Ironman just announced a new 70.3 right here in Raleigh, NC. It sounds a bit logistically challenging with 2 transition areas, but they do this at a handful of races so I have to assume that it will run smoothly. I say assume because you all know what that means! Anyways, the swim is at the same venue as our Big Deuce and Little Uno swim races which is closer to Pittsboro than Raleigh, but the finish line is in downtown Raleigh.
Marty and I (after a very brief discussion - I'm talking like: Me - should we sign up? Marty - yeah.) are in. It's the first weekend in June of 2013, 6 years removed from my previous half iron distance race. Those of you who know me know that I enjoy the short distance races the most, but it's hard to say no to this way expensive M-Dot event. My first half iron was Duke Liver in 2004 (bombed), my second was Duke Liver in 2005 (bombed), and my last was White Lake in 2007 (nailed) - then I retired from that distance.
So I guess I'm coming out of my half iron distance hiatus. And I can finally also say I did a half ironman. Sheesh.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Lake Logan
What started out earlier this year as a weekend getaway with friends and racing, turned into me driving by myself to race in the Lake Logan sprint triathlon. Here are the results.
I really love this race and venue. It's absolutely beautiful surrounded by mountains with a lake that is always wetsuit legal. There's something about western Carolina that suits me - when I get out there I get this sense of calm and wish I didn't have to leave. Much to Marty's shagrin, I don't feel the same about the beach. I like the beach, but I guess deep down I'm a mountain girl.
Quick race report:
I knew Gail K would be racing, and even in my best shape I have never beaten her. And we all know that I'm not in my best shape now so I was hoping for 2nd. Since this is a small race, the first wave was Open and all men. The swim was only 500 meters and I got totally clobbered at the first buoy. I'm not sure I agree with most of the wave's swim strategy (take it out fast and die, and hit whoever is in your way).
I struggled on the bike, no surprise there. And just to add insult to injury I had to stop twice to fix silly things - I didn't need this added time! First, my back skewer was coming undone. Thankfully, another racer who was passing me told me as he went by. That could've ended ugly. Then I had to stop again to open my back brake pads since after I adjusted the skewer the brake was rubbing. The back wheel on the Cervelo is such a mystery to me.
I felt good on the run, but the split time indicates to me that it was short. I have been tipping the scales with more favorable runs then the other way around over the past few weeks. I'm always happier when I'm healthy and running more.
And here's your token Logan photo.
I really love this race and venue. It's absolutely beautiful surrounded by mountains with a lake that is always wetsuit legal. There's something about western Carolina that suits me - when I get out there I get this sense of calm and wish I didn't have to leave. Much to Marty's shagrin, I don't feel the same about the beach. I like the beach, but I guess deep down I'm a mountain girl.
Quick race report:
I knew Gail K would be racing, and even in my best shape I have never beaten her. And we all know that I'm not in my best shape now so I was hoping for 2nd. Since this is a small race, the first wave was Open and all men. The swim was only 500 meters and I got totally clobbered at the first buoy. I'm not sure I agree with most of the wave's swim strategy (take it out fast and die, and hit whoever is in your way).
I struggled on the bike, no surprise there. And just to add insult to injury I had to stop twice to fix silly things - I didn't need this added time! First, my back skewer was coming undone. Thankfully, another racer who was passing me told me as he went by. That could've ended ugly. Then I had to stop again to open my back brake pads since after I adjusted the skewer the brake was rubbing. The back wheel on the Cervelo is such a mystery to me.
I felt good on the run, but the split time indicates to me that it was short. I have been tipping the scales with more favorable runs then the other way around over the past few weeks. I'm always happier when I'm healthy and running more.
And here's your token Logan photo.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Back from Vacay
We had a nice time in Avon (Kinnakeet), NC last week. Marty put up a few pictures over on his blog you can check out. Logan enjoyed the pool, which was sort of the only 'activity' he can do at this point.
We took him to the beach for a short period, just to stick his feet in the water and let him feel the sand on his feet. I didn't want to actually sit him in the sand since I know that he would immediately try to eat it and then rub his eyes or something. He didn't cry, but he was definitely a little scared when the waves came up to him.
He's a lot of fun and very smiley and laughy. He's also a total ham when the camera comes out - case in point: on our way to the Natty Green's pub run last night I was trying to take a picture of his hair. Daycare had fashioned it into a fohawk and it was so cute. "Logan, look at me."
What a smile.
And you can barely even see his fohawk!
To answer a friend's question - yes, he definitely cries. I suppose I could take some pictures of him crying instead of posting all these - but believe me, he can get unhappy, too. Like when I change his diaper in the morning (seriously, you want to continue to sit in a bunch of pee and poop?) We're also going back and forth with what to do in the early morning when he'll start crying. One of us has usually jumped up to get him and feed him, but we're realizing that he's not eating a whole lot and he's probably not all that hungry. To cry it out or not - and if you do any research you'll quickly find that there are a lot of strong opinions out there and advice is all over the place. Last night he cried right around 3am but we didn't jump up and he went back to sleep until 7am after crying for less than 5min. I doubt that's always going to happen but it was nice.
I'm racing this weekend at the Lake Logan sprint triathlon. While on vacation I was able to run a bit and do 2 short swims, but overall training has been pretty half hazard the past couple of weeks so it should be interesting to see how I feel.
We took him to the beach for a short period, just to stick his feet in the water and let him feel the sand on his feet. I didn't want to actually sit him in the sand since I know that he would immediately try to eat it and then rub his eyes or something. He didn't cry, but he was definitely a little scared when the waves came up to him.
He's a lot of fun and very smiley and laughy. He's also a total ham when the camera comes out - case in point: on our way to the Natty Green's pub run last night I was trying to take a picture of his hair. Daycare had fashioned it into a fohawk and it was so cute. "Logan, look at me."
What a smile.
To answer a friend's question - yes, he definitely cries. I suppose I could take some pictures of him crying instead of posting all these - but believe me, he can get unhappy, too. Like when I change his diaper in the morning (seriously, you want to continue to sit in a bunch of pee and poop?) We're also going back and forth with what to do in the early morning when he'll start crying. One of us has usually jumped up to get him and feed him, but we're realizing that he's not eating a whole lot and he's probably not all that hungry. To cry it out or not - and if you do any research you'll quickly find that there are a lot of strong opinions out there and advice is all over the place. Last night he cried right around 3am but we didn't jump up and he went back to sleep until 7am after crying for less than 5min. I doubt that's always going to happen but it was nice.
I'm racing this weekend at the Lake Logan sprint triathlon. While on vacation I was able to run a bit and do 2 short swims, but overall training has been pretty half hazard the past couple of weeks so it should be interesting to see how I feel.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Slacker
Oh man it's been busy around here. Work is crazy busy with our yearly budget combined with usual duties and a part-time worker that is working double time to get it all done. Marty and I have done 2 swim clinics over the past 3 weeks, and the whole family went out to cheer athletes on at The Triangle Triathlon, where Logan had a perfectly timed blowout.
This weekend is the 3rd Annual Big Deuce and Little Uno open water swims (2mile and 1mile for the confused). I'm pumped about the t-shirts this year. Last year a swimmer said to me, "Aw, come on! The Big Deuce? These shirts need to be brown!" Done. See, we take feedback seriously.
We also start our summer vacation this weekend in the Outerbanks. Or OBX as it is known in the Carolina's. This will be Logan's first time at the beach.
Speaking of the little man. He is almost crawling (and has the bruised knees to prove it). For a couple of weeks he has used his arms and can go in a circle or backwards, but he hadn't quite gotten the legs together. Over the past few days he's gotten into the crawl position and started rocking back and forth, which (I'm told) means he's very close. I have mixed feelings about this as it's exciting for him to reach milestones, but I'm not looking forward to chasing him around. And our house is totally not baby proofed yet.
My sister was in town the other week and we all went to the Lonerider brewery. This kid is so freaking photogenic.
After a couple of beers for us and a giant bottle of milk for Logan, he looked like this:
Nothing was waking him up. We took a short video where Marty promised to show it to his college girlfriend and at his wedding.
And I have to clear something up, dear friends. I like both UNC and NC State. It's just my sister is a HUGE UNC fan/alum and she is doing everything possible to make sure Logan is outfitted in all UNC gear. So. If any NC State fans want to give him some red and black, feel free :) I am now going to duck and cover while Shana gets ready to ream me out. One thing we both agree - UF gear will NEVER be worn in our house!
This weekend is the 3rd Annual Big Deuce and Little Uno open water swims (2mile and 1mile for the confused). I'm pumped about the t-shirts this year. Last year a swimmer said to me, "Aw, come on! The Big Deuce? These shirts need to be brown!" Done. See, we take feedback seriously.
Speaking of the little man. He is almost crawling (and has the bruised knees to prove it). For a couple of weeks he has used his arms and can go in a circle or backwards, but he hadn't quite gotten the legs together. Over the past few days he's gotten into the crawl position and started rocking back and forth, which (I'm told) means he's very close. I have mixed feelings about this as it's exciting for him to reach milestones, but I'm not looking forward to chasing him around. And our house is totally not baby proofed yet.
My sister was in town the other week and we all went to the Lonerider brewery. This kid is so freaking photogenic.
After a couple of beers for us and a giant bottle of milk for Logan, he looked like this:
Nothing was waking him up. We took a short video where Marty promised to show it to his college girlfriend and at his wedding.
And I have to clear something up, dear friends. I like both UNC and NC State. It's just my sister is a HUGE UNC fan/alum and she is doing everything possible to make sure Logan is outfitted in all UNC gear. So. If any NC State fans want to give him some red and black, feel free :) I am now going to duck and cover while Shana gets ready to ream me out. One thing we both agree - UF gear will NEVER be worn in our house!
Friday, July 13, 2012
7 month photo shoot
We've been taking pictures of Logan with Ramses (UNC mascot) each month to track his growth. Yesterday was his 7 month birthday and he was pretty excited to get his picture taken. When he gets excited, he flaps his arms around like a maniac while smiling/laughing.
 |
| This one was the clear winner! |
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Training
This was a solid week of training for me. Probably my best week so far as far as consistency goes, and since I'm in the mood to blah blah about myself, I'll tell you how I did it with baby/job/coaching. I work during the week Monday/Tuesday/Thursday and am at home on Wednesday/Friday.
Monday: day off (I raced yesterday)
Tuesday: Track workout with the Fast Coaching kids. They whip my butt and I'm in the back, but I'm slowly making up some ground. Marty came to the track with Logan in the BOB and they ran some laps while I did the workout.
Wednesday: Morning swim with the OSB crew at the Triangle Aquatics Center (50min - Marty puts Logan in the Baby Bjorn while I swim). I was also able to sneak away for a 1.5hr bike ride with Kari (ex-blogger) and Heather (mom of 3 extraordinaire)
Thursday: 6:30am interval run at Umstead with OSB. I go straight into work afterwards since it's on the way and we have a locker room where I can get ready. Swam at Jordan Lake with OSB that evening, probably 1.5miles (babysitter for the evening).
Friday: 45min trainer ride with 8x1min hard/1min easy
Saturday: 52min trail run near our house (Marty went for his run right after me). Marty then shooed me out the door to get in another swim for the week. I balked but ended up going (only swam 1500) but felt really good.
Sunday: Marty led the OSB brick this morning and I rode the trainer once he got home for an hour. Logan napped during this time, but Marty was 'on-call'
Total hours: ~8
I could certainly tolerate more, but at this point I don't want to. I could get up earlier and take Logan to the pool with me for Masters, but I hate having to wake him up if he's sleeping in the morning. So I get my swims in when I can. Marty offered to have me do the brick workout this morning, but he also could use a ride and I wasn't so enthusiastic about it. We are good about alternating and making sure we both get in some workouts. We also get a babysitter a lot. Now that he's 6 months, he can start going to one of those drop-off daycares, but we haven't done that yet.
8 hours is nothing to a lot of even semi-serious triathletes. When I was training hard, I was more around the 10-12hr range and only got up into the 15hr weeks a couple of times - so overall I've always been a very low mileage athlete. I'm able to hold my own out on the race course because I've been doing it for so long and therefore have years of training behind me. If I count all the way back to when I did my first triathlon (1988), I've been racing/training (just triathlon) for 18 years!! I didn't do triathlons during high school or college (just ran and played basketball) - but even if you don't count my early years, I've been racing in triathlons for the past 12 years.
I have a couple of sprints left on the tentative race calendar, and the last aquathon this Wednesday morning. I also signed up for the Kiawah Half Marathon in early December, so once I'm done with triathlons (my last race will be late September), I'm going to pretty much just run. I'd like to try and get back into decent shape for that race. I've only 'raced' a half marathon once (Disney 2010) and doubt I can get close to that time based on where I am right now, but I'd like to get around 1:30 if possible.
Monday: day off (I raced yesterday)
Tuesday: Track workout with the Fast Coaching kids. They whip my butt and I'm in the back, but I'm slowly making up some ground. Marty came to the track with Logan in the BOB and they ran some laps while I did the workout.
Wednesday: Morning swim with the OSB crew at the Triangle Aquatics Center (50min - Marty puts Logan in the Baby Bjorn while I swim). I was also able to sneak away for a 1.5hr bike ride with Kari (ex-blogger) and Heather (mom of 3 extraordinaire)
Thursday: 6:30am interval run at Umstead with OSB. I go straight into work afterwards since it's on the way and we have a locker room where I can get ready. Swam at Jordan Lake with OSB that evening, probably 1.5miles (babysitter for the evening).
Friday: 45min trainer ride with 8x1min hard/1min easy
Saturday: 52min trail run near our house (Marty went for his run right after me). Marty then shooed me out the door to get in another swim for the week. I balked but ended up going (only swam 1500) but felt really good.
Sunday: Marty led the OSB brick this morning and I rode the trainer once he got home for an hour. Logan napped during this time, but Marty was 'on-call'
Total hours: ~8
I could certainly tolerate more, but at this point I don't want to. I could get up earlier and take Logan to the pool with me for Masters, but I hate having to wake him up if he's sleeping in the morning. So I get my swims in when I can. Marty offered to have me do the brick workout this morning, but he also could use a ride and I wasn't so enthusiastic about it. We are good about alternating and making sure we both get in some workouts. We also get a babysitter a lot. Now that he's 6 months, he can start going to one of those drop-off daycares, but we haven't done that yet.
8 hours is nothing to a lot of even semi-serious triathletes. When I was training hard, I was more around the 10-12hr range and only got up into the 15hr weeks a couple of times - so overall I've always been a very low mileage athlete. I'm able to hold my own out on the race course because I've been doing it for so long and therefore have years of training behind me. If I count all the way back to when I did my first triathlon (1988), I've been racing/training (just triathlon) for 18 years!! I didn't do triathlons during high school or college (just ran and played basketball) - but even if you don't count my early years, I've been racing in triathlons for the past 12 years.
I have a couple of sprints left on the tentative race calendar, and the last aquathon this Wednesday morning. I also signed up for the Kiawah Half Marathon in early December, so once I'm done with triathlons (my last race will be late September), I'm going to pretty much just run. I'd like to try and get back into decent shape for that race. I've only 'raced' a half marathon once (Disney 2010) and doubt I can get close to that time based on where I am right now, but I'd like to get around 1:30 if possible.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Olympic Trials
We've been watching a lot of the Olympic Trials that have been on tv recently and it got me thinking about how glamorous it all seems. Chasing the Olympic dream, putting it all on the line, your life on hold and BOOM - I'm an Olympian! It's awesome.
Or not.
While I wasbored at work taking a break from endless excel spreadsheets, I came across several articles that give you a glimpse into the real life of an Olympic hopeful or athlete - and it's not all that pretty. They fail to go into much of this when you're watching Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte swim against each other for billionth time.
How about these guys? This couple was trying to make the Olympics, him in the steeplechase and her in the marathon or 10,000 (neither made it unfortunately) and they were on freaking food stamps! This quote was also interesting:
"A recent foundation survey found that 80 percent of pro track and field athletes ranked in the U.S. top 10 in their event make less than $50,000 per year in sport-related income, and half make less than $15,000. Cull out marquee events like the 100 meters and the marathon, and the numbers grow even grimmer."
A book recently came out from an Olympian detailing some of the struggles she had. Dominique Moceanu, a former gymnast speaks about alleged 'abuse' from her coach. I haven't read the book but this article talks about eating issues and crazy workout schedules. I guess what most shocked me later was that I wasn't shocked. You sort of hear about this stuff all the time, particularly in certain sports like gymnastics.
And prolific swimmer (and model) Amanda Beard recently spoke out about her struggles with bulimia and depression - and she was an Olympian! It makes me wonder about all those who got close and but never made it - how many of them dealt with the pressure in similar ways.
Anyways, I just found it interesting how glitzy the tv makes it all feel, so you and me on the couch thinks it's the most awesome thing ever to train for an Olympic spot. They don't tell you the real deal of people barely scraping by and not making it, or making it and being too f'd up to even enjoy it.
I do feel for those who barely make any money, but on the other hand sometimes I see these athletes and think, oh just get a job. The irony of me being mired in work spreadsheets while simultaneously feeling sympathy and jealousy is not lost on me.
But don't get me wrong, I love watching the events, the stories, and reading about it. That's why our DVR is filled with prelims and finals of every sport that was on tv.
Go USA.
Or not.
While I was
How about these guys? This couple was trying to make the Olympics, him in the steeplechase and her in the marathon or 10,000 (neither made it unfortunately) and they were on freaking food stamps! This quote was also interesting:
"A recent foundation survey found that 80 percent of pro track and field athletes ranked in the U.S. top 10 in their event make less than $50,000 per year in sport-related income, and half make less than $15,000. Cull out marquee events like the 100 meters and the marathon, and the numbers grow even grimmer."
A book recently came out from an Olympian detailing some of the struggles she had. Dominique Moceanu, a former gymnast speaks about alleged 'abuse' from her coach. I haven't read the book but this article talks about eating issues and crazy workout schedules. I guess what most shocked me later was that I wasn't shocked. You sort of hear about this stuff all the time, particularly in certain sports like gymnastics.
And prolific swimmer (and model) Amanda Beard recently spoke out about her struggles with bulimia and depression - and she was an Olympian! It makes me wonder about all those who got close and but never made it - how many of them dealt with the pressure in similar ways.
Anyways, I just found it interesting how glitzy the tv makes it all feel, so you and me on the couch thinks it's the most awesome thing ever to train for an Olympic spot. They don't tell you the real deal of people barely scraping by and not making it, or making it and being too f'd up to even enjoy it.
I do feel for those who barely make any money, but on the other hand sometimes I see these athletes and think, oh just get a job. The irony of me being mired in work spreadsheets while simultaneously feeling sympathy and jealousy is not lost on me.
But don't get me wrong, I love watching the events, the stories, and reading about it. That's why our DVR is filled with prelims and finals of every sport that was on tv.
Go USA.
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