This weekend I competed in the Muncie Ironman 70.3. My friend Maxine picked me up and we were on the road before 8:00 Friday morning. It took a little over 4 hours to get to the convention center where packet pick-up was. We got there looked around for a little bit, brought a few things and then went back outside to eat some lunch. At 2:30 we went to the athlete's briefing to listen to the race director talk. He was hysterial giving us the rules relating to the events and what we should expect during the race. After were done there we went to the race venue to look around and rack our bikes for the night. There was not any rain predicted so it was okay for that night.
Afterwards we checked into our hotel and then made our way to dinner with Team Tri Smart. We went to a local Italian place called Johnny Carino. Food was good and company was even better. At dinner we shared a lot of laughs with those who came and stories of other races we have done.
Maxine and I are very similar in the fact that we like to be early to transition in the morning. Believe it or not we were not the first ones there at 4:30 in the morning. There were at least 20 other cars that were parked ahead of us. We hung out in the car until 5 and then made our way into transition and got our stuff set up.
Before the race started I met up my friends from Tri Smart friends to wish each other good luck. We listened to the national anthem and then the pros went off. I got in line to get ready for my wave to take off and chatted a little more with Maxine. The announcer was calling out names of people, most of whom had served in our military. My wave entered the water and the announcer calls out my name as I am talking to my friend Courtney. I was raisied my hand as he tells everyone that I have been a special education teacher for 12 years. I immediately felt my face turn bright red. I had forgot that I filled that out. Although I am sure at the time I filled it out I wasn't thinking my name would be called out. The horn for my wave went off. Those girls went out like they were swimming a 100 yard swim. Now the director said the water temperature was 75.5 degrees. I had a difference of opinion on that. I am one that likes to be hot and I was like whoa, this is way hotter than 75.5 degrees. In the process I let some of the girls that took off go, got myself together and calmed down. That helped a ton. As the swim continued I passed girls in my wave and guys from the wave in front of me. Now I know that some of those guys I passed were going to fly by me on the bike, but it is still fun to chase them down. I made the final turn into the finish and the sun was blinding. I was still able to look up and find my way to the finish area. I got out of the water feeling a bit discombobulated between taking in some water that also had a nice gas taste to it and running up to transition on a carpet that covered the stones. Since I was just getting over an injury in my hamstring I was looking down as I was running. All the sudden I heard "Go Lisa" from my friend MJ. I looked up to see where she was, but didn't see her until a few steps later. She asked how I was doing, but all I could muster was a thumbs up. I felt bad because I thought I was being rude. Usually I try to smile and say something. I got into transition and got ready to go out on the bike. I was happy with my swim of 33:55. My bike was not far from the bike out.
As I head out to the bike, the street was a little bumpy, but manageable. I got about 8 or 9 miles into the bike when fellow Tri Smart friend, Ryan came passed me. I gave him a go Ryan and continued to focus on my ride. Finally out to Highway 35. Awesome stretch of road. I was able to consistently keep my bike betweeen 18-20 mph. Loved it. Along the way came Courtney and we played cat and mouse most of the ride. There was one stretch of the ride that was a no passsing, of course people still did. Little did I know that at this point I had a bunch of guys behind, probably the ones I flew passed on the swim. Once we got off the stretch they switched gears and return the favor by flying pass me. Now this stretch off road was awful. Totally bumpy. Again Courtney and I were still playing cat and mouse. Each time we would go passed each other we would chat about our feelings on the road. General consenus we both had, the road sucked and really hurt our whoha. Finally made the turnaround and dealt with the bumpy road until we finally got back on 35 to head in. YAY, now I could cruise again. Maxine came by me at mile 40 with a bunch of guys drafting on her. I wanted to say something, but I chose to just say hi Max, keep it going. I hit the last aid station on the bike and grabbed some water. As I did a guy cut me off. Luckily I was able to gain control. I thought for sure I was going down. I regained my composure as well because believe me there were choice words that went through my head. On the way back I met up with Dario and Nora. I told them both that they were tough to catch.I got back into the bike in. Bike in was at a different spot than bike out. I had a bit of a trek to my area, so I walked my bike in and slowly got myself together. Bike time was 2:59:39. I was happy because my split were pretty even.
As I got ready for the run, I was a little nervous about it. My leg felt find, but I had not run a lot since mid June. I felt I would be okay to run 13.1 miles after biking because I knew I had trained hard with some added bike rides for this. Truthfully I wanted to just be done after the bike, but I knew deep down that the only reason I wanted to be done was because my stomach was starting to get screwed up. Well, too bad, I was not quitting because of that. For anyone who knows me, there are times in races or Bernie's basement that I just get sick and throw up. It is not something I plan for, but it happens. Of course who really plans to throw up in races. All my nutrition was the same as training. I don't know if I get so jacked up in races or what, but it happens. So anyway, I did a run/walk for the 13.1, seeing teammates and friends along the way. On my way out of transition I saw MJ with her camera ready to go. I smiled and gave her a thumbs up. She asked how I felt, I responded I'm a little tired, but I will be okay. This course has rolling hills that whole way. The volunteers were awesome. I took a few sprays of water from the hose and grabbed water and ice. My plan was originally to run until I hit the aid stations. That worked through the first four miles, then I would run/walk when I felt okay. As soon as I would feel nauseated I would walk again. Nora came by and bless her heart was willing to stay with. I told her to go ahead as I knew she was having an awesome race. Another issue I dealt was probably being dehydrated, which I don't understand since I drank the whole ride. I became a little nervous at the turnaround of the run because I had stopped sweating. That was not going to stop me. I saw Debbie before the turnaround and she was having an awesome run. After the turnaround Claire came by, also having an awesome run and looking solid. On the way back I also saw my BFF, Jim, Mike, Diane, Lee, Tim, and Kelly. I love doing races where the team is there because it is great to have that encouragement. With about 1 mile to go Dario came by and encouraged me. I made it through the last mile and got to the finish where I saw the team tent. I got some high fives from those at the tent and made my way to the finish. After I got done I walked back to the tent and took off my shoes as quickly as I could. I knew I had a blister on my left side heal of my left food. It was great to hang out with the team and watch everyone coming in.
We had a great showing at Muncie and was a ton of fun. I was so glad for all the encouragement and team spirit. A special thanks to MJ was being such an awesome and encouraging friend. I know just staying at the start was probably not how you wanted to watch the race, but it was great to have you out there. Big thanks to Maxine for an awesome weekend of friendship and putting all my stuff back in the car. I was for sure procrastinating on that one.
I am looking forward to getting my run back in order. It is kind of funny that when I started triathlon I got better as the race went on, now I have kind of reversed roles a little bit.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Expect the unexpected and roll with it.
Easier said than done sometimes, but this weekend I was able to just roll with everything. I had planned to race Tri Shark Triathlon and Leon's. I had signed up for those by the start of April. At the end of April a co-worker invited me to her wedding. So add that to the two races for this weekend.
Well, lets start with Tri Shark. On Friday I was at school helping out with a leadership conference. During our lunch I checked my email on the phone. I had two messages from the race directors at Tri Shark. The first one stated that they did not want to cancel the race and they would post pone as long as they could considering the weather conditions. The next one was canceling the swim due to ecoli levels being really high in the lake we were suppose to swim in. Okay, not happy, but a duathlon, sure why not. This was the second time I had signed up for a triathlon and it became a duathlon. The first was Steelhead in 2008 before it was Ironman branded.
I woke up early Saturday and meet BFF (Jim Quirk) and Amber to head down to the race. We had an awesome showing by Tri Smart there. We get there set up, take a team picture and then get ready for the race. I was in wave 5 and I lined myself in the front as running is my strongest of the three, well two areas yesterday. We take off and there were some fast girls out there. My wave consisted off all females 39 and below. I was happy with the first run, two miles, I averaged 7:32s. Great. Got on my bike and off I went. OH DEAR LORD!!!!!!!!! It was so windy out there. I of course didn't mind when it was at my back pushing me along. There was one point I went to pass a girl and I told her I was coming on her left. She apologized and I said why because the cross wind is pushing you to the left. She laughed and we went back and forth the rest of the race. The tailwind was so strong that when we had it, I ran out of gears. Then on to run number 2. I started off strong, but when I went to make the turnaround I could feel the first run in my legs. None the less I pushed through the finish and maintained 8:13 pace. It was great to see all the Tri Smart people on the turnaround and at the finish. In the end I took 4th in my age group and got a nice trophy from the race. From there I left with BFF to go pick up my packet at Leon's.
Due to security everyone had to pick up their packets in person. So we got there and I was feeling miserable. I started with a small headache at the end of Tri Shark and it just got massive by the time we got to Leon's. I decided to get my packet and head back home since I was going to a wedding. When I got home I took some Tylenol and laid down for just a few minutes. Then I got ready and off I went. The wedding was beautiful, loved the colors they chose. I danced for a few songs, namely Gangdam Style, yes I know it is lost its luster, but it is still fun and anyone who saw my Facebook post from Quarryman knows how well I dance. Slow songs came on and that is always my cue to exit the dance floor. All good. Time came for the bouquet toss and I caught it again. This is my 5th time catching a bouquet. I kind of had an advantage, everyone else was wearing stilettos. I wore slippers, needless to say I could run back and forth, which I did. Danced for a few more songs, then decided I was tired, time to go home and get rested
Woke up early again, got gas in my car and picked up Maxine. I was glad to have someone to ride along with. We got to the race sight and Maxine helped me put my rear wheel on my bike ( I suck at that stuff). We walked into transition after I got body marked and found a spot for my bike. We also got to chat with our old master swim coach, Steve. People from Tri Smart started to make their way into the transition area and we chatted, then all the sudden the wind picked up and the temperature dropped. I was like are you kidding me. Normally people wait to put their wetsuits on, nope we put them on to stay warm. We made out way off transition and took a team picture. Leon's does a great job paying honor to our country and service men and women. The girl that sang the Star Spangled Banner was awesome, then we had a fly over from the Lima Lima planes. Most of the guys from Tri Smart were in the same wave as me, so we hung out and talked until we got into the water. Now you know there is a problem when the water is the warmest part of your race. Today was that case and it was not because we were all peeing in it, that just helped. I jumped in and got myself positioned for the swim start and off we went. All the sudden I was like where the hell am I, the bouys are way to my left. So I swam that direction and got on course. I had talked to Maxine before the race because she had just been in the water and asked how it was. CHOPPY and she wasn't kidding. I felt like I drank half the lake. We made our first left turn and I could smell and taste the gas from the boats. I was like great, I am going to puke at some point in this race. As we made the last turn, Leon's has a huge American Flag at the finish, perfect for sighting. Got out of the water and made my way to transition with BFF, MJ, Maxine, and other cheering all the Tri Smart people on. I start to take my wetsuit off and I said to two other Tri Smart teammates, "umm you know it is cold when there is steam coming off your wetsuit and you after the swim. This is going to be an interesting bike ride." AND IT WAS. I didn't bring anything for my arms and to be honest I don't think it would have made a different because I am Captain Wimpy when it comes to the cold. CAN'T STAND IT. So I'm on my way and I see BFF and I was like hey by the way it is cold, he told me to speed up. The bike is a two loop course( although,it was long again this year, not by too much). Part of the bike course is on the closed down part of Cline Ave. It was brutal on that part, no other way to describe it. Just cold and rainy, it got to the point on the second loop that I was watching people because I could hardly see out of my sunglasses (I know it was not sunny, but they are protection too again flying debris, there was plenty). As I started the second loop BFF asked if I was warm yet, umm no, so I was told to go faster. I saw MJ and Michelle and they were funny because they were like oh go Lisa. Second loop was similar to the first. I think I managed to find and hit every pothole out there on both loops. As I was coming into the finish, there was Brax from Urban Tri Gear cheering me. He just makes me laugh because he is so into the sport. Got done and thought yay, time to run. Yeah, not so much. My legs were trashed. So I decided to just take it one mile at at time on the run. That ended up being a good plan. Again I got to cheer on teammates on the out and backs. The last stretch was the toughest because it is just over a mile and a half long and for a little bit of time I felt like the finish was not getting closer, but it did. Coming in were all my Tri Smart friends to cheer me into the finish. I got done and Leon was there to personally thank and congratulate everyone that finished. Yes, this race cost me a lot of money for an Olympic distance, but the personal touch that Leon has, makes up for the cost. I for whatever reason walked past where they gave the finisher medals. Oh well.
All and all despite that today was brutal, I am glad I raced. I feel that I have become stronger in some sense and it was fun no matter. I am going to sleep well. As a matter of fact, after I teach yoga in the morning, I am coming home and going back to bed. At least for one day I will do that, back to training on Tuesday. :)
Well, lets start with Tri Shark. On Friday I was at school helping out with a leadership conference. During our lunch I checked my email on the phone. I had two messages from the race directors at Tri Shark. The first one stated that they did not want to cancel the race and they would post pone as long as they could considering the weather conditions. The next one was canceling the swim due to ecoli levels being really high in the lake we were suppose to swim in. Okay, not happy, but a duathlon, sure why not. This was the second time I had signed up for a triathlon and it became a duathlon. The first was Steelhead in 2008 before it was Ironman branded.
I woke up early Saturday and meet BFF (Jim Quirk) and Amber to head down to the race. We had an awesome showing by Tri Smart there. We get there set up, take a team picture and then get ready for the race. I was in wave 5 and I lined myself in the front as running is my strongest of the three, well two areas yesterday. We take off and there were some fast girls out there. My wave consisted off all females 39 and below. I was happy with the first run, two miles, I averaged 7:32s. Great. Got on my bike and off I went. OH DEAR LORD!!!!!!!!! It was so windy out there. I of course didn't mind when it was at my back pushing me along. There was one point I went to pass a girl and I told her I was coming on her left. She apologized and I said why because the cross wind is pushing you to the left. She laughed and we went back and forth the rest of the race. The tailwind was so strong that when we had it, I ran out of gears. Then on to run number 2. I started off strong, but when I went to make the turnaround I could feel the first run in my legs. None the less I pushed through the finish and maintained 8:13 pace. It was great to see all the Tri Smart people on the turnaround and at the finish. In the end I took 4th in my age group and got a nice trophy from the race. From there I left with BFF to go pick up my packet at Leon's.
Due to security everyone had to pick up their packets in person. So we got there and I was feeling miserable. I started with a small headache at the end of Tri Shark and it just got massive by the time we got to Leon's. I decided to get my packet and head back home since I was going to a wedding. When I got home I took some Tylenol and laid down for just a few minutes. Then I got ready and off I went. The wedding was beautiful, loved the colors they chose. I danced for a few songs, namely Gangdam Style, yes I know it is lost its luster, but it is still fun and anyone who saw my Facebook post from Quarryman knows how well I dance. Slow songs came on and that is always my cue to exit the dance floor. All good. Time came for the bouquet toss and I caught it again. This is my 5th time catching a bouquet. I kind of had an advantage, everyone else was wearing stilettos. I wore slippers, needless to say I could run back and forth, which I did. Danced for a few more songs, then decided I was tired, time to go home and get rested
Woke up early again, got gas in my car and picked up Maxine. I was glad to have someone to ride along with. We got to the race sight and Maxine helped me put my rear wheel on my bike ( I suck at that stuff). We walked into transition after I got body marked and found a spot for my bike. We also got to chat with our old master swim coach, Steve. People from Tri Smart started to make their way into the transition area and we chatted, then all the sudden the wind picked up and the temperature dropped. I was like are you kidding me. Normally people wait to put their wetsuits on, nope we put them on to stay warm. We made out way off transition and took a team picture. Leon's does a great job paying honor to our country and service men and women. The girl that sang the Star Spangled Banner was awesome, then we had a fly over from the Lima Lima planes. Most of the guys from Tri Smart were in the same wave as me, so we hung out and talked until we got into the water. Now you know there is a problem when the water is the warmest part of your race. Today was that case and it was not because we were all peeing in it, that just helped. I jumped in and got myself positioned for the swim start and off we went. All the sudden I was like where the hell am I, the bouys are way to my left. So I swam that direction and got on course. I had talked to Maxine before the race because she had just been in the water and asked how it was. CHOPPY and she wasn't kidding. I felt like I drank half the lake. We made our first left turn and I could smell and taste the gas from the boats. I was like great, I am going to puke at some point in this race. As we made the last turn, Leon's has a huge American Flag at the finish, perfect for sighting. Got out of the water and made my way to transition with BFF, MJ, Maxine, and other cheering all the Tri Smart people on. I start to take my wetsuit off and I said to two other Tri Smart teammates, "umm you know it is cold when there is steam coming off your wetsuit and you after the swim. This is going to be an interesting bike ride." AND IT WAS. I didn't bring anything for my arms and to be honest I don't think it would have made a different because I am Captain Wimpy when it comes to the cold. CAN'T STAND IT. So I'm on my way and I see BFF and I was like hey by the way it is cold, he told me to speed up. The bike is a two loop course( although,it was long again this year, not by too much). Part of the bike course is on the closed down part of Cline Ave. It was brutal on that part, no other way to describe it. Just cold and rainy, it got to the point on the second loop that I was watching people because I could hardly see out of my sunglasses (I know it was not sunny, but they are protection too again flying debris, there was plenty). As I started the second loop BFF asked if I was warm yet, umm no, so I was told to go faster. I saw MJ and Michelle and they were funny because they were like oh go Lisa. Second loop was similar to the first. I think I managed to find and hit every pothole out there on both loops. As I was coming into the finish, there was Brax from Urban Tri Gear cheering me. He just makes me laugh because he is so into the sport. Got done and thought yay, time to run. Yeah, not so much. My legs were trashed. So I decided to just take it one mile at at time on the run. That ended up being a good plan. Again I got to cheer on teammates on the out and backs. The last stretch was the toughest because it is just over a mile and a half long and for a little bit of time I felt like the finish was not getting closer, but it did. Coming in were all my Tri Smart friends to cheer me into the finish. I got done and Leon was there to personally thank and congratulate everyone that finished. Yes, this race cost me a lot of money for an Olympic distance, but the personal touch that Leon has, makes up for the cost. I for whatever reason walked past where they gave the finisher medals. Oh well.
All and all despite that today was brutal, I am glad I raced. I feel that I have become stronger in some sense and it was fun no matter. I am going to sleep well. As a matter of fact, after I teach yoga in the morning, I am coming home and going back to bed. At least for one day I will do that, back to training on Tuesday. :)
Sunday, January 27, 2013
2013-ready to roll
It has been a few months since I have written a blog, not much to report. Like many members of Tri Smart I have signed up for Ironman Louisville and Ironman 70.3 Muncie. I have also signed up for Tri Shark in June. I plan on signing up for the Palos Half Marathon and the Marine Corps Marathon, also the 8 hour triathlon relay that we did last year. I was born on the 13th of the month of June, so I do feel that 2013 will be an awesome year.
Events started today with Tri Smart's swimapoolza at the Core in Lemont. This is the third year I have done it and I have enjoyed each one. You get to choose to swim 100x100 yards, 100x 75 yards, or 100x 50 yards. The intervals go off every 100 seconds. Two years ago I did 100x75 and I felt great the whole time. Last year I started off doing the 100s, but after 67 I had to move down to the 75s. This year I went back and forth with what I was going to do during the week, but when I woke up this morning I decided on the 75s. REALLY GLAD I DID!!!!!!!!! MJ, my awesomely good friend and coach told me yesterday that this was suppose to be fun and do what I wanted to do to have fun. That is great advice for me because there are time when my ego needs to get checked and realized that I do these kinds of events because I have fun, not to prove anything (well sometimes I have to prove something to myself). The reality is that I am not a professional athlete, nor am I going to be a professional athlete. I compete and do events because I have fun with my friends. We laugh, we encourage each other, today we got to catch up on what was going on with each other a little bit.
I got to the Core at 7 to have with some set up stuff. MJ went over the gist of things for swimapoolza and then we got in the water. The way this works is we do 50 of whatever distance you chose, take a 15 minute break, and then do the last 50. The pool is a six lane pool, so there were two lanes of each distance. I made up my mind and got in the lane I wanted to be in. Soon to join me were my friends, Sara, Jenny, Maxine, Liz, BFF (Jim) and a few others. Sara and I were laughing right before we started because the lane next to us was chatting amongst themselves. They were swimming 100s and planned to swim them in 1:15. Oh boy, like I said REALLY GLAD I CHOSE 75s. I might be able to a 1:15 100 out of my rear end one time, but to do the 100 times, no. So we started and I started to lead. I lead the first 25 of the first 50 we did. We'd get to the wall and chat a little bit with each other, then take off for the next interval. Sara lead the second 25 of the first set of 50. We had a pretty consistent pace the whole way. Then it was time for the 15 minute break. During that time we took a picture of everyone there and shared some stories of the first 50 intervals.
Now the break was over and we got back in. I went in front again. We lost some people from our lane to go swim the 50s and then as the second set of 50 was going we gained some people that were doing the 100s. I lead the first 3 and then one of the guys from the 100s asked if he could lead, sure go for it. He lead for a while and then a guy who came in from the 100s asked if he could lead. That was my oh boy moment for the day. I felt bad because I kept swimming up on this guy. I would wait at the wall before taking off, on my turns, anything, but I kept catching him. Finally when we got to start number 85 I asked if I could go back in front, so I lead until 90. With 10 left we had 8 people in the lane, so we decided to take turns leading the last 10 and wow did those go by. After we finished I was a little out of it and figured the showers were going to be packed, so I just say out of the pool, probably looking a little pathetic, but none the less, just coming back into my own. I chatted with my friend Sue for a little bit.
Afterwards, 30 of us went over to 3 Corners in Lemont. Again more fun times to catch up with people, laugh about anything and everything, just fun times. As I told MJ tonight between texts, I have never left a Tri Smart event or an event that Tri Smart was at not having a good time. 2013 is going to be a year full of fun and excitement. I am looking forward to many aspects of the year, socially, athletically, and everything.
Events started today with Tri Smart's swimapoolza at the Core in Lemont. This is the third year I have done it and I have enjoyed each one. You get to choose to swim 100x100 yards, 100x 75 yards, or 100x 50 yards. The intervals go off every 100 seconds. Two years ago I did 100x75 and I felt great the whole time. Last year I started off doing the 100s, but after 67 I had to move down to the 75s. This year I went back and forth with what I was going to do during the week, but when I woke up this morning I decided on the 75s. REALLY GLAD I DID!!!!!!!!! MJ, my awesomely good friend and coach told me yesterday that this was suppose to be fun and do what I wanted to do to have fun. That is great advice for me because there are time when my ego needs to get checked and realized that I do these kinds of events because I have fun, not to prove anything (well sometimes I have to prove something to myself). The reality is that I am not a professional athlete, nor am I going to be a professional athlete. I compete and do events because I have fun with my friends. We laugh, we encourage each other, today we got to catch up on what was going on with each other a little bit.
I got to the Core at 7 to have with some set up stuff. MJ went over the gist of things for swimapoolza and then we got in the water. The way this works is we do 50 of whatever distance you chose, take a 15 minute break, and then do the last 50. The pool is a six lane pool, so there were two lanes of each distance. I made up my mind and got in the lane I wanted to be in. Soon to join me were my friends, Sara, Jenny, Maxine, Liz, BFF (Jim) and a few others. Sara and I were laughing right before we started because the lane next to us was chatting amongst themselves. They were swimming 100s and planned to swim them in 1:15. Oh boy, like I said REALLY GLAD I CHOSE 75s. I might be able to a 1:15 100 out of my rear end one time, but to do the 100 times, no. So we started and I started to lead. I lead the first 25 of the first 50 we did. We'd get to the wall and chat a little bit with each other, then take off for the next interval. Sara lead the second 25 of the first set of 50. We had a pretty consistent pace the whole way. Then it was time for the 15 minute break. During that time we took a picture of everyone there and shared some stories of the first 50 intervals.
Now the break was over and we got back in. I went in front again. We lost some people from our lane to go swim the 50s and then as the second set of 50 was going we gained some people that were doing the 100s. I lead the first 3 and then one of the guys from the 100s asked if he could lead, sure go for it. He lead for a while and then a guy who came in from the 100s asked if he could lead. That was my oh boy moment for the day. I felt bad because I kept swimming up on this guy. I would wait at the wall before taking off, on my turns, anything, but I kept catching him. Finally when we got to start number 85 I asked if I could go back in front, so I lead until 90. With 10 left we had 8 people in the lane, so we decided to take turns leading the last 10 and wow did those go by. After we finished I was a little out of it and figured the showers were going to be packed, so I just say out of the pool, probably looking a little pathetic, but none the less, just coming back into my own. I chatted with my friend Sue for a little bit.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
And so we start
I have been a little behind the eight ball lately, so many things going on in the last month. As many of you know school started. I has some mixed feelings about going back. Like many teachers, I always want a longer summer. It didn't help that about 3 weeks before school started I got a really bad case of Shingles. I was miserable and had to take time off from training, I was barely leaving my bed. When I finally did feel better, I would go workout, then come straight home and go back to bed for at least three hours. To make matters even more crazy, when I did start working out again, I felt terrible on my runs. What was this all about. Turns out I needed new orthotics for my shoes and my sciatica nerve was bothering me a ton. I decided I was not going to compete at the Dells in the Olympic Distance triathlon. I figured I would give myself an extra week not only to recover from being sick, but also to heal from my injury. Turned out to be a good plan.
I went back to work for institutes and planning on August 13th. This year was going to be different. For the last three years I have been co-teaching in a classroom and we would sit down to plan once a week. Now I would have three of my own classes and only two co-taught classes. I have two periods of US History, oh my goodness, I have not taught that since like my first of second year teaching. Lucky for me, one of the co-taught classes I am teaching is in US History and get to work with a great group. Phew that was helpful. I also have an Algebra 1, part 2 that is my own. I wasn't sure what to expect when the kids came back to school on the 16th. I will say that after having them for 12 days, I really enjoy my US History classes. We have some awesome discussions and they ask a lot of good questions when we are taking notes. That is not to take away from my Algebra 1, part 2 class, just a difference in the two subjects and probably the time of the day I have the students.
So during the first weekend of school I decided that I was going to compete in the Pigman Olympic Distance triathlon. I was suppose to do Age Group Nationals, but between cost and the fact that I would have likely had to take the second day of school off so I could travel to them, I decided not to go. We had a group going out to compete there, I was the only one doing the Olympic Distance, everyone else was doing the half Ironman. I didn't know what to expect when we got there race day. This was the first year they had an Olympic Distance. We went off first with a time trial start (1 person every few seconds). Well, in the water they told oh you go to the buoy with the bag on it and turn right. Nice idea, except none of us can see when the sun in our faces. I had to make a slight detour, but then I got back on course. The guys went before the women, so it is always kind of nice to pass them in the water, some of course get me right back on the bike or the run, but still, I had fun. I came out of the water feeling pretty good, could kind of feel my rear end starting to hurt, but not enough that I was going to stop. I got on my bike and off I went. There was a small stretch that was a little bumpy and had railroad track, but overall, I really liked this bike course, the streets were newly paved and you could fly on there. For the most part I was in no man's land on the bike. The nice part was that it was an out and back (although I do suck at 180 turnarounds), so I could see all my buddies that were in the half Ironman beginning their journey on the bike. The only bad part about the bike was there was one hill on the way back that I just felt like I was going no where, the wind was in my face and I was relieved when I was finally up it and got to turn back into the park. As I was coming off my bike, the announcer says, this is Lisa Simon from Romeoville, she is a special education teacher and she also wants to teach yoga. I was like how they hell did he know that, oh yeah, I put that in the box when I registered. As I was in the transition area going from the bike to the run, I saw my friend, Dawn. She was there to cheer all of us on, which was so awesome of it. She told me that I was in 4th place overall female. I was like really, that is so cool. I for sure was not expecting that. Okay, now comes the part that I normally am not nervous about, but totally was that day, the run. I only had to run a 10K. So I decided I was just going to take it one mile at a time. Off I went, okay, not feeling anything here.The run was a course with a few rolling hills, but no shade. Okay fine, it was so beautiful out. This was also an out and back course, which was great because it gave me a chance to see where anyone that was female and might be in my age group was. I saw the first 3 females on my way out, they were flying. During the run I got passed by a few guys and a few girls. I passed mile 5 and I was like okay, 1.2 to go, lets see what I have left. I knew this was not going to be a day where I was going to run 7:30-7:45. I knew I had a good swim and good bike under my belt. I came in and there was Dawn telling me that I was the 6th place overall female. The announcer again announced that it was Lisa Simon from Romeoville, IL who is a special education and would like to teach yoga. Then he told me to do a sun salutation. Okay, if you say so. I am sure the photographer got a great picture of that. I ended up winning my age group, which was awesome too. Then I enjoyed the rest of the day cheering on my cool Tri Smart friends in their awesome adventure.
Monday I am planning to run the Oakbrook Half Marathon. It will be a fun day. As the beginning of the training season I would have told you that I wanted to break 1:40 in the half marathon. I am just going to go out and see what I can do, enjoy the day. Next up, do I dare say Ironman Louisville?
I went back to work for institutes and planning on August 13th. This year was going to be different. For the last three years I have been co-teaching in a classroom and we would sit down to plan once a week. Now I would have three of my own classes and only two co-taught classes. I have two periods of US History, oh my goodness, I have not taught that since like my first of second year teaching. Lucky for me, one of the co-taught classes I am teaching is in US History and get to work with a great group. Phew that was helpful. I also have an Algebra 1, part 2 that is my own. I wasn't sure what to expect when the kids came back to school on the 16th. I will say that after having them for 12 days, I really enjoy my US History classes. We have some awesome discussions and they ask a lot of good questions when we are taking notes. That is not to take away from my Algebra 1, part 2 class, just a difference in the two subjects and probably the time of the day I have the students.
So during the first weekend of school I decided that I was going to compete in the Pigman Olympic Distance triathlon. I was suppose to do Age Group Nationals, but between cost and the fact that I would have likely had to take the second day of school off so I could travel to them, I decided not to go. We had a group going out to compete there, I was the only one doing the Olympic Distance, everyone else was doing the half Ironman. I didn't know what to expect when we got there race day. This was the first year they had an Olympic Distance. We went off first with a time trial start (1 person every few seconds). Well, in the water they told oh you go to the buoy with the bag on it and turn right. Nice idea, except none of us can see when the sun in our faces. I had to make a slight detour, but then I got back on course. The guys went before the women, so it is always kind of nice to pass them in the water, some of course get me right back on the bike or the run, but still, I had fun. I came out of the water feeling pretty good, could kind of feel my rear end starting to hurt, but not enough that I was going to stop. I got on my bike and off I went. There was a small stretch that was a little bumpy and had railroad track, but overall, I really liked this bike course, the streets were newly paved and you could fly on there. For the most part I was in no man's land on the bike. The nice part was that it was an out and back (although I do suck at 180 turnarounds), so I could see all my buddies that were in the half Ironman beginning their journey on the bike. The only bad part about the bike was there was one hill on the way back that I just felt like I was going no where, the wind was in my face and I was relieved when I was finally up it and got to turn back into the park. As I was coming off my bike, the announcer says, this is Lisa Simon from Romeoville, she is a special education teacher and she also wants to teach yoga. I was like how they hell did he know that, oh yeah, I put that in the box when I registered. As I was in the transition area going from the bike to the run, I saw my friend, Dawn. She was there to cheer all of us on, which was so awesome of it. She told me that I was in 4th place overall female. I was like really, that is so cool. I for sure was not expecting that. Okay, now comes the part that I normally am not nervous about, but totally was that day, the run. I only had to run a 10K. So I decided I was just going to take it one mile at a time. Off I went, okay, not feeling anything here.The run was a course with a few rolling hills, but no shade. Okay fine, it was so beautiful out. This was also an out and back course, which was great because it gave me a chance to see where anyone that was female and might be in my age group was. I saw the first 3 females on my way out, they were flying. During the run I got passed by a few guys and a few girls. I passed mile 5 and I was like okay, 1.2 to go, lets see what I have left. I knew this was not going to be a day where I was going to run 7:30-7:45. I knew I had a good swim and good bike under my belt. I came in and there was Dawn telling me that I was the 6th place overall female. The announcer again announced that it was Lisa Simon from Romeoville, IL who is a special education and would like to teach yoga. Then he told me to do a sun salutation. Okay, if you say so. I am sure the photographer got a great picture of that. I ended up winning my age group, which was awesome too. Then I enjoyed the rest of the day cheering on my cool Tri Smart friends in their awesome adventure.
Monday I am planning to run the Oakbrook Half Marathon. It will be a fun day. As the beginning of the training season I would have told you that I wanted to break 1:40 in the half marathon. I am just going to go out and see what I can do, enjoy the day. Next up, do I dare say Ironman Louisville?
Friday, July 20, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
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.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
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.
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.
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