shore for the 4th of July. I didn't realize at the time that it would be the last time I'd hear his voice, and that I'd end out joining him at the Jersey shore for all the wrong reasons. Wednesday July 5th he drove him self to the ER complaining of stomach pains. On Thursday July 6th I rushed down to Stone Harbor, NJ to be by his side. Friday July 7th he was gone.
Dad was 87 going on 57. He played 18 holes of golf on the Monday before he died. He was in the process of planning his next trip, a cruise around Norway. This was a man that I thought would live well into his 90s. But what do I know?
What I did know was, shit happens, but it seems to happen for a reason. The injuries, the lack of competitive fire and focus made it so that I wasn't flying to Kansas City on July 6th to compete in the nationals on July 8th. Instead I was flying down the Garden State Parkway be with my dad. I can be thankful that I did not have to deal with the angst of being alone in hotel 1/2 way across the country while my dad died, and facing the decision of leaving or staying, racing or not racing.
I saw a sign in someone's office that said something like"If God brought me to it, He will get me through it." That's how I felt about 2006. My finish line photo from the Nike Women's Marathon summarizes how I felt about getting through the marathon. It also summarizes how I feel about 2006 being over.
Woo hoo!!!! I made it!!
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Follow up to the psycho driver
The other day I shared our group ride encounter with the crazy lady. When the police had not tracked us down I had made the comment that they probably get calls from this woman all the time, and say "Oh God, her again." I guess I was right about that.
Unbeknowst to me one of the members of the group is a doctor, and after the second encounter with her he actually stopped to see what the problem was. The cops did actually come to where we she had stopped the second time. Paul told the cops what had happened, and the cops told her that if she sees the group out on the road again, to take a different route. The cops have had other problems with her.
Apparently she is recovering from a brain tumor, and has some episodes of craziness. Though I feel sorry for her, and wish her a speedy recovery, I have to ask a few questions.
1. Why the hell is she driving a car with that type of condition?
2. Where is her family?
3. Is she on some sort of medication, and is she taking it?
At the time of the incident we were having a some laughs, but looking back on it that was very scary. Suppose she drove her car into the group? What if she had a gun? These are not pleasant thoughts, but in this crazy world one has to think about that.
I exercise for health, and I hope to be like my father and grandmother and be active in my mid 80s. However there is no guarantee that some crazy driver won't do something stupid while I'm out riding or running. This incident just reminds me again that there are no guarantees, and that one must be careful out there.
Unbeknowst to me one of the members of the group is a doctor, and after the second encounter with her he actually stopped to see what the problem was. The cops did actually come to where we she had stopped the second time. Paul told the cops what had happened, and the cops told her that if she sees the group out on the road again, to take a different route. The cops have had other problems with her.
Apparently she is recovering from a brain tumor, and has some episodes of craziness. Though I feel sorry for her, and wish her a speedy recovery, I have to ask a few questions.
1. Why the hell is she driving a car with that type of condition?
2. Where is her family?
3. Is she on some sort of medication, and is she taking it?
At the time of the incident we were having a some laughs, but looking back on it that was very scary. Suppose she drove her car into the group? What if she had a gun? These are not pleasant thoughts, but in this crazy world one has to think about that.
I exercise for health, and I hope to be like my father and grandmother and be active in my mid 80s. However there is no guarantee that some crazy driver won't do something stupid while I'm out riding or running. This incident just reminds me again that there are no guarantees, and that one must be careful out there.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Impatient Driver's Psychotic Twin Sister
You may remember my post of 9/28 when I wrote a rather sarcastic "letter" to a crazy driver. This was the guy who spent all his time honking his horn at me while rushing up to wait in a line of cars at red light. This was the same guy who kept honking as I merrily made my way up the inside past the cars and made a right on red to get the hell a away from him.
Westchester County is a wealthy suburb just north of New York City, and has to be one of the most bike unfriendly places around. There are some beautiful roads, and if you make your way to Northern Westchester you can find some nice secluded spots with few cars and some very pretty scenary. Unfortunately for those of us who live and train in Southern Westchester we have to share the roads some really uptight, obnoxious drivers in their Beemers, Jaguars, Mercedes, et el jabbering on their cell phones, and always in a friggin hurry to get somewhere.
In my 20 some odd years of riding a bike in Westchester County I have encountered all sorts of impatient, angry, stupid, and otherwise obnoxious drivers. It doesn't matter whether I'm riding alone, in a small group, or a big group I thought I had seen it all, but today really took the cake in terms of absurdity.
We have this large training ride that goes out all year around every Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays. It's been going on for over 50 years, and as I wrote in an early post it has been training ground for some outstanding Olympic and professional riders in their youth. In the summer the ride can get very big, and take up way too much much road space. It's hard to get 200 riders to stay two abreast, so we've had a fair share of encounters with the police, particularly in North Castle. The wealthy people of Armonk don't like to be slowed down by a pack of cyclists taking up a large portion of a lane on a four lane roadway, so they often get on their cell phones to complain about those damn cyclists. At times I can't blame them, especially when some knuckleheads in the group decide they want to be in both lanes
Today was not one of those 200 rider days. It was 20 degrees when I left my house this morning, so it was hardcore roadies out today. No matter what the size of the group it splits into basically 3 groups. The first group is generally the smallest and takes the shortest route. This is referred to as Otto's ride since it became a route when Otto decided in his late 60s that he had had enough of trying to deal with the crazies of the regular route. He got taken down one too many times. Otto is an amazing guy. He's in his 70s and still puts many of the youngsters to shame. Despite having a cold, he still was kicking my butt on the flats.
Otto's group had 9 riders in it today. There are a few parts of the ride where it gets a little hairy. One of the sections is after we cross over I-287, and make a sharp left turn onto Westchester Avenue which runs parallel to the highway. For a change we actually caught the green light. Coming through the light with us were two cars. One car pulled over into the left lane. The second car driven by the psycho bitch from hell was in right lane right smack in the middle of our group. 5 of us were in front, and the other 4 behind her. She starts honking her horn and rolls down her window and starts yelling at us. Finally she pulls out into the left lane and passes the group.
This stretch of Westchester Avenue can be very dangerous. The road is not in good condition, it's a fast downhill, and because the road forks at the bottom of the hill cars are often changing lanes quickly to make sure they're heading off in the right direction. The spped limit is 40, and I've actually hit the speed limit a few times going down that hill. Psycho bitch has stopped at the bottom of the hill right at the fork, has gotten out of her car, is standing in the middle of the lane, waving her hands, and yelling "Stop, stop! I'm calling the police!" None of us quite understand what her problem is, and we just go past her. Who the hell wants to engage in a discussion with anyone who has chosen by her actions to put herself and a group of cyclists in danger by standing in the middle of a busy service road?
She jumps back into her car, comes flying past us, and yells out the window. "The cops are coming!" At this point we're all just shaking our heads, and saying this lady needs to get some exercise and a life. Yes she was moderately overweight. Not obese, but probably on the high end the BMI index for height. We proceed on our way, getting to another point on the route that can be hairy. The road is downhill, and goes from really nicely paved to rough, and grooves in the middle of the lane. It's followed by a hard left turn. We get to the bottom of this hill, and there she is again, standing in the middle of the road on the double yellow line, waving her arms around, and demanding that we stop. It looked like she was ready to jump in front of us. Once again the dire pronouncement that the cops were coming.
We continued on our way, and the cops never even came to chase us down. I almost get the feeling that the cops got the call, said "Oh it's her again!", and chose to ignore it. Though some of the riders from the second group said there were two cop cars at that spot when they went through, but nothing appeared to be happening.
We had a good chuckle over the incident. One of my teammates said. "We thought it was so funny, and she probably totally stressed out about it, and have ruined her day." One of the guys in the group said, "Ive never seen s woman with such a bad case of road rage." I guess it was agood thing she wasn't carrying a gun.
I just don't understand what we did that got her in such a tizzy. Okay we did not keep a neat single file line when we made the sharp left turn onto Westchester Avenue, so we ended out getting broken up into two smaller groups, and she got stuck in the middle of the group. It was hard to figure out what she wanted to do, but if she had not freaked out, and simply moved left when the other car passed she would have been free and clear of us, and we would have been a small blip in her rearview mirror. She would have gotten to where she needed to get to, and we could have finished our ride in peace, and not worry about somebody doing stupid and dangerous things in order to make a point.
Westchester County is a wealthy suburb just north of New York City, and has to be one of the most bike unfriendly places around. There are some beautiful roads, and if you make your way to Northern Westchester you can find some nice secluded spots with few cars and some very pretty scenary. Unfortunately for those of us who live and train in Southern Westchester we have to share the roads some really uptight, obnoxious drivers in their Beemers, Jaguars, Mercedes, et el jabbering on their cell phones, and always in a friggin hurry to get somewhere.
In my 20 some odd years of riding a bike in Westchester County I have encountered all sorts of impatient, angry, stupid, and otherwise obnoxious drivers. It doesn't matter whether I'm riding alone, in a small group, or a big group I thought I had seen it all, but today really took the cake in terms of absurdity.
We have this large training ride that goes out all year around every Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays. It's been going on for over 50 years, and as I wrote in an early post it has been training ground for some outstanding Olympic and professional riders in their youth. In the summer the ride can get very big, and take up way too much much road space. It's hard to get 200 riders to stay two abreast, so we've had a fair share of encounters with the police, particularly in North Castle. The wealthy people of Armonk don't like to be slowed down by a pack of cyclists taking up a large portion of a lane on a four lane roadway, so they often get on their cell phones to complain about those damn cyclists. At times I can't blame them, especially when some knuckleheads in the group decide they want to be in both lanes
Today was not one of those 200 rider days. It was 20 degrees when I left my house this morning, so it was hardcore roadies out today. No matter what the size of the group it splits into basically 3 groups. The first group is generally the smallest and takes the shortest route. This is referred to as Otto's ride since it became a route when Otto decided in his late 60s that he had had enough of trying to deal with the crazies of the regular route. He got taken down one too many times. Otto is an amazing guy. He's in his 70s and still puts many of the youngsters to shame. Despite having a cold, he still was kicking my butt on the flats.
Otto's group had 9 riders in it today. There are a few parts of the ride where it gets a little hairy. One of the sections is after we cross over I-287, and make a sharp left turn onto Westchester Avenue which runs parallel to the highway. For a change we actually caught the green light. Coming through the light with us were two cars. One car pulled over into the left lane. The second car driven by the psycho bitch from hell was in right lane right smack in the middle of our group. 5 of us were in front, and the other 4 behind her. She starts honking her horn and rolls down her window and starts yelling at us. Finally she pulls out into the left lane and passes the group.
This stretch of Westchester Avenue can be very dangerous. The road is not in good condition, it's a fast downhill, and because the road forks at the bottom of the hill cars are often changing lanes quickly to make sure they're heading off in the right direction. The spped limit is 40, and I've actually hit the speed limit a few times going down that hill. Psycho bitch has stopped at the bottom of the hill right at the fork, has gotten out of her car, is standing in the middle of the lane, waving her hands, and yelling "Stop, stop! I'm calling the police!" None of us quite understand what her problem is, and we just go past her. Who the hell wants to engage in a discussion with anyone who has chosen by her actions to put herself and a group of cyclists in danger by standing in the middle of a busy service road?
She jumps back into her car, comes flying past us, and yells out the window. "The cops are coming!" At this point we're all just shaking our heads, and saying this lady needs to get some exercise and a life. Yes she was moderately overweight. Not obese, but probably on the high end the BMI index for height. We proceed on our way, getting to another point on the route that can be hairy. The road is downhill, and goes from really nicely paved to rough, and grooves in the middle of the lane. It's followed by a hard left turn. We get to the bottom of this hill, and there she is again, standing in the middle of the road on the double yellow line, waving her arms around, and demanding that we stop. It looked like she was ready to jump in front of us. Once again the dire pronouncement that the cops were coming.
We continued on our way, and the cops never even came to chase us down. I almost get the feeling that the cops got the call, said "Oh it's her again!", and chose to ignore it. Though some of the riders from the second group said there were two cop cars at that spot when they went through, but nothing appeared to be happening.
We had a good chuckle over the incident. One of my teammates said. "We thought it was so funny, and she probably totally stressed out about it, and have ruined her day." One of the guys in the group said, "Ive never seen s woman with such a bad case of road rage." I guess it was agood thing she wasn't carrying a gun.
I just don't understand what we did that got her in such a tizzy. Okay we did not keep a neat single file line when we made the sharp left turn onto Westchester Avenue, so we ended out getting broken up into two smaller groups, and she got stuck in the middle of the group. It was hard to figure out what she wanted to do, but if she had not freaked out, and simply moved left when the other car passed she would have been free and clear of us, and we would have been a small blip in her rearview mirror. She would have gotten to where she needed to get to, and we could have finished our ride in peace, and not worry about somebody doing stupid and dangerous things in order to make a point.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Happy New Year!!!!
The sunsets were fantastic! I took a picture almost every night I was there.
The rainbows were awesome also. During the swim I had a rainbow to view! I felt like God was telling me He was there with me. If a rainbow was good enough for Noah, it's good enough for me.
A race like the World Championships reminds me of the fact that I'm a big fish in a little pond. I win or place high in my age group in the Northeast, but in a race like this I'm swimming with bigger fish in the ocean. Look out for sharks!!! I finished right smack in the middle of my age group. However I held my own on the bike posting the 9th fastest split in the age group. I even biked faster then the gold and bronze medalists. Too bad they can swim and run a lot better then me.
However I had one simple goal down there which I accomplished. I wanted to finish Top 16 amongst USA women in my age group so that I would officially be recognized as Team USA. I finished 14th. A lot of those women passed me on the run. :-)
This has to be one of my favorite race photos. It's great having the skyline showing in the background. It reminds me of what a beautiful venue for a race. Also it's one of the few swim exit photos where I'm not wrestling with a wetsuit, and I'm not making horrible faces. I think I'm actually smiling. I think it was because I had managed to stay off the coral, and I was heading out to do damage on the bike. Despite some annoying headwinds that cropped up for those of us who had the misfortune in being in the late morning waves, I held my own. I could have used a few more hills though. I did a lot of pssing on the hills, but needed a few more to make it good.
It was too bad I had to run after the bike ride. The heat was pretty brutal. Does this look like someone who enjoyed the run? Heatwise this was very similar to to what I had encountered in USTS Baltimore in 1988. The only difference is I've gotten wiser about pre-hydrating, and staying away from a lot of beer and wine. I wasn't one of the poor Kiwis or Aussies that were coming from early spring chill, and had a lot of trouble with the heat. The medical tent was not part of my post-race itinerary.
Sigh I'd like to be in Honolulu right now. Winter sucks!!
But today was good. I got out on my bike and rode 50 miles. It's a new year, and time for me to shed the weight I've gained since October. It's also time to move on and figure out what I want to do with my life. 2006 will be start of a new journey for me. I don't know where I'm headed, but it's going to happen.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Dear impatient driver,
Who the hell pissed in your Cheerios yesterday morning? You must have had one miserable bad ass morning to feel the need to honk your horn as you went flaming past me to rush up to the line of cars waiting at the red light. I guess you couldn't wait to pull up behind the last car in line. God forbid a lone female cyclist going 18 MPH in a 25 MPH zone slowed your progress up by a paltry few seconds. I guess it pissed you off further that I passed you and all the other cars waiting at the light and made a right turn on red. I'm sure all the cars in front of you really appreciated your venting your frustrations by continuing to honk as I passed and even as I made the turn.
Wow such anger over a lone cyclist finishing up a nice ride before heading off to a teaching assignment. All I can think of is that;
1. Your ex-wife is a cyclist.
2. You are very insecure and intimidated by women who are more fit then you.
3. You don't exercise so you have no way of releasing pent up frustration.
4. All of the above.
Perhaps if you did some exercise you would be more relaxed and able to cope with the "inconvenience" of having to go around a cyclist on the road.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely yours,
Fit fifty-something female.
PS. Bite me!!!! :-)
Wow such anger over a lone cyclist finishing up a nice ride before heading off to a teaching assignment. All I can think of is that;
1. Your ex-wife is a cyclist.
2. You are very insecure and intimidated by women who are more fit then you.
3. You don't exercise so you have no way of releasing pent up frustration.
4. All of the above.
Perhaps if you did some exercise you would be more relaxed and able to cope with the "inconvenience" of having to go around a cyclist on the road.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely yours,
Fit fifty-something female.
PS. Bite me!!!! :-)
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Much Ado About Nothing!!!
After spending a good portion of Friday in a tizzy over things I couldn't control, everything worked out fine. Saturday was spent hanging out with my Team in Training group at the race expo, and doing a group swim. The water was kind of rough, which actually was good practice for Sunday.
Saturday night we had the pasta party with the 5 other TNT chapters that are doing the race. No matter how many events I do with TNT I'm always really moved by the survivors who speak at the pre-race pasta party. Both people had amazing stories to share, and their attitude regarding the illness is amazing. I wonder if I'd be that brave if faced with a catastrophic illness.
So much for client/massage therapist confidentiality. I get back from the pasta party and there's a long phone message from my friend and fellow KC traveller, Mary. She also gets her massages from Lisa. I guess she and Lisa were talking about my pre-race anxieties that I had been venting to Lisa about during last week's massage session. Mary gave me this wonderful pep talk about how Westchester is my home field, and that I know the course and am a strong hill climber. She told me not be scared by some outsider from Florida. It gave me a great boost, and put me in a good frame of mind for Sunday.
So why did I title this entry "Much Ado About Nothing"? First of all the ringer from Florida was a no-show. I kept looking for a bike at her assigned spot on the rack. Nada! She did not end out making the trip after all. Second of all, the woman who my USI teammate said was so awesome a cyclist and runner and would probably win the age group, is deathly afraid of the water. She came up to me in before the race and said how scared she was and had been crying all morning. I guess she had been spooked by the choppy water on Saturday, and it looked the same on Sunday. She also was nervous about being in the next last wave with all the guys. I told her to do the swim at her pace, and to remember that she did St. Croix 1/2 iron in the spring. She confessed to me that her swim coach had swam along side her during the race. I had heard she wasn't a very good swimmer, but I didn't realize that she had such water issues. I guess it makes me appreciate the fact that I've been swimming since I was 5, and I'm comfortable in the water.
So to make a long story short, I smoked the age group again by over 10 minutes. If one is interested, the long story can be found at: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=27518&posts=2
Now if only I thought the World Championships could turn out so well. Reality check coming!!!
Saturday night we had the pasta party with the 5 other TNT chapters that are doing the race. No matter how many events I do with TNT I'm always really moved by the survivors who speak at the pre-race pasta party. Both people had amazing stories to share, and their attitude regarding the illness is amazing. I wonder if I'd be that brave if faced with a catastrophic illness.
So much for client/massage therapist confidentiality. I get back from the pasta party and there's a long phone message from my friend and fellow KC traveller, Mary. She also gets her massages from Lisa. I guess she and Lisa were talking about my pre-race anxieties that I had been venting to Lisa about during last week's massage session. Mary gave me this wonderful pep talk about how Westchester is my home field, and that I know the course and am a strong hill climber. She told me not be scared by some outsider from Florida. It gave me a great boost, and put me in a good frame of mind for Sunday.
So why did I title this entry "Much Ado About Nothing"? First of all the ringer from Florida was a no-show. I kept looking for a bike at her assigned spot on the rack. Nada! She did not end out making the trip after all. Second of all, the woman who my USI teammate said was so awesome a cyclist and runner and would probably win the age group, is deathly afraid of the water. She came up to me in before the race and said how scared she was and had been crying all morning. I guess she had been spooked by the choppy water on Saturday, and it looked the same on Sunday. She also was nervous about being in the next last wave with all the guys. I told her to do the swim at her pace, and to remember that she did St. Croix 1/2 iron in the spring. She confessed to me that her swim coach had swam along side her during the race. I had heard she wasn't a very good swimmer, but I didn't realize that she had such water issues. I guess it makes me appreciate the fact that I've been swimming since I was 5, and I'm comfortable in the water.
So to make a long story short, I smoked the age group again by over 10 minutes. If one is interested, the long story can be found at: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=27518&posts=2
Now if only I thought the World Championships could turn out so well. Reality check coming!!!
Friday, September 23, 2005
My Westchester Pre-race Anxieties
I'm not sure what my problem is but I seemed to be overly anxious about this race. The way I'm feeling one would think I'm going for the World Championship. Oh yeh, I'm doing that a few weeks later. The difference is with the World Championships I know I have no chance of placing high. I just want to finish high enough among USA finishers to be accorded official Team USA designation and be scored by ITU. Anything else I do there will be pure gravy.
So what's with Westchester this year? Why am I on edge? I guess as I mentioned on my 9/15 blog entry the prospect of not one, but two serious threats to defending my age group title has me a little unnerved. It really shouldn't matter. After all there have been plenty of races I've done where I known coming in that I would not place. Sometimes I've surprised myself. Saint Anthony's is a prime example of a surprise Top 3 finish. Last year's Nationals with the 9th place finish was another pleasant surprise. So I know I can sometimes pull rabbits out of hats. I guess I've gotten spoiled with my successes as a fifty something.
What makes Westchester so different for me this year? I guess it's the expectations I've put on myself, and those of my teammates both from USI and Team in Training. I love being able to stand up on the podium wearing my TNT colors and say to those watching, "TNT has fast members too!!! Go Team!" Not that I say the first thing out loud. I let my actions say that, but I've been known to let a "Go Team" whoop as I leave the stage. I guess being a mentor puts me even more in the forefront of team consciousness. Maybe it doesn't and I'm placing too much importance on how I do. Though my mentees do talk about how awesome I've done this season.
The next thing that totally set me on edge was the wave assignments. I swear whoever did these assignments was on drugs! WTF where they thinking about when they put the 15 women that comprise the 50-54, 55-59, and 60+ female age groups in the same wave as the 113 men who comprise the 45-49, 50-54 and 55-59 male age groups? Not only that the 60+ men are in the wave in front of us which is mostly women! Why not make wave 8 all women, and wave 9 all men? I'm not sure if it's the prospect of all those guys in my wave that's bugging me, or the wave number.
It sucks! My wave is the next to last wave. Relays are behind us. With almost double the entries from last year the bike course is going to be seriously crowded when I hit the road. I hope the USAT folks are up at the front. :-Þ I hope they're not going to be hanging out on Claire's hill when I have to pass the sea of purple from NYC. I remember passing a lot people on the three climbs on the route. I remember climbing out of Port Chester was a bit of a cluster f#$k with people staying out to the left when they should have been to the right. This may be as big a pain in the ass as Mossman in terms of passing and making time on the bike course.
Okay I feel better now having put my thoughts down on "paper". I don't know how many people out in cyberspace are actually reading this. Even if it's just one person then at least I've been able to blow off some steam without somebody actually having to hear me ramble, or tell me to shut up. Journals have always been a good release for me. The only things that are different are I'm typing instead of keeping a handwritten notebook, and others get to read what I have on my mind. I'm not sure if that's good or not, but I've often thought about wanting to write a book. This is the next best thing.
So what's with Westchester this year? Why am I on edge? I guess as I mentioned on my 9/15 blog entry the prospect of not one, but two serious threats to defending my age group title has me a little unnerved. It really shouldn't matter. After all there have been plenty of races I've done where I known coming in that I would not place. Sometimes I've surprised myself. Saint Anthony's is a prime example of a surprise Top 3 finish. Last year's Nationals with the 9th place finish was another pleasant surprise. So I know I can sometimes pull rabbits out of hats. I guess I've gotten spoiled with my successes as a fifty something.
What makes Westchester so different for me this year? I guess it's the expectations I've put on myself, and those of my teammates both from USI and Team in Training. I love being able to stand up on the podium wearing my TNT colors and say to those watching, "TNT has fast members too!!! Go Team!" Not that I say the first thing out loud. I let my actions say that, but I've been known to let a "Go Team" whoop as I leave the stage. I guess being a mentor puts me even more in the forefront of team consciousness. Maybe it doesn't and I'm placing too much importance on how I do. Though my mentees do talk about how awesome I've done this season.
The next thing that totally set me on edge was the wave assignments. I swear whoever did these assignments was on drugs! WTF where they thinking about when they put the 15 women that comprise the 50-54, 55-59, and 60+ female age groups in the same wave as the 113 men who comprise the 45-49, 50-54 and 55-59 male age groups? Not only that the 60+ men are in the wave in front of us which is mostly women! Why not make wave 8 all women, and wave 9 all men? I'm not sure if it's the prospect of all those guys in my wave that's bugging me, or the wave number.
It sucks! My wave is the next to last wave. Relays are behind us. With almost double the entries from last year the bike course is going to be seriously crowded when I hit the road. I hope the USAT folks are up at the front. :-Þ I hope they're not going to be hanging out on Claire's hill when I have to pass the sea of purple from NYC. I remember passing a lot people on the three climbs on the route. I remember climbing out of Port Chester was a bit of a cluster f#$k with people staying out to the left when they should have been to the right. This may be as big a pain in the ass as Mossman in terms of passing and making time on the bike course.
Okay I feel better now having put my thoughts down on "paper". I don't know how many people out in cyberspace are actually reading this. Even if it's just one person then at least I've been able to blow off some steam without somebody actually having to hear me ramble, or tell me to shut up. Journals have always been a good release for me. The only things that are different are I'm typing instead of keeping a handwritten notebook, and others get to read what I have on my mind. I'm not sure if that's good or not, but I've often thought about wanting to write a book. This is the next best thing.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Random rants for the day.
Sometimes I make myself nuts. I go from super motivated and gung ho tri-geek to I don't give a shit about anything. Right now I'm in one of those I don't give a shit funks. I have two more races coming up in the next 3 1/2 weeks, and I'm not real excited. I should be excited at least about going to Hawaii for the ITU Age Group World Chammpionships, but perhaps I still feel like I backed in there with USAT's solution to the Kansas City fiasco. Perhaps there are some doubts about whether I'll be able to be an official member of Team USA by placing high enough, or whether I'm going to be another poser.
Running:
My running sucks, and I just can't motivate myself to go out and run. I wasted all day Wesdnesday when the weather was nice. Thursday I wasted time again but I finally put on my running clothes on and it started raining again. Yesterday's blog was because I was in big time procrastinating mode. I did finally pull myself away from the blog, and ran for 40 minutes. It was nothing spectacular, but I did make myself run some hills. I miss having Jeannie around. Even though I'd run ahead of her, and loop back at least it was scheduled time on the road. I need a new weekday running partner.
I think my biggest problem is I'm addicted to working out with other people. I love my group rides, and when Mother nature rains on my parade I'm not so inclined to do something on my own. Tuesday was a wash out ride wise because I had to do my civic duty. At least I had my Team in Training group swim and run in the evening to get my sorry ass out of the house.
Chocolate Binges and Sleep:
So what did I do today? I downloaded the Hawaii course for the compu-trainer. I had great intentions of actually doing it, but it didn't work. My husband stayed home today and we went out for lunch. So much for going to the pool for a swim. After lunch I had gotten into the dark chocolate M&Ms. They're a Star Wars themed package called Darth Mix. The motto is "Come over to the Dark Side". When it comes to chocolate it doesn't take much to get me to the Dark Side. These things are truly evil! I can't just eat a handful of M&Ms, so I ate the entire package. (King Size no less!) I've been on a two month long chocolate binge! Argh!!!
There have been studies lately that tie in poor sleep to obesity. I believe it. My sleep has become totally FUBARed. (F#%ked up beyond all recognition.) It's a combination of stress and the hot flashes from hell. Sometimes I think I'm lucky if I manage to fall asleep within an hour and stay asleep for 3 hours. Who knows how much sleep I'm actually getting, but I'm not convinced how much longer I can function like this. I think the lack of sleep is contributing to my chocolate cravings and assorted munchie attacks I have during the day. I'm sure if I wasn't getting exercise I'd gain disgusting amounts of weight.
Pissing Matches on trinewbies.com forums:
I'm a member of several different triathlon message boards. I post on trinewbies, beginnertriathlete, and slowtwitch. The order that I've listed them also is the order of frequency in which I post. Slowtwitch is the hardcore tri-snobs board. Beginnertriathlete is the "touchy, feely rah, rah" board. Trinewbies falls in between the two extremes though at times it seems to have gone away from the newbieness and more towards the hardcore tri-geek. I like all 3 sites, but certain individuals that frequent both trinewbies and slowtwitch drive me crazy.
One thing I do on both trinewbies (TNO) and beginnertriathlete (BT) is post race reports in their race reports forums. It comes naturally to me since for years I've kept very detailed race journals. These forums have become sort of an online race journal for me. Sometimes I'm afraid I ramble on too much, but I like noting the little details that make the race memorable for me. I usually get a few encouraging responses from various forum members congratulating me on placing in my age group. I've had a very good season. Seven triathlons with nothing lower then 3rd place in my age group. I know that streak would have been broken in Kansas City if Mother Nature had not intervened. I'm a realist. If the streak doesn't end in Rye next weekend, it certainly will end in Hawaii. I can live with that.
What makes me crazy is the sarcastic responses I get from one guy from Northern California. He's much faster then me, but he's also younger then me. It seems to totally irk the hell out of him that I can place in my AG with Olympic times in the 2:40-2:45 range. In his age group 2:15 doesn't get him squat. Can I help it if I'm a 51 year old female from the Northeast whereas he's a 40 something male from California? Cna I help it if guys seem to peak in their forties and that those age groups tend to be the biggest ones?
In my latest race report from the Madison Triathlon I had put down my overall placing along with my age group placing in the various sports. He couldn't wait to jump on what I had posted in the slowtwitch forum regarding my opinion being FOP, MOP, BOP in the various disciplines. I answered the question in comparision to other women in my age group though it may not have been clear from my answers. Damn he had a field day with that. We exchanged barbs back and forth about what I had written. All of these exchanges went back and forth on TNO even though my comments that evoked his sarcastic replies came from a completely different forum. I was gratified by the people who had PM'ed me to tell me I didn't need to justify my results for him.
I'm comfortable with who I am, and I'm proud of what I've accomplished despite my sucky running. I'll just keep posting, and not be chased off by idiots like that. Unfortunately some are not so thick skinned, and do get chased off. We had one woman who was frequent contributer on the boards. She's very overweight but is tackling the problem by working on her nutrition, and by getting into triathlons. She's done some super sprints, and shared her race reports, but a few people belittled her efforts. She writes from her heart, and I must say she has given me lots of food for thought in terms of how I look at other people. I hate seeing people like that get chased off, but at least she has a good live support system.
Running:
My running sucks, and I just can't motivate myself to go out and run. I wasted all day Wesdnesday when the weather was nice. Thursday I wasted time again but I finally put on my running clothes on and it started raining again. Yesterday's blog was because I was in big time procrastinating mode. I did finally pull myself away from the blog, and ran for 40 minutes. It was nothing spectacular, but I did make myself run some hills. I miss having Jeannie around. Even though I'd run ahead of her, and loop back at least it was scheduled time on the road. I need a new weekday running partner.
I think my biggest problem is I'm addicted to working out with other people. I love my group rides, and when Mother nature rains on my parade I'm not so inclined to do something on my own. Tuesday was a wash out ride wise because I had to do my civic duty. At least I had my Team in Training group swim and run in the evening to get my sorry ass out of the house.
Chocolate Binges and Sleep:
So what did I do today? I downloaded the Hawaii course for the compu-trainer. I had great intentions of actually doing it, but it didn't work. My husband stayed home today and we went out for lunch. So much for going to the pool for a swim. After lunch I had gotten into the dark chocolate M&Ms. They're a Star Wars themed package called Darth Mix. The motto is "Come over to the Dark Side". When it comes to chocolate it doesn't take much to get me to the Dark Side. These things are truly evil! I can't just eat a handful of M&Ms, so I ate the entire package. (King Size no less!) I've been on a two month long chocolate binge! Argh!!!
There have been studies lately that tie in poor sleep to obesity. I believe it. My sleep has become totally FUBARed. (F#%ked up beyond all recognition.) It's a combination of stress and the hot flashes from hell. Sometimes I think I'm lucky if I manage to fall asleep within an hour and stay asleep for 3 hours. Who knows how much sleep I'm actually getting, but I'm not convinced how much longer I can function like this. I think the lack of sleep is contributing to my chocolate cravings and assorted munchie attacks I have during the day. I'm sure if I wasn't getting exercise I'd gain disgusting amounts of weight.
Pissing Matches on trinewbies.com forums:
I'm a member of several different triathlon message boards. I post on trinewbies, beginnertriathlete, and slowtwitch. The order that I've listed them also is the order of frequency in which I post. Slowtwitch is the hardcore tri-snobs board. Beginnertriathlete is the "touchy, feely rah, rah" board. Trinewbies falls in between the two extremes though at times it seems to have gone away from the newbieness and more towards the hardcore tri-geek. I like all 3 sites, but certain individuals that frequent both trinewbies and slowtwitch drive me crazy.
One thing I do on both trinewbies (TNO) and beginnertriathlete (BT) is post race reports in their race reports forums. It comes naturally to me since for years I've kept very detailed race journals. These forums have become sort of an online race journal for me. Sometimes I'm afraid I ramble on too much, but I like noting the little details that make the race memorable for me. I usually get a few encouraging responses from various forum members congratulating me on placing in my age group. I've had a very good season. Seven triathlons with nothing lower then 3rd place in my age group. I know that streak would have been broken in Kansas City if Mother Nature had not intervened. I'm a realist. If the streak doesn't end in Rye next weekend, it certainly will end in Hawaii. I can live with that.
What makes me crazy is the sarcastic responses I get from one guy from Northern California. He's much faster then me, but he's also younger then me. It seems to totally irk the hell out of him that I can place in my AG with Olympic times in the 2:40-2:45 range. In his age group 2:15 doesn't get him squat. Can I help it if I'm a 51 year old female from the Northeast whereas he's a 40 something male from California? Cna I help it if guys seem to peak in their forties and that those age groups tend to be the biggest ones?
In my latest race report from the Madison Triathlon I had put down my overall placing along with my age group placing in the various sports. He couldn't wait to jump on what I had posted in the slowtwitch forum regarding my opinion being FOP, MOP, BOP in the various disciplines. I answered the question in comparision to other women in my age group though it may not have been clear from my answers. Damn he had a field day with that. We exchanged barbs back and forth about what I had written. All of these exchanges went back and forth on TNO even though my comments that evoked his sarcastic replies came from a completely different forum. I was gratified by the people who had PM'ed me to tell me I didn't need to justify my results for him.
I'm comfortable with who I am, and I'm proud of what I've accomplished despite my sucky running. I'll just keep posting, and not be chased off by idiots like that. Unfortunately some are not so thick skinned, and do get chased off. We had one woman who was frequent contributer on the boards. She's very overweight but is tackling the problem by working on her nutrition, and by getting into triathlons. She's done some super sprints, and shared her race reports, but a few people belittled her efforts. She writes from her heart, and I must say she has given me lots of food for thought in terms of how I look at other people. I hate seeing people like that get chased off, but at least she has a good live support system.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
A stroll down memory lane. 21 years of the Westchester Triathlon
Next on my schedule is the Westchester Triathlon. That race is a little over a week away. This race is practically in my backyard. This will be the 16th year I've done this race. This is the 21st running of the race. It's nice to be part of a race that has gone on for that many years. I actually did numbers 2 through 14 in a row. Number 14 was the first year they changed it from sprint to Olympic, and I was doing it as a relay. I was having shoulder surgery a week after the race so swimming was out of the question. I wanted to keep my streak intact so doing the relay was my compromise. As it turned out the streak would come to an end the following season anyway. I wouldn't make it back to the race until 2003.
Through out the years I've done this particular race my age group results have always been good. There were a few times that I didn't podium, including the year I broke my PR on the sprint course and placed Top 10 female OA. Unfortunately for me a good portion of those women in the Top 10 were also in my age group. That was back in my "youth" when I was part of a very competitive 35-39 age group. That was also back in the days of BTC. (before timing chips) We would wait around forever it seemed while they tried to sort it all out, and half the time they still managed to mess it up. You never really knew where you finished, and you didn't know whether you were getting an award until you heard the 3rd place time in your age group. Sometimes the awards ceramony didn't start until 2 hours after the last person finished. I don't miss those days!!
The other interesting thing about BTC days was the number of volunteers that were needed to track splits. The Westchester Triathlon was one of the few races I did back then that actually did all 5 splits. Most races I did combined transitions with either the swim and the bike, or bike and the run. (Come to think of it, some races still don't do all 5 splits, even with chips.) Some races did no splits what so ever. I did the 1989 National Sprint Championships and there were no splits. That's too bad. I'd love to see what Lance's bike split was in that race. (Yes, that Lance! 17 years old at the time and smacked all the pros in that race.)
Back then body marking was the way for volunteers to record the numbers of all the athletes as they came out of the water. If you were one of those rare people who used a wetsuit BTC you would have to tell the volunteers your number. I was amazed that they actually managed to get every athlete's number, and that the splits actually made sense.
The other interesting thing about this race is thinking about how much my equipment has changed over the years. Here's a picture of me with the bike from that first Westchester in 1984. Notice the old style Bell Helmet, and I'm actually wearing the race shirt from the event too. It's hard to see the bike completely, but it was an Austro-Daimler mixte frame. (girl's bike with sloped down tube.) I don't remember if I had the handlebar bag on during the race or not!
By the next year I was riding a road bike and as the years went by; my bikes got lighter, and more expensive. It seemed like for awhile every time I got a bike the price doubled. The other thing that happened as my bikes got more expensive was my bike splits got faster.
Let's fast forward 21 years and look at my current setup. This picture was taken at Timberman, but this is what I'll be riding. Carbon fiber bike, Zipp 404s, time trial helmet, aero-bars with bar end shifters, aero bottle, etc. Ahhhh how things have changed in 21 years. Though as I look at these two pictures side by side, I think I've aged quite nicely. I like my legs much better at 51 then I did at 30. Thank you very much!
2003 was my first time doing the entire race in the Olympic distance format. I had gotten so stoked by my return to Olympic distance racing with Team in Training at 2003 Saint Anthony's, I decided I'd do another Olympic distance event with them. The Westchester Triathlon is our local TNT Chapter's race. Last year for the first time we actually had other TNT Chapters come for the race, so there was a lot more purple. This year there will be even more purple as we have 6 different chapters participating.
In 2003 I came in 3rd in the 45-49 age group. I got passed on the run first by my long time rival and current massage therapist; Lisa, and then by an unknown ringer from New Jersey. Last year Lisa and Linda did not do the race, and I had aged up. I smoked the 50-54 age group, and beat the other Polly in the race by 8 minutes. Polly is an unusual name these days. So what's the chance that there are going to be two of them in the same race, and finishing 1,2 in the same age group? She didn't stay for the awrds ceramony so I didn't even get to meet the other tri-ing Polly.
Lisa and Linda aren't do the race this year either so I figured I had a decent chance of defending my title. That was until I got talking to one of my bike club teammates who told me about Amy. She's a pretty strong cyclist, excellent runner, but not such a great swimmer. So my challenge will be to totally beat her on the swim, increase my lead on the bike, and then run like hell and hope to hold her off.
A terrific plan until I looked at the entry list, and spotted a ringer from Florida who is coming to do the race. I recognized the name as one of the top ranked women in the nation in the 50-54 age group. Damn what's she doing coming up to do "my race"? My guess is she wants the Alcatraz qualifying spot that age group winners are entitled to. She did a 2:29 at Memphis in May. Her swim time seemed rather average, but she had a smoking fast bike split, and a decent run. I guess I can hope that since she's a flatlander from Florida, that she sucks at hills, and that I can beat her on the hills.
I really shouldn't be making myself crazy over this race since it's supposed to be a tune up for the World Championships two weeks later. But as last week demonstrated I can't be totally casual about a race. Besides I want to put on a good show for my Team in Training mentees. :-)
Through out the years I've done this particular race my age group results have always been good. There were a few times that I didn't podium, including the year I broke my PR on the sprint course and placed Top 10 female OA. Unfortunately for me a good portion of those women in the Top 10 were also in my age group. That was back in my "youth" when I was part of a very competitive 35-39 age group. That was also back in the days of BTC. (before timing chips) We would wait around forever it seemed while they tried to sort it all out, and half the time they still managed to mess it up. You never really knew where you finished, and you didn't know whether you were getting an award until you heard the 3rd place time in your age group. Sometimes the awards ceramony didn't start until 2 hours after the last person finished. I don't miss those days!!
The other interesting thing about BTC days was the number of volunteers that were needed to track splits. The Westchester Triathlon was one of the few races I did back then that actually did all 5 splits. Most races I did combined transitions with either the swim and the bike, or bike and the run. (Come to think of it, some races still don't do all 5 splits, even with chips.) Some races did no splits what so ever. I did the 1989 National Sprint Championships and there were no splits. That's too bad. I'd love to see what Lance's bike split was in that race. (Yes, that Lance! 17 years old at the time and smacked all the pros in that race.)
Back then body marking was the way for volunteers to record the numbers of all the athletes as they came out of the water. If you were one of those rare people who used a wetsuit BTC you would have to tell the volunteers your number. I was amazed that they actually managed to get every athlete's number, and that the splits actually made sense.
The other interesting thing about this race is thinking about how much my equipment has changed over the years. Here's a picture of me with the bike from that first Westchester in 1984. Notice the old style Bell Helmet, and I'm actually wearing the race shirt from the event too. It's hard to see the bike completely, but it was an Austro-Daimler mixte frame. (girl's bike with sloped down tube.) I don't remember if I had the handlebar bag on during the race or not!By the next year I was riding a road bike and as the years went by; my bikes got lighter, and more expensive. It seemed like for awhile every time I got a bike the price doubled. The other thing that happened as my bikes got more expensive was my bike splits got faster.
Let's fast forward 21 years and look at my current setup. This picture was taken at Timberman, but this is what I'll be riding. Carbon fiber bike, Zipp 404s, time trial helmet, aero-bars with bar end shifters, aero bottle, etc. Ahhhh how things have changed in 21 years. Though as I look at these two pictures side by side, I think I've aged quite nicely. I like my legs much better at 51 then I did at 30. Thank you very much!2003 was my first time doing the entire race in the Olympic distance format. I had gotten so stoked by my return to Olympic distance racing with Team in Training at 2003 Saint Anthony's, I decided I'd do another Olympic distance event with them. The Westchester Triathlon is our local TNT Chapter's race. Last year for the first time we actually had other TNT Chapters come for the race, so there was a lot more purple. This year there will be even more purple as we have 6 different chapters participating.
In 2003 I came in 3rd in the 45-49 age group. I got passed on the run first by my long time rival and current massage therapist; Lisa, and then by an unknown ringer from New Jersey. Last year Lisa and Linda did not do the race, and I had aged up. I smoked the 50-54 age group, and beat the other Polly in the race by 8 minutes. Polly is an unusual name these days. So what's the chance that there are going to be two of them in the same race, and finishing 1,2 in the same age group? She didn't stay for the awrds ceramony so I didn't even get to meet the other tri-ing Polly.
Lisa and Linda aren't do the race this year either so I figured I had a decent chance of defending my title. That was until I got talking to one of my bike club teammates who told me about Amy. She's a pretty strong cyclist, excellent runner, but not such a great swimmer. So my challenge will be to totally beat her on the swim, increase my lead on the bike, and then run like hell and hope to hold her off.
A terrific plan until I looked at the entry list, and spotted a ringer from Florida who is coming to do the race. I recognized the name as one of the top ranked women in the nation in the 50-54 age group. Damn what's she doing coming up to do "my race"? My guess is she wants the Alcatraz qualifying spot that age group winners are entitled to. She did a 2:29 at Memphis in May. Her swim time seemed rather average, but she had a smoking fast bike split, and a decent run. I guess I can hope that since she's a flatlander from Florida, that she sucks at hills, and that I can beat her on the hills.
I really shouldn't be making myself crazy over this race since it's supposed to be a tune up for the World Championships two weeks later. But as last week demonstrated I can't be totally casual about a race. Besides I want to put on a good show for my Team in Training mentees. :-)
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Trying to be laid back about a race.
Saturday I did another sprint. This is my 8th multi-sport event of the year. I still have two more races to go in the next 4 weeks. This was my try to be laid back and casual race. I was rather casual about it. Normally 2 days before a race I do no training, and then do something easy the day before such as a 15 to 20 mile bike ride at an easy pace. This past Thursday I went out on the Unemployment Ride. My intention was to do just the 1st half of the ride. Normally when I want to take it easy I do the 2nd half by meeting them on the route, but I had a meeting to attend at 1:00 PM. So I did the first part, but was feeling so good, and felt like hammering with the tri-gals so I ended out going much further then planned. I ended out with 43 miles which was less then the usual 53 miles, but more then my original plan. (No wonder I don't want to work with a coach! I wing it too much.)
The funny thing about my casual approach to this race was that I did something that was more in the line of taking it seriously. My training partner and I actually drove the bike course on Friday, and then went and swam at the race site. I almost never review a bike course, though I know for new races it would help. Not previewing the 1/2 iron course was part of my problem at Timberman last month. So here I am driving the course of a 13.5 mile bike leg. Go figure! Actually I think it was mainly because my training partner wanted to show off the area that she has recently moved to.
Race day morning I didn't get up until 5:00 AM, and didn't arrive at the race venue until 6:05. It was a 7:00 AM start. Arriving that late reminded me of why I normally like to be early.
It was open racking, so I ended out with a lousy location.
I didn't have enough time to orient myself completely to the transition area lay out.
I had no time to do any sort of warm-up.
I was still standing on line for the bathroom at 6:40.
I did a half ass job of applying Body Glide before putting on my wetsuit.
Despite all those little mishaps I still managed to have a decent race, and win my age group.
8 triathlons down, 2 to go. One will take 15 minutes to travel to, the other will take about 12 hours to travel to.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Triple Play Day
Yesterday was another one of those triple sport days. It's not as brutal as it sounds since I spread things out. It's all part of doing staying in my routine, combined with the extra things I do with my Team in Training teammates. I suppose I could switch my bike ride to another day so that I only have the TNT swim and run workout. However I love the Tuesday and Thursday "Unemployment Ride", so I end out doing both.
"Unemployment Ride"? What kind of name is that for a group ride? There is a story behind the name. When one of the senior members of my bike club retired in 1992 he decided he would ride on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Sometimes others would meet up with him, and they'd do a variation on the weekend group ride. Then a funny thing started happening. People started getting laid off from their jobs, including me. There were about 6 of us who got laid off so we started making jokes about NYS Department of Labor starting a cycling team, or riding over to the unemployment office to submit our weekly claim. So what had started out as one guy going out on a ride during the week, became a regularly scheduled group ride. It got added to our club's ride schedule, and due to the employment status of a number of the riders it became the "Unemployment Ride". Years later the name has stuck though most of the regulars either work part time, are retired, or stay at home mom. During the summer we get a lot of school teachers.
What I like about the ride is the mix of people, and tempo. We start off rolling easy, and then we really crank it up for awhile with speeds over 30 MPH. Then we get into downtown Port Chester, and we go easy again. Sometimes we'll crank it up again for awhile. When I first started doing this ride back in 1992, I used to get dropped on the fast part. I always could measure my fitness on how long I could hang on with the guys. Some days were better then others. These days I'm more consistant in my ability to hang on when the slugfest starts. I usually last until right before the last sprint. I'm not much for the sprinting thing.
Yesterday was nice ride. We varied the route a little bit, and the group stayed together. The pace was pretty steady. Some days the group can get really strung out if people decide they're going to chase down this one guy who tends to fly off the front. Tuesday he left early so we didn't have to deal with his nonsense. The route we took has a screaming downhill. I suck at descending so I do lose contact with the group, but I do get back on when we hit the flats.
That was the first part of my day. In the evening I met up with other Team in Training people for an open water swim. There were 7 of us from TNT and 5 other women were there to dod a swim, and joined us. It was great having 12 women swimming together. There were a lot of different abilities out there, but we kept an eye out for each other. That water is rather funky! The little jelly fish are pretty gross.
After the swim some of us ran. Andrea took off, and I tried to keep at her pace, but it didn't happen. It's funny because in races I can beat her, but in training I can't do it. I think I get more hyped up in the race. Chasing her is good because it makes me run faster. Running! The bane of my existence.
"Unemployment Ride"? What kind of name is that for a group ride? There is a story behind the name. When one of the senior members of my bike club retired in 1992 he decided he would ride on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Sometimes others would meet up with him, and they'd do a variation on the weekend group ride. Then a funny thing started happening. People started getting laid off from their jobs, including me. There were about 6 of us who got laid off so we started making jokes about NYS Department of Labor starting a cycling team, or riding over to the unemployment office to submit our weekly claim. So what had started out as one guy going out on a ride during the week, became a regularly scheduled group ride. It got added to our club's ride schedule, and due to the employment status of a number of the riders it became the "Unemployment Ride". Years later the name has stuck though most of the regulars either work part time, are retired, or stay at home mom. During the summer we get a lot of school teachers.
What I like about the ride is the mix of people, and tempo. We start off rolling easy, and then we really crank it up for awhile with speeds over 30 MPH. Then we get into downtown Port Chester, and we go easy again. Sometimes we'll crank it up again for awhile. When I first started doing this ride back in 1992, I used to get dropped on the fast part. I always could measure my fitness on how long I could hang on with the guys. Some days were better then others. These days I'm more consistant in my ability to hang on when the slugfest starts. I usually last until right before the last sprint. I'm not much for the sprinting thing.
Yesterday was nice ride. We varied the route a little bit, and the group stayed together. The pace was pretty steady. Some days the group can get really strung out if people decide they're going to chase down this one guy who tends to fly off the front. Tuesday he left early so we didn't have to deal with his nonsense. The route we took has a screaming downhill. I suck at descending so I do lose contact with the group, but I do get back on when we hit the flats.
That was the first part of my day. In the evening I met up with other Team in Training people for an open water swim. There were 7 of us from TNT and 5 other women were there to dod a swim, and joined us. It was great having 12 women swimming together. There were a lot of different abilities out there, but we kept an eye out for each other. That water is rather funky! The little jelly fish are pretty gross.
After the swim some of us ran. Andrea took off, and I tried to keep at her pace, but it didn't happen. It's funny because in races I can beat her, but in training I can't do it. I think I get more hyped up in the race. Chasing her is good because it makes me run faster. Running! The bane of my existence.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Day 3 of training like a triathlete again.
Wednesday I dragged myself through that miserable run. But one day of running doesn't make me a well rounded triathlete. So this will have to be an on going process. However the excuses are over. No more blaming post vacation blahs. I've got a month to get my crap together, and try to make a decent showing in Honolulu.
Thursday I went out for the group ride. Tuesday got me back into longer distance mode. Thursday I'd start to work on speed again without going crazy. I told Nancy I was going to take the short cut with Otto and not kill myself. However things change when three tri-babes show up on the ride for the first time. I always find myself getting amped up when new women show up on the ride. It's even worse when they're triathletes. Ohhhhhhhh, competition!!! One of the women who showed up won her age group at NYC triathlon witha time of 2:15ish. Damn, hot stuff. I guess placing 2nd in my age group with a time of 2:41ish isn't so impressive after all. But then again she is at least 10 years younger then me.
To make a long story short, I hammered away from the tri-babes for a good portion of the fast stretch up the ride. They needed some serious wheel sucking assistance to get back up to Nancy and me. Nancy and I are the hot flash twins. We spend a lot of our time together bitching about how little sleep we get thanks to raging menapausal hormones. So the nifty fifties show the tri-babes some kick ass biking. So much for easing back into the speed thing.
Today I repeat the same run course I did on Wednesday. It's still hot, but at least the humidity is not matching the temperature. I took 5 minutes off my run time today. I'm still not setting a blistering pace, but it was better then Wednesday. Woo hoo!!! Third run this week. Maybe I can start to have a training log that loks more like a triathlete's instead of a cyclist.
I also made it to the pool today. I hate to admit it, but it's been over a month since I've worked out in a pool. I haven't been totally neglecting my swimming, but most of it has been done in open water. Open water swimming is good, but I need the structure of a pool workout. I haven't really lost much on my 100s. My longer sets were a little slow, but I didn't push myself too hard since it's been awhile. I sure don't want to blow out my shoulders over my first pool workout in a month.
I was going to do a 400 yard cool down so my total workout would be 1800 yards. However when I saw what appeared to be a child size stool on the pool floor I lost my appetite for yardage and stopped. The town pool gets kind of funky by day's end. I'm used to the leaves, and bandaids but that was a little too gross for my taste. I am a pool wuss! I swam in the Hudson in July. I put up with the creepy creatures that were touching my fingers on Tuesday when swimming in Long Island Sound. But the possibility of some kid's bowel movement being in my lane was too much. I can't wait until the YMCA reopens next week!
Thursday I went out for the group ride. Tuesday got me back into longer distance mode. Thursday I'd start to work on speed again without going crazy. I told Nancy I was going to take the short cut with Otto and not kill myself. However things change when three tri-babes show up on the ride for the first time. I always find myself getting amped up when new women show up on the ride. It's even worse when they're triathletes. Ohhhhhhhh, competition!!! One of the women who showed up won her age group at NYC triathlon witha time of 2:15ish. Damn, hot stuff. I guess placing 2nd in my age group with a time of 2:41ish isn't so impressive after all. But then again she is at least 10 years younger then me.
To make a long story short, I hammered away from the tri-babes for a good portion of the fast stretch up the ride. They needed some serious wheel sucking assistance to get back up to Nancy and me. Nancy and I are the hot flash twins. We spend a lot of our time together bitching about how little sleep we get thanks to raging menapausal hormones. So the nifty fifties show the tri-babes some kick ass biking. So much for easing back into the speed thing.
Today I repeat the same run course I did on Wednesday. It's still hot, but at least the humidity is not matching the temperature. I took 5 minutes off my run time today. I'm still not setting a blistering pace, but it was better then Wednesday. Woo hoo!!! Third run this week. Maybe I can start to have a training log that loks more like a triathlete's instead of a cyclist.
I also made it to the pool today. I hate to admit it, but it's been over a month since I've worked out in a pool. I haven't been totally neglecting my swimming, but most of it has been done in open water. Open water swimming is good, but I need the structure of a pool workout. I haven't really lost much on my 100s. My longer sets were a little slow, but I didn't push myself too hard since it's been awhile. I sure don't want to blow out my shoulders over my first pool workout in a month.
I was going to do a 400 yard cool down so my total workout would be 1800 yards. However when I saw what appeared to be a child size stool on the pool floor I lost my appetite for yardage and stopped. The town pool gets kind of funky by day's end. I'm used to the leaves, and bandaids but that was a little too gross for my taste. I am a pool wuss! I swam in the Hudson in July. I put up with the creepy creatures that were touching my fingers on Tuesday when swimming in Long Island Sound. But the possibility of some kid's bowel movement being in my lane was too much. I can't wait until the YMCA reopens next week!
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tri Worlds Here I Come!
A week ago I had to decide whether I wanted to go the Short Course World Championships. Yes it had been part of my goals for the 2005 triathlon season. But then again so had a Top 10 finish at Nationals, and beating my Olympic Distance PR of 2:35:32. The former was washed out by the rains from the plains, and the latter probably won't happen on any of the upcoming Olympic courses I'm doing this season. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I'll ever see that time again. That time came on a day when everything went just right. As long as I have cranky feet that don't move very fast, I'll never have that just right day. I can live with that.
So of going to Worlds was on my goal list for 2005, why would there be any question of my not going? Maybe it was the idea that I didn't earn it by beating the people I needed to in order to make the team. Maybe it was the fear I wouldn't make the cutoff to count for official Team USA status. Maybe it was knowing that I'd be making this trip by myself without my personal one man cheering section, photographer, sherpa, etc.
But I think that last reason was the most compelling reason for me to go. I need to break free of those fears of a different life that faces me. So what better way deal with the possibility of becoming a single woman again then to go take a trip to a beautiful romantic place alone? I won't be really alone because I'll be there with hundreds of people who share a passion for triathlon. But still it won't be quite the same without him there.
So last week I faxed my Team USA contract, commitment, and entry form to USAT. This week I booked an airfare, and a hotel room. Later today I'll order my uniform. I guess I'm going now. I guess that means I better get my sorry ass out of the house more. My post travel training funk is officially over! Yesterday was a good start. I actually did all three sports.
Today wasn't wonderful. My run sucked, but at least I ran. I'll blame it on the wind, humidity, and yesterday's triple play. Hopefully as I get back into the swing of things, and refocus on my remaining races the running will feel better. Running frustrates me to no end. It's what holds me back from that next level. I look at the other women in my age group who just run so much faster then me. I think about the NYC triathlon where I biked 7 minutes faster, but the winner of the age group ran 8 minutes faster then me. Even though I think the run was short, I still had one of my better runs. So in 5 weeks can I do anything with my running? I guess we'll find out.
So of going to Worlds was on my goal list for 2005, why would there be any question of my not going? Maybe it was the idea that I didn't earn it by beating the people I needed to in order to make the team. Maybe it was the fear I wouldn't make the cutoff to count for official Team USA status. Maybe it was knowing that I'd be making this trip by myself without my personal one man cheering section, photographer, sherpa, etc.
But I think that last reason was the most compelling reason for me to go. I need to break free of those fears of a different life that faces me. So what better way deal with the possibility of becoming a single woman again then to go take a trip to a beautiful romantic place alone? I won't be really alone because I'll be there with hundreds of people who share a passion for triathlon. But still it won't be quite the same without him there.
So last week I faxed my Team USA contract, commitment, and entry form to USAT. This week I booked an airfare, and a hotel room. Later today I'll order my uniform. I guess I'm going now. I guess that means I better get my sorry ass out of the house more. My post travel training funk is officially over! Yesterday was a good start. I actually did all three sports.
Today wasn't wonderful. My run sucked, but at least I ran. I'll blame it on the wind, humidity, and yesterday's triple play. Hopefully as I get back into the swing of things, and refocus on my remaining races the running will feel better. Running frustrates me to no end. It's what holds me back from that next level. I look at the other women in my age group who just run so much faster then me. I think about the NYC triathlon where I biked 7 minutes faster, but the winner of the age group ran 8 minutes faster then me. Even though I think the run was short, I still had one of my better runs. So in 5 weeks can I do anything with my running? I guess we'll find out.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Catching My Breath. A quick summary of Timberman.
I've been home for a week. What a week it has been. Mentally and physically I'm fried. I thought it would be good to get back to my own kitchen, make my own meals and sleep in my own bed. However coming home just reminded me of the reality of choices I have to make right now.
Stress in one's personal life has a definite impact on one's training and racing. I was amazed I did as well as I did in Timberman. Friday night before the sprint I wasn't convinced I'd be able to do the race, much less try to win my age group again. The thought of then trying to do the aquabike on Sunday was really making me nuts! What the hell was I thinking of when I signed up for back to back races?
To make a long story short, despite the fact that I thought I was going to puke during the swim, I ended out having a very good day in the sprint. I won my age group again. Once again my swimming and biking made all the difference. Sunday's aquabike was a very different experience for me, and despite not really pushing very hard I finished a respectable 7 out 20 women. All the details can be found on my race report at Beginner Triathlete
Thanks Pete for a good run photo. Now if I could do something about my atrocious form!
Stress in one's personal life has a definite impact on one's training and racing. I was amazed I did as well as I did in Timberman. Friday night before the sprint I wasn't convinced I'd be able to do the race, much less try to win my age group again. The thought of then trying to do the aquabike on Sunday was really making me nuts! What the hell was I thinking of when I signed up for back to back races?
To make a long story short, despite the fact that I thought I was going to puke during the swim, I ended out having a very good day in the sprint. I won my age group again. Once again my swimming and biking made all the difference. Sunday's aquabike was a very different experience for me, and despite not really pushing very hard I finished a respectable 7 out 20 women. All the details can be found on my race report at Beginner Triathlete
Thanks Pete for a good run photo. Now if I could do something about my atrocious form!
Thursday, August 18, 2005
My Road Trip to Nowhere Part II
Part 2 of my rather detailed non-race race report.
Saturday August 13, 2005
After much debate the night before we opted for a 4:30 AM meeting time. This would give us time to go to Mac Donalds for John. It was very clear that it had rained over night, but it was only drizzling a little bit as we left. At this hour there wasn’t much in the way of traffic so it didn’t take us a long as it did on Friday.
It was obvious that it had rained a lot overnight. We were hoping this would be the end of the rain, but that would not be the case. We made up to the race site in good time even with the Mickey D stop for John. Body marking didn’t take long at all, so I went to set up my stuff. It started raining again so my first order of business was taking one of my garbage bags and making a rain jacket out of it. I was glad I had found the garbage bags that I had packed in NY.
The rain started coming down really hard, so I made sure I covered all my stuff after I laid it out on my towel. They delayed the start of the race in the hopes that this band of rain would pass. I started getting goofy, and put my swim cap and goggles on, and ran around in the transition area saying, “It’s time to go swimming!” I was trying to relieve some of my own anxieties, and also lighten the mood a bit. Then I went and stood under one of the tents with a bunch of wet and cold triathletes. It was at that point that they announced they were canceling the swim, and would do a time trial start for the bike. At least they weren’t adding an extra run.
They then told us to go back to our cars, and that they would tell us at 8:30 what was going to happen. They also told people that if they did not want to do the race to leave since once they started the bike, no one would be able to leave. Mary decided she didn’t want to do the race at this point. I felt that wanted to do the race, but I was feeling very anxious about riding in this rain on an unknown course. I’ve raced in the rain before, but the level of nervousness I felt at this point was like nothing else I’ve felt before.
We went back to the car. I was glad I had rented the SUV. There was lots of room for the 3 of us. We listened to the radio, and waited for the 8:30 announcement. 8:30 came and went with no announcement. The music continued to play. 8:45 came and there was still no announcement. We’ve been out there for over three hours, and nothing has happened. Finally around 8:50 they come on the radio, and announce that the race has been cancelled and that there would be a 10K fun run. John, Mary and I look at each other, and are stunned. How can a National Championship/worlds Qualifier be cancelled? How were they going to figure out who would fill out the rest of Team USA? I’ve raced for years and I’ve never had a race cancelled.
In some ways I was relieved, because now the decision to race in dangerous conditions had been taken out of my hands. All of the angst I been feeling all week was gone. No longer did I have to concern myself with the hotshots who have trashed me in other events. I didn’t have to worry about not quite being on top of my game. All week I had prayed to God to give me peace about the race, and let me do my best, and accept whatever happened. This was not exactly the answer to prayer that I was expecting. God in His divine wisdom has a funny way of answering prayer.
I did opt to do the fun run. I took it real easy, and watched most of the field pull away. Many handled the situation with humor by running in their wetsuits, and bike helmets. It was pretty funny to watch that. At the start of the run it wasn’t raining much, but later in the run the skies opened. It was a beautiful run course. I would have enjoyed it better during a meaningful race. Afterwards, I grabbed a few extra towels and went back to the car. There I found a very wet and cold John and Mary. Also the field looked like Woodstock. Lots of muddy people and cars getting stuck.
Post race:
USAT decided they would ask ITU if the United States could send extra people to Worlds. To be considered part of Team USA, Kansas City entrants would have to finish amongst the Top 16 USA finishers in their age group. It seemed like the fairest thing to do. I would have loved them to go back to the Shreveport results and take the Top 16 from there, but that wouldn’t be fair to the ones who bypassed Shreveport knowing they’d get another chance this year.
I have mixed feelings about the way they’re considering doing Team USA. I felt I was going to be on the cusp of making the team. Much was going to depend on how well I did on the swim and the bike, and how many I could hold off on the run. I feel a little funny about backing into the Worlds this way, but Honolulu will be our unofficial National Championship.
The Final Blow
Sunday morning we awake to sunny weather. The storms that plagued us have moved east, and may delay our departure. We actually get off on time, and arrive in New York a little ahead of schedule. Then the skies opened and the thunder and lightning started. They ended out closing La Guardia and our luggage remained on the plane. I felt like this was a repeat of our return from Lisbon. However this storm lingered. Instead of 45 minutes of waiting, it was several hours. I was not leaving the airport without my bike. There were a number of others who felt the same way. We hung out in baggage claim until 4 hours later when the airport reopened. We were all glad to see our bikes coming through the door.
Here is my finish line photo from the trip to nowhere, and back.
Saturday August 13, 2005
After much debate the night before we opted for a 4:30 AM meeting time. This would give us time to go to Mac Donalds for John. It was very clear that it had rained over night, but it was only drizzling a little bit as we left. At this hour there wasn’t much in the way of traffic so it didn’t take us a long as it did on Friday.
It was obvious that it had rained a lot overnight. We were hoping this would be the end of the rain, but that would not be the case. We made up to the race site in good time even with the Mickey D stop for John. Body marking didn’t take long at all, so I went to set up my stuff. It started raining again so my first order of business was taking one of my garbage bags and making a rain jacket out of it. I was glad I had found the garbage bags that I had packed in NY.
The rain started coming down really hard, so I made sure I covered all my stuff after I laid it out on my towel. They delayed the start of the race in the hopes that this band of rain would pass. I started getting goofy, and put my swim cap and goggles on, and ran around in the transition area saying, “It’s time to go swimming!” I was trying to relieve some of my own anxieties, and also lighten the mood a bit. Then I went and stood under one of the tents with a bunch of wet and cold triathletes. It was at that point that they announced they were canceling the swim, and would do a time trial start for the bike. At least they weren’t adding an extra run.They then told us to go back to our cars, and that they would tell us at 8:30 what was going to happen. They also told people that if they did not want to do the race to leave since once they started the bike, no one would be able to leave. Mary decided she didn’t want to do the race at this point. I felt that wanted to do the race, but I was feeling very anxious about riding in this rain on an unknown course. I’ve raced in the rain before, but the level of nervousness I felt at this point was like nothing else I’ve felt before.
We went back to the car. I was glad I had rented the SUV. There was lots of room for the 3 of us. We listened to the radio, and waited for the 8:30 announcement. 8:30 came and went with no announcement. The music continued to play. 8:45 came and there was still no announcement. We’ve been out there for over three hours, and nothing has happened. Finally around 8:50 they come on the radio, and announce that the race has been cancelled and that there would be a 10K fun run. John, Mary and I look at each other, and are stunned. How can a National Championship/worlds Qualifier be cancelled? How were they going to figure out who would fill out the rest of Team USA? I’ve raced for years and I’ve never had a race cancelled.In some ways I was relieved, because now the decision to race in dangerous conditions had been taken out of my hands. All of the angst I been feeling all week was gone. No longer did I have to concern myself with the hotshots who have trashed me in other events. I didn’t have to worry about not quite being on top of my game. All week I had prayed to God to give me peace about the race, and let me do my best, and accept whatever happened. This was not exactly the answer to prayer that I was expecting. God in His divine wisdom has a funny way of answering prayer.
I did opt to do the fun run. I took it real easy, and watched most of the field pull away. Many handled the situation with humor by running in their wetsuits, and bike helmets. It was pretty funny to watch that. At the start of the run it wasn’t raining much, but later in the run the skies opened. It was a beautiful run course. I would have enjoyed it better during a meaningful race. Afterwards, I grabbed a few extra towels and went back to the car. There I found a very wet and cold John and Mary. Also the field looked like Woodstock. Lots of muddy people and cars getting stuck.Post race:
USAT decided they would ask ITU if the United States could send extra people to Worlds. To be considered part of Team USA, Kansas City entrants would have to finish amongst the Top 16 USA finishers in their age group. It seemed like the fairest thing to do. I would have loved them to go back to the Shreveport results and take the Top 16 from there, but that wouldn’t be fair to the ones who bypassed Shreveport knowing they’d get another chance this year.
I have mixed feelings about the way they’re considering doing Team USA. I felt I was going to be on the cusp of making the team. Much was going to depend on how well I did on the swim and the bike, and how many I could hold off on the run. I feel a little funny about backing into the Worlds this way, but Honolulu will be our unofficial National Championship.
The Final Blow
Sunday morning we awake to sunny weather. The storms that plagued us have moved east, and may delay our departure. We actually get off on time, and arrive in New York a little ahead of schedule. Then the skies opened and the thunder and lightning started. They ended out closing La Guardia and our luggage remained on the plane. I felt like this was a repeat of our return from Lisbon. However this storm lingered. Instead of 45 minutes of waiting, it was several hours. I was not leaving the airport without my bike. There were a number of others who felt the same way. We hung out in baggage claim until 4 hours later when the airport reopened. We were all glad to see our bikes coming through the door.Here is my finish line photo from the trip to nowhere, and back.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
My Road Trip to Nowhere Part I
August 17th, 2005
It’s Wednesday morning and I’m up in New Hampshire now. I’m finally at a point where I’m ready to put my thoughts on paper about the race that didn’t happen. It’s hard to know even where to begin, but I guess simply describing the events as they unfolded is simplest.
Friday 8/12/05
Mary and I went into town to attend the women’s breakfast at 8:00 AM. I always enjoy the breakfast and seeing the ladies that I’ve met over the last few years. The other dynamic is the checking each other out that occurs. Mary noticed this in particular when she was taking a vitamin and someone asked her if she was taking Advil, and was she hurting. Then I guess the woman lost interest when she found out Mary wasn’t in her age group.
This year’s theme was sharing our stories about getting into triathlon. I had sent in a piece that was comprised of journal entries from August and September of 1983 regarding getting ready for my first race, and then the actual race itself. Jean liked it so much that she asked me if I would read part of it at the breakfast. I was already out in Kansas when she asked me this so I told her to bring a copy because I didn’t have it with me. She assured me she would.
Well, she didn’t, so I had to wing it. Not only that, I was the first speaker. So wing it I did, and actually it went very well. Everyone got some good laughs about my early venture into triathlon as a runner. I actually managed to stay within the five minute limit too.
It was good that I was the first speaker. I would have had a lot of difficulty winging it with my brand of humor after hearing the other stories. The next story after mine was pretty light hearted also, but the three that followed were very moving stories of women who did triathlon despite going through ugly an ugly divorce, losing a teenage son in a hazing incident, and struggling with MS. No this wasn’t one person! Three women, with three very compelling stories.
Since Mary and I were staying out near the airport we decided we would kill time by just hanging out until the expo and registration started at noon. It’s easy to kill time when you have a hotel full of tri-geeks wandering around, also trying to kill time. You talk to people you know from other races, and you talk to people you’ve never met before. But because we’re triathletes it’s easy to find common ground.
Finally the registration opened and we happened to have plopped ourselves down on the floor right in front of the entrance so we were some of the first ones in the door. After picking up all my stuff, I went on a shopping spree. I am not really a shopaholic, but when it comes to triathlon expos I can become one. I think I managed get out of there for under $250.
After going to the race meeting we finally head back to our hotel to pick up our bikes and go out to the start to rack them. With everything spread out so much, it made for a very long day. The race venue was way out in the middle of nowhere, but it certainly looked beautiful. Mary was having some mechanical issues with her bike. We had not done a great job of putting her bike back together on Thursday night! After resolving that we went out for about a 5 mile ride. On the way back I decided to air it out a bit and see what sort of gearing and momentum I would need on these rolling hills. What a fun bike course this appeared to be.
When racking your bike you get to scope out your competition a bit, and see what they look and act like. Mary and I got to see up close and personal the super intensity of one the heavy hitters in our age group. She’s one that would certainly finish in the top five as long as she had no technical issues. I thought I was intense and got hyped up, but I’m Ms. Mellow compared to her. First she was bitching about the racks being too high, and that her fluids were going to spill out if she set up her bike by the seat. Then she hadn’t brought any plastic bags to put over her bike, so she was mooching from others, including Mary. Then I guess she didn’t like one of the bags she got. “OMG! Take a chill pill lady!”
In the meantime the storm clouds are blowing in, and the announcer is saying that bad weather is coming in. He’s suggesting that people get their preparations done and leave. The clouds looked like a scene out of the Wizard of Oz. This may have been Missouri, but it sure felt like Kansas. We’re driving back to our hotel and watching really wild lightning that’s going across the sky, not up and down. Mary is freaking out, and saying “What if it’s doing this tomorrow?” I’m trying to be optimistic and say, “It’s going to be beautiful tomorrow. This is going to blow out of here tonight.”
For the most part I’ve been pretty fortunate with weather at my races. I’ve had to do a few in the rain, but for the most part I’ve lucked out with some dry days when the forecast called for rain. I was trusting God to keep me safe, and help me do my best on race day. That didn’t necessarily mean kick butt, and do my best time ever. It just meant doing what I could do given all the circumstances of my life right now. After all my angst and freak outs earlier in the week, I had given it to Him. Whatever tomorrow would bring in terms of weather, and such I was trusting God to see me through it.
John, Mary and I went to the hotel next to ours for dinner. I had decided after last year’s crappy pasta party, that I wasn’t going to do that again. Also considering how far the host hotel I was glad I had not opted to do that. One trip a day into downtown Kansas City was enough.
The hotel where we had dinner was the site of a ballroom dancing competition. It was interesting contrasting competitive ballroom dancers with triathletes. They too have their rituals, and you’d see them practicing their routines out in the foyer before it was time for them to go on. You’d see them primping and preening to make sure everything looked just right. What they do is pretty and graceful, but it’s competition and the same intensity that drives triathletes can also be seen in these dancers.
After dinner, I went back to the room, and did my race eve rituals. I went through my checklist, putting all my gear back in the bag, laying out my food and clothing for the morning, and then taking my warm bath and shaving down one last time. After that I crawled into bed, and listened to the visualization and some of my race music. All I could hope for now was some decent weather.
It’s Wednesday morning and I’m up in New Hampshire now. I’m finally at a point where I’m ready to put my thoughts on paper about the race that didn’t happen. It’s hard to know even where to begin, but I guess simply describing the events as they unfolded is simplest.
Friday 8/12/05
Mary and I went into town to attend the women’s breakfast at 8:00 AM. I always enjoy the breakfast and seeing the ladies that I’ve met over the last few years. The other dynamic is the checking each other out that occurs. Mary noticed this in particular when she was taking a vitamin and someone asked her if she was taking Advil, and was she hurting. Then I guess the woman lost interest when she found out Mary wasn’t in her age group.
This year’s theme was sharing our stories about getting into triathlon. I had sent in a piece that was comprised of journal entries from August and September of 1983 regarding getting ready for my first race, and then the actual race itself. Jean liked it so much that she asked me if I would read part of it at the breakfast. I was already out in Kansas when she asked me this so I told her to bring a copy because I didn’t have it with me. She assured me she would.
Well, she didn’t, so I had to wing it. Not only that, I was the first speaker. So wing it I did, and actually it went very well. Everyone got some good laughs about my early venture into triathlon as a runner. I actually managed to stay within the five minute limit too.
It was good that I was the first speaker. I would have had a lot of difficulty winging it with my brand of humor after hearing the other stories. The next story after mine was pretty light hearted also, but the three that followed were very moving stories of women who did triathlon despite going through ugly an ugly divorce, losing a teenage son in a hazing incident, and struggling with MS. No this wasn’t one person! Three women, with three very compelling stories.
Since Mary and I were staying out near the airport we decided we would kill time by just hanging out until the expo and registration started at noon. It’s easy to kill time when you have a hotel full of tri-geeks wandering around, also trying to kill time. You talk to people you know from other races, and you talk to people you’ve never met before. But because we’re triathletes it’s easy to find common ground.
Finally the registration opened and we happened to have plopped ourselves down on the floor right in front of the entrance so we were some of the first ones in the door. After picking up all my stuff, I went on a shopping spree. I am not really a shopaholic, but when it comes to triathlon expos I can become one. I think I managed get out of there for under $250.
After going to the race meeting we finally head back to our hotel to pick up our bikes and go out to the start to rack them. With everything spread out so much, it made for a very long day. The race venue was way out in the middle of nowhere, but it certainly looked beautiful. Mary was having some mechanical issues with her bike. We had not done a great job of putting her bike back together on Thursday night! After resolving that we went out for about a 5 mile ride. On the way back I decided to air it out a bit and see what sort of gearing and momentum I would need on these rolling hills. What a fun bike course this appeared to be.
When racking your bike you get to scope out your competition a bit, and see what they look and act like. Mary and I got to see up close and personal the super intensity of one the heavy hitters in our age group. She’s one that would certainly finish in the top five as long as she had no technical issues. I thought I was intense and got hyped up, but I’m Ms. Mellow compared to her. First she was bitching about the racks being too high, and that her fluids were going to spill out if she set up her bike by the seat. Then she hadn’t brought any plastic bags to put over her bike, so she was mooching from others, including Mary. Then I guess she didn’t like one of the bags she got. “OMG! Take a chill pill lady!”
In the meantime the storm clouds are blowing in, and the announcer is saying that bad weather is coming in. He’s suggesting that people get their preparations done and leave. The clouds looked like a scene out of the Wizard of Oz. This may have been Missouri, but it sure felt like Kansas. We’re driving back to our hotel and watching really wild lightning that’s going across the sky, not up and down. Mary is freaking out, and saying “What if it’s doing this tomorrow?” I’m trying to be optimistic and say, “It’s going to be beautiful tomorrow. This is going to blow out of here tonight.”For the most part I’ve been pretty fortunate with weather at my races. I’ve had to do a few in the rain, but for the most part I’ve lucked out with some dry days when the forecast called for rain. I was trusting God to keep me safe, and help me do my best on race day. That didn’t necessarily mean kick butt, and do my best time ever. It just meant doing what I could do given all the circumstances of my life right now. After all my angst and freak outs earlier in the week, I had given it to Him. Whatever tomorrow would bring in terms of weather, and such I was trusting God to see me through it.
John, Mary and I went to the hotel next to ours for dinner. I had decided after last year’s crappy pasta party, that I wasn’t going to do that again. Also considering how far the host hotel I was glad I had not opted to do that. One trip a day into downtown Kansas City was enough.
The hotel where we had dinner was the site of a ballroom dancing competition. It was interesting contrasting competitive ballroom dancers with triathletes. They too have their rituals, and you’d see them practicing their routines out in the foyer before it was time for them to go on. You’d see them primping and preening to make sure everything looked just right. What they do is pretty and graceful, but it’s competition and the same intensity that drives triathletes can also be seen in these dancers.
After dinner, I went back to the room, and did my race eve rituals. I went through my checklist, putting all my gear back in the bag, laying out my food and clothing for the morning, and then taking my warm bath and shaving down one last time. After that I crawled into bed, and listened to the visualization and some of my race music. All I could hope for now was some decent weather.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Mother Nature can be a Bear!!!!
It's shortly after midnight, and I'm still stunned about this insane weekend in Kansas City that was supposed to be Nationals Age Group Championships. To make a long story short the race ended out being cancelled due to horrific rains that just made it unsafe to have a race. They've been in a drought all summer, and it's been sunny and in the 90s and 100s for 3 weeks. On Friday and Saturday Mother Nature let the rain loose. It was great for the drought stricken farmers, but for for the athletes who had made their way to KC to compete, it was a washout.
I will share more about the weekend as I'm more able to sort out the events, and all my emotions. I returned to New York not only with my mementos of a race not done, but also the weather that wrecked havoc with tri-geeks' championship dreams. We were one of the last flights to make it into La Guardia Airport before the same storms that soaked us out in Kansas City brought their act to New York and closed down the airport. So there we were sitting in baggage claim waiting for our luggage and bikes that were sitting on the plane. It would remain there as long as the airport was closed. So our group of about 6 triathletes sat on the conveyor belt waiting for bikes and luggage, and shared our stories of our seasons thus far, and races coming up.
We were there for close to four hours, and the time passed quicker then I thought, but OMG I have get home, unpack, repack and make my way up to New hampshire for my next triathlon adventure; Timberman. I was not leaving that airport without my bike. I was not leaving Blue Bayou (say it out loud) in the hands of American Airlines baggage service. She is my lean, mean racin' machine, and I have enough anxiety flying with her. I always feel a lot better when she finally comes rolling through the oversize baggage area doors.
You should have heard the round of applause at each baggage carousel when it started up. There weren't many left at ours by the time it started up. Maybe there were 20 of us left from a totally full flight. The tri-geeks waiting for their precious steeds made up probably 35% of remaining people. There was a cellist waiting for instrument. As each bike came rolling through the doors the happy owner would let out a whoop and pump his/her fists in the air as if he/she had just won the Nationals. I guess landing before the airport closed and getting all our stuff back was going to be the major triumph of our weekend.
I did a lot of freaking out, calming down, and freaking out again over this National Championship. When I was out there I had to call my best friend/triathlon/prayer partner, and get her to pray for me and give me words of encouragement. I felt better after I talked to her, and was ready to leave my race in God's hands, and put Him in charge. God has a funny way of answering prayer, but I didn't have to deal with all the whatifs reagrding the race. More importantly those God loving farmers from the local church that came with their tractors to pull stuck cars out of the field after the event got some much needed rain for their crops. The tow truck operators came to make a killing, charging $50 for a tow. The farmers just wanted a contribution of any size to give their church.
I will share more about the weekend as I'm more able to sort out the events, and all my emotions. I returned to New York not only with my mementos of a race not done, but also the weather that wrecked havoc with tri-geeks' championship dreams. We were one of the last flights to make it into La Guardia Airport before the same storms that soaked us out in Kansas City brought their act to New York and closed down the airport. So there we were sitting in baggage claim waiting for our luggage and bikes that were sitting on the plane. It would remain there as long as the airport was closed. So our group of about 6 triathletes sat on the conveyor belt waiting for bikes and luggage, and shared our stories of our seasons thus far, and races coming up.
We were there for close to four hours, and the time passed quicker then I thought, but OMG I have get home, unpack, repack and make my way up to New hampshire for my next triathlon adventure; Timberman. I was not leaving that airport without my bike. I was not leaving Blue Bayou (say it out loud) in the hands of American Airlines baggage service. She is my lean, mean racin' machine, and I have enough anxiety flying with her. I always feel a lot better when she finally comes rolling through the oversize baggage area doors.
You should have heard the round of applause at each baggage carousel when it started up. There weren't many left at ours by the time it started up. Maybe there were 20 of us left from a totally full flight. The tri-geeks waiting for their precious steeds made up probably 35% of remaining people. There was a cellist waiting for instrument. As each bike came rolling through the doors the happy owner would let out a whoop and pump his/her fists in the air as if he/she had just won the Nationals. I guess landing before the airport closed and getting all our stuff back was going to be the major triumph of our weekend.
I did a lot of freaking out, calming down, and freaking out again over this National Championship. When I was out there I had to call my best friend/triathlon/prayer partner, and get her to pray for me and give me words of encouragement. I felt better after I talked to her, and was ready to leave my race in God's hands, and put Him in charge. God has a funny way of answering prayer, but I didn't have to deal with all the whatifs reagrding the race. More importantly those God loving farmers from the local church that came with their tractors to pull stuck cars out of the field after the event got some much needed rain for their crops. The tow truck operators came to make a killing, charging $50 for a tow. The farmers just wanted a contribution of any size to give their church.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Random thoughts on a solo ride.
Today I leave Manhattan, KS to head back to Kansas City. I had a very nice time hanging out with my sister. Wednesday I did take a nice 20 mile bike ride out into country side. A little headwind on the way out, and tailwind coming back. Can't ask for the wind situation to be much better. I don't do a lot of riding by myself. I get rather addicted to my group rides, and the opportunity to talk with others. So when I do those rare solo rides it gives me a chance to reflect on things, and try to sort out some of the emotions tied in with my personal life.
I think for the first time I was starting to think that perhaps would not be horrible if we chose to go our own ways. Despite our wonderful friendship there are things that may never be resolved for either of us. I got thinking about maybe I just take my share of the proceeds of the sale of the house, buy something cheap in the middle of nowhere, invest a portion of it, and take the rest and go try a tri in every state. I could certainly knock off the rest of New England quickly. The other mid-atlantic states would be easy. It gets tougher the further I get from the east coast.
The bike ride felt good and I took a swim afterwards. My sister's neighbor has an indoor pool that's about 11 yards long. It's air conditioned in the summer, and heated in the winter. DAmn I wish I had a neighbor like that. I don't live in a neighborhood with weighbors like that. *Sigh*
I think for the first time I was starting to think that perhaps would not be horrible if we chose to go our own ways. Despite our wonderful friendship there are things that may never be resolved for either of us. I got thinking about maybe I just take my share of the proceeds of the sale of the house, buy something cheap in the middle of nowhere, invest a portion of it, and take the rest and go try a tri in every state. I could certainly knock off the rest of New England quickly. The other mid-atlantic states would be easy. It gets tougher the further I get from the east coast.
The bike ride felt good and I took a swim afterwards. My sister's neighbor has an indoor pool that's about 11 yards long. It's air conditioned in the summer, and heated in the winter. DAmn I wish I had a neighbor like that. I don't live in a neighborhood with weighbors like that. *Sigh*
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Kansas City, Kansas City Here I Come.....
With a detour to Manhattan, Kansas AKA The Little Apple.
Normally I'd leave for Nationals on Thursday, but I decided to make a side trip to visit family out here. I left on Tuesday for Kansas City. I wasn't figuring on seeing anyone at the airport heading out for the race this early. I was wrong. I spotted one of the women I know from last year's Worlds and Nationals. She had on a Team USA shirt so I recognized her. It was nice to hang out and talk to her since the the plane was late. Sheila is in the 65-69 age group, so she's already qualified for Worlds. She's part of the generation of women who have gotten into the sport later in life. The age group is much smaller. When she was in her 50s there weren't many so it wasn't hard to win. I can remember going to races with Jeannie who is around rhe same age as Sheila. She was always winning the age group with times that were so much slower then what I do now in my 50s. I'm an early Title IX woman so my age group is still pretty well populated on the National level. My generation was just entering college when Title IX kicked in so we got the early effects of it. There are women in their 50s who can run a 7:00 minute mile, When Jeannie and Sheila were in their 50s there probably weren't many gals running those types of times.
Sheila is an amazing lady. She's done a triathlon in every single state, including Ironman in Kona. I think that would be cool to do a race in every state. I'd love to add Hawaii to my short list thought it won't be for Kona. I have a long way to go.
States I've done so far:
New England: MA, NH, CT, NY
Mid Atlantic: NJ, DE, MD
South East: FL
Other: LA, and after Saturday, MO.
10 down 40 to go.
Normally I'd leave for Nationals on Thursday, but I decided to make a side trip to visit family out here. I left on Tuesday for Kansas City. I wasn't figuring on seeing anyone at the airport heading out for the race this early. I was wrong. I spotted one of the women I know from last year's Worlds and Nationals. She had on a Team USA shirt so I recognized her. It was nice to hang out and talk to her since the the plane was late. Sheila is in the 65-69 age group, so she's already qualified for Worlds. She's part of the generation of women who have gotten into the sport later in life. The age group is much smaller. When she was in her 50s there weren't many so it wasn't hard to win. I can remember going to races with Jeannie who is around rhe same age as Sheila. She was always winning the age group with times that were so much slower then what I do now in my 50s. I'm an early Title IX woman so my age group is still pretty well populated on the National level. My generation was just entering college when Title IX kicked in so we got the early effects of it. There are women in their 50s who can run a 7:00 minute mile, When Jeannie and Sheila were in their 50s there probably weren't many gals running those types of times.
Sheila is an amazing lady. She's done a triathlon in every single state, including Ironman in Kona. I think that would be cool to do a race in every state. I'd love to add Hawaii to my short list thought it won't be for Kona. I have a long way to go.
States I've done so far:
New England: MA, NH, CT, NY
Mid Atlantic: NJ, DE, MD
South East: FL
Other: LA, and after Saturday, MO.
10 down 40 to go.
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