8 HOT

What is 8 HOT?  This would be 8 hours of triathlon.  Actually you had a choice to do the duathlon as well, but my friend Sue and I decided we wanted to do the 8 hours of triathlon.  7 of us went to Lake Mills to do this event, they also have a 24 hour event. 8 hours sounds much nicer.  We had three 2 person teams and one solo.  The way this works is that you have 8 hours or 24 hours depending on which event you signed up for to get in as many  triathlons or duathlons  in. You can bank the the different areas, but Sue and I decided to just go in the normal order and switch off the entire 8 hours. This worked out nice that this was a Friday event because Sue and I are both teachers, we're off for the summer.

Really, we had no game plan until the night before.  We decided that Sue would start off the first swim, then I would bike, she would run.  The next triathlon, I would swim, Sue would bike, and I would run. We alternated like this all 8 hours.  This worked well.  The distances are one-tenth the Ironman distances, so today the swim was .24 miles, bike was 11.2 miles, and the run was 2.62 miles.  We thought the that after the run, having to bike so close would take it tolls.  I think we were both fine. If we did the 24 hour that way, that could have been tough.  So the whole group starts shortly after 7 AM this morning.  Our first team-Team Tri Smart came out the leaders, then team Tri Buddies followed, then my teammate, then our solo teammate.  I got started on the bike and I was like oh man, I have to bike this again today.  The course was a little bumpy and had a lot of gravel on the turns.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate gravel on turns. I totally slow down. To make matters worse, all the sudden my aero handlebar on the right is lopsided, you have to be kidding me. I fixed it in transition the first time.   Also on the first bike our solo athlete passes me.  My thoughts were , umm, am I that slow on the bike or did he go out too fast?  Needless to say we got back to transition and off Sue went on the run. 

The next time I swam and ran.  So I get ready to go into the swim.  I opted out of wearing a wetsuit because mine currently has a hole in it and I didn't want to try to put on a wetsuit all sweaty.  Sue gets back from an awesome run leg and I head down to the lake. I get into the water and my first thought was whoops, probably should have brought that wetsuit, but after swimming a little bit, I was like, okay, glad I didn't bring the wetsuit.  I caught up with our solo athlete and after taking a few detours on the swim, I was out.  Sue took off on the bike and I started to get ready for the run.  The great thing about our team, is that we are just that.  We had the Tri Smart team tent set up in transition along with a ton of food.  We had a bike rack for our bikes.  It was awesome.  Sue came back from the bike and off I went on the run.  The run is 1.31 out and then back.  It is mainly on the sidewalks of the park area and then the neighborhoods.  I felt good. I was wondering how I was going to feel with all the stop and go stuff. 

The next triathlon I was just biking.  Well, I thought I had fixed my area bar, WAY WRONG.  As soon as I hit a bump I was riding lopsided again.  REALLY, come on.  Oh well, it is 11.2 miles, suck it up Simon. As I get to the turnaround on the bike, it is really tight, so again being a girly I unclip my foot out of my bike and start to turnaround.  I think the nice man at the turnaround gave me a little extra credit, he told me I earned a 6 on that turn.  It was more like 3 or 4. 

I get back and decide that I am going to see how Sue and I are doing.  I look up the current results, wow, we are in first place in the 2 person women's division.  Okay great, we were 7th overall at that time of all the different teams.  That's great.  I kill a little more time in the tent area and then get ready to swim again.

I felt the day went pretty fast, before I knew it we were going in to hours four and five.  Wow, okay I like this.  All through the day Tri Smart members cheered each other on, as did most of the other participants in the race.  We supported one another and helped each other. That is probably one of the main reasons the day went fast for me.  I was having so much fun the whole time.  I think about the only time I had anything bad to say was when I heard the race director announcing that there was a cop driving around threatening to ticket us on the bike for riding through stop signs.  I know this is a safety issue, but I also know that many of us slow down drastically at intersections.  My friends from Team Tri Buddies told me this guy was in an unmarked car and his idea of stopping was unclipping out of your pedal and putting one foot down.  Glad he was gone by the next time I got on the bike. 

By the time we got to the last hour and fifteen minutes. I had one run left.  I figured at this point we could start our 7 triathlon, but we would only get through the swim and the bike.  Sue went off to the swim and I waited for her  after I was done running. I failed to mention earlier, only one person from the team can be on the course at a time.  Sue quickly swam the .24 and then I was off.  Most of the last ride was uneventful, but at the turnaround I saw a lady who was the winner of the 24 hour solo triathlon.  Now we are not even in the same race, but I just felt that I should not get caught by her, so I worked as hard as I could on that last bike.  When I got to the finish, Sue was waiting for me with our other Tri Smart teammates.  We got some pictures as everyone was coming in and then wait for awards.

Awards came and Sue and I won our division. Team Tri Smart also came in first and Tri Buddies came in third in the co-ed division.  Our solo athlete came in third in the men's solo. I got a little chuckle at the end when I finally realized that Sue and I were able to get in 6 and 2/3 triathlons. The winners of the men's 2 person team did the same amount as us.  Way to go us!!!!!!!!!  I had so much fun at this event.  It was great to be around my Tri Smart Teammates.  The people volunteering and organizing were a lot of fun and very supportive.  All and all it was a great time had by all.

Dances with Dirt

When I was thinking ahead to races this year, I said I didn't want to to do anything longer than half marathons and Olympic Distance Triathlons.  I was talking to my friend, Dawn during the winter season and she mentioned that she was doing this Dances with Dirt Half Marathon, which is she last year.  It is a trail marathon, all trails, some single track trails.  I decided to sign up because it was something different.

We left Friday to travel up to Baraboo, Wisconsin, by the Dells.  In our car was Dawn, Roger, Kurt, Amanda, and me.  Kara and Mary joined us later. The trip up was an adventure alone.  What should have been a three hour trips tops, turned into a five hour trip.  We managed to run into every construction zone possible, along with people who just can't drive. We stopped in Rockford to eat because we were starving at that point.  After a few more delays in construction we finally got to Baraboo, checked into our hotel and then went to Sprecher's for dinner. Each of tried a beer or other alcoholic beverage with our dinner.  I enjoyed some beer cheese soup ( can we see how serious this race really is). After dinner we walked around the Dells a little bit and then headed back to the hotel.

We woke up around 5AM to get ready to leave for the race. The nice thing about this race is that it is very low key.  The race has a few races during the day, a 50 mile, 50 K, marathon, half marathon, and 10K. We were walking around to get in line for our bibs and shirts and I see my friend, Paul from high school. We both ran cross-country and track and field. We chatted for a little bit and then I headed back to the car to put some stuff away.  Before the race we took at picture and went to the starting line.  At first there was some talk of running together.

The race started and maybe 100 meters into, it goes to single track, which also meant big back-up, already stopped. Kurt and I got out a little ways ahead of Dawn, Kara, and Mary because they were stuck in the "second" wave ( really no waves were designated). I saw them and Kurt and I turned around to walk back to them.  Being me, I said, okay, we're done, we're calling a day, got a few laughs from people.  We stayed together maybe a half mile, before Kurt and Kara were gone. A little later Dawn went around me, which was good because I was trying to figure out a way to go around the people in front of me, too much walking and slowing down. Dawn, Mary, and I got to the first mile in 17 minutes. WOW, we killed that didn't we.  Keeping in mind, we had to go down the same hill we went up when we were going to the finish.  At some point Mary went around and it was Dawn and me until a little after mile 4, where the second aid station was.  Finally I felt like I was in a groove and just started to go.  The one nice thing about trail runs, at least I feel this way, is when you can get into a groove, you feel faster than you are really going. 

I was kind of in my own little land for the next few miles.  I got to the turnaround and I was told it is beautiful from the bluff.  Only problem for me is I am afraid of heights. I took one look out and freaked. People were stopped, taking pictures, nope, not me. I put my head down and refused to look out. At this point this guy named Dave was running with me.  We ran the remainder of the race together. This was his 4th time doing this race.  He volunteered at Ironman Wisconsin a few years ago, but had no desire to compete in an Ironman. I mentioned that I did Ironman Wisconsin last year and that is was a great town, enjoyed the race a lot.  Before I knew it were were pasted nine miles. Okay, I couldn't believe how fast the race was going, it did help were now going downhill, instead of uphill.  The last 5K was all single track. I was being a little girl at this point.  Several times during the race I nearly bit it and fell over.  Since I had managed not to fall, I wasn't about to start.  I just watched my footing in front of me and tried to make sure that I was picking up my feet.  Then before I knew it, I was in the open field again, 100 meters from the finished.  I heard Roger and Kurt yelling and started to make my way to the finish.  Afterwards I chatted with Paul and my friend Bridgitt for a little bit and then it was time to go back home. 

This course is not a PR course, but it is challenging and a ton of fun.  I enjoyed the fact that it was different and challenging.  So if you are looking for something different, challenging, and fun, I would recommend this race.

New Shoes

So anyone who knows me, knows that there are just some changes that I do not do well with, won't even consider. Imagine that, a special education teacher, who has trouble with change. Funny, how I tell the kids I teach to just go with it and there are many times, that I can't do that.  Anyways, I'm off topic.  I have been a runner since I was 12,  well, I got really serious when I entered high school.  A runner's shoes are their most important piece of equipment they have.  Since I was a sophomore in high school, I have been wearing Asics.  My college coach did try to convert me to Adidas.  That lasted maybe 6-8 weeks and I had gone through at least 3 pairs of shoes.  I kept wearing them back heals. So, as I said, I have been wearing Asics, I believe I started with the 1100 and just kept following the model changes.  At this point I am at the 2700.   I figured they work, let it be.  I have not had any issues, so why change.

A few weeks ago, I was presented with the idea of trying out Mizuno's shoes.  Hmm, well, okay. Wait, again the person who does not change and has been wearing Asics since they were a sophomore in high school, is going to try a different brand of shoes.  What is the world coming to?  It took a little bit, but I finally got my shoes, the Mizuno Nexius 6.  Now this is funny to some of you.  In my Asics I wear a 5 1/2, yes I know my feet are just huge, NOT!!!!!!!  When I was looking through the different models for Mizuno, none of them were below a 6.  Was this going to be a problem, only one way to find out.  I called the representative and asked if they had a 5 1/2, he said, no, okay, I'll try a 6.  Oh by the way, I know my feet are small, but they are flat, like pancakes have more shape then my feet. My feet are so flat, that when I went to my podiatrist in high school to get my inserts the doctor took one look at my feet and say oh no.  Keep in mind when I went to the podiatrist I was sixteen, a junior in high school who was having an awesome track season, had big plans to be All-State. Oh no, really, lots of panic there. Needless to say we fixed that.  My feet are also wide, is this shoe good for those kind of feet.  Yes, the Nexius are a good fit, name and address please. 

So my shoes arrived and I finally got to wear them tonight during our track workout.  I felt great. I was a little nervous about trying the shoes out during an interval workout, but I felt great, I felt light on my feet, no issues with slipping, they fit great.  So change is not so bad after all.  I am excited for my next run and can't wait to see how I feel in my shoes.