HAHAHAHA! I have signed up for my next marathon!!! Gales of laughter are hiding my nerves. I signed up for the Nation’s Marathon on March 20, 2010. This will definitely give me an incentive to run throughout winter and focus on bringing my time down. My goal is to finish this one in 4 hours or less. Then the next one I’ll cut off the next 20 minutes and qualify for Boston. If all goes accordingly.
What a thrill it is to sign up for a marathon. There’s the initial hesitation – you might go to the site several times, enter your name and contact info, and then when it comes to payment, you chicken out. You might tell people that you’re thinking of it and then laugh, to try to gauge their reaction to your insane idea. Or you might secretly hide it so that you don’t have to hear THEIR laughter. Then when you actually register, there’s a flood of relief followed by imminent panic. Panic then succumbs to reason – you can do this. It’s just 26.2 miles. Then reason dies an instant death to JOY! Another marathon! HUZZAH!
Well…perhaps you were with me until the joy part.
Anyway…the main point here is that next year I will be doing multiple marathons and now I’m well on my way. I will not let cold weather or lack of training time or swollen ankles or black toenails or the swine flu or the bird flu or anything else stand in my way to Boston!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Always reaching for the next challenge
If anyone is truly an avid reader, you will notice that the top of my blog no longer reads: 2009: The Year of the Triathlon. Now it reads: Goal: Boston 2011.
Yes, my friends. I have decided that my new challenge will be to learn a new skill - how to run fast. In order to qualify for Boston, I must complete a marathon in 3:40:00. This means I have to cut off 43 minutes from my best marathon time and basically run 26.2 miles at a 9.16 pace. That's the maximum I can do in order to reach this time.
How is this going to happen? I'm not really sure yet. I know that I will have to learn how to do 7 miles in an hour consistently. I know that I will have to do speed drills. It's possible that I will have to talk to a coach. But I think this is a good challenge. I'm hoping to complete this at the Marine Corps marathon 2010, which is in general a flat, easy course with lots of cheerleaders!
In the meantime, I will need to find multiple races to run between now and then. I'm not giving myself a lot of time here - the 2011 race is less than 2 years away. This is going to take some dedicated running and I will actually have to focus on my time now - not my favorite thing to do.
Away we go!
Yes, my friends. I have decided that my new challenge will be to learn a new skill - how to run fast. In order to qualify for Boston, I must complete a marathon in 3:40:00. This means I have to cut off 43 minutes from my best marathon time and basically run 26.2 miles at a 9.16 pace. That's the maximum I can do in order to reach this time.
How is this going to happen? I'm not really sure yet. I know that I will have to learn how to do 7 miles in an hour consistently. I know that I will have to do speed drills. It's possible that I will have to talk to a coach. But I think this is a good challenge. I'm hoping to complete this at the Marine Corps marathon 2010, which is in general a flat, easy course with lots of cheerleaders!
In the meantime, I will need to find multiple races to run between now and then. I'm not giving myself a lot of time here - the 2011 race is less than 2 years away. This is going to take some dedicated running and I will actually have to focus on my time now - not my favorite thing to do.
Away we go!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Why I Love the NY Times
Why do I love the NY Times? Because they print articles like this!!
What's the moral of the story? Running is not only good for you, but human beings are MADE TO RUN! We are born for it! When God created Adam and Eve, He was like, go, move your gluteus maximus (butt) as I have made it ONLY FOR RUNNING!!!!!
Are you not inspired!? How can you not be? What a fantastic article, New York Times. I applaud you for your efforts in the fight against American Obesity.
Also...I found out today that my birthday is on WORLD RUN DAY! Was I born under a lucky star or WHAT.
Details here
(Please note my advanced use of hyperlinks in this post.)
What's the moral of the story? Running is not only good for you, but human beings are MADE TO RUN! We are born for it! When God created Adam and Eve, He was like, go, move your gluteus maximus (butt) as I have made it ONLY FOR RUNNING!!!!!
Are you not inspired!? How can you not be? What a fantastic article, New York Times. I applaud you for your efforts in the fight against American Obesity.
Also...I found out today that my birthday is on WORLD RUN DAY! Was I born under a lucky star or WHAT.
Details here
(Please note my advanced use of hyperlinks in this post.)
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
And so I run another marathon
On Sunday, October 18th, I was in San Francisco. I was surrounded by friends and family. The weather was perfect. My sneakers were set.
And I was NERVOUS.
We arrived on Friday around noon. Our hotel was the St Francis at Union Square, which was right where the race started. Nike had TAKEN OVER Union Square for the expo and I knew that I wouldn't be comfortable until I went to get my bib number. After checking into the hotel, my parents, sister and brother-in-law went with me to get the goods.
The expo was...chaotic. They didn't assign you a number based on your time and they actually were letting people pick their corrals. Bad. Idea. As much as it hurts your self-esteem to be in the lower corrals, they work for a reason. The start line is crazy enough without people running in front of you at a madly slow pace. The rest of the expo had smoothies from Safeway, manicures from JetBlue (I declined), and some samples of Kashi, Ghiradelli, and Luna moons. However...there was no where to buy GU. No where to pick up last minute supplies. I couldn't believe that a destination marathon, with people coming from all over, wouldn't have more amenities. We went to the nearby Nike store (my name was on the wall!!!) but they didn't have any either. They didn't even know what it was!!
We went on to do some touristy things in San Fran...my dad took us all out to a really nice restaurant on Friday night and we watched the sun set over Alcatraz. On Saturday, I got to see a very good friend of mine who moved out there! She and her boyfriend took my bf and me around and even took me to a sporting goods store to get my GU. RELIEF! No GU = bad racing for me.
That night, I was all nerves. I made my boyfriend turn down a fancy dinner that my dad (and the rest of my family) got invited to, and he stayed in the hotel room with me and ordered room service. Meal of choice? Spaghetti of course. Still, I felt extremely nervous, almost like it was my first race. My parents stopped by and gave me a new arm band for my ipod, which cheered me up a little. Mostly, I was just ready to run.
Sunday morning came quickly and I was up at 5am. By 6, I was dressed, ready, and waiting! I had my race day Clif bar and went over to my parents' room. they were also ready and a little nervous about finding me. We went down to meet my friend who had braved the nerves and decided to do this feat with me.
The starting line was SO disorganized. Hoards of insane women hungry for Ghiradelli and Tiffany's crowded Union Square. My friend pulled me close to the start and we awaited the starting gun. My boyfriend, who was not there, said that he heard every word of the announcer, he was so loud, and with a burst of Beyonce's "Single Ladies," we were sent forth into San Francisco.
The race, of course, is something of a blur by now. The weather was insanely perfect and the views were absolutely amazing! I was impressed by how many people were out to cheer us on. We went through several neighborhoods where people had come outside to cheer. Nike had set up some pretty cool signs along the course to remind us to have fun.
The hills were brutal. I can't lie and say they weren't. The uphill was ok, especially since I had practiced it. But the downhill was treacherous and by mile 16, I could feel it in my ankles. It was an intense pain, something I hadn't ever really felt before. I also hadn't found my family yet. I didn't find them until mile 19 - after running by the beach, the Golden Gate Park, and the piers. My parents suddenly appeared and my mom ran out to run a mile with me! She carried the sign she made for me with her and got everyone to cheer for me! That was definitely the high point of my race! :)
But at this point, my ankles in severe pain. They felt like they were grinding. Several times I felt like I was going to cry and I could only remember my mother's words, "only 6 miles to go! you're going to finish it!" as I moved forward. Each step was painful and I had to stop to try to stretch them out. Nothing helped. I passed the Ghiradelli stop and couldn't even eat the chocolate. The view stopped being so beautiful...all I wanted was to finish.
And then...I did. In a blur, I was done. I hardly remember it. I passed the firefighters, who looked dapper in their tuxedos. They handed me a Tiffany's box. I took my timing chip off my shoe and turned it in. I found my sister and her husband at the finish line, where they hugged me in spite of my stinkiness.
All I wanted to do was sit down.
Slowly, everyone found us. My parents, my boyfriend, my friend who had braved the roads to come see me. I opened my Tiffany's box to reveal an adorable necklace that says, Run like a Girl. And then my boyfriend and my mother walked with me behind everyone else as I tried to make it to my friend's car. My ankles and the arches of my feet screamed every time I put pressure down on them.
Now, a week later, they still hurt. I'm not really sure why, I think it's because of the downhills. They hurt less now, more of an ache than a grinding pain...but in general I was still pretty happy. I finish in 4 hours and 42 minutes...about 20 minutes more than the Marine Corps. With the hills, I'm happy I finished in under 5 hours! I reached the half point in just over 2 hours. This one is not a good one to try to hit Boston for!!
Yesterday was the Marine Corps here in DC...I went to watch and cheered my brains out! It is really fun to cheer, especially when you know what people need to hear. But it's also really hard to watch and not be able to participate. I wanted to be one of the runners so badly! The looks of agony, the grins at a good cheer, the limping, the bloody spots on shirts where nipple rub had gone too far....oh man, I was jealous.
Somewhere in my race on the 18th, I thought to myself, "I need a new hobby." And at the time...yeah. I thought I did. But this is really what I love to do. I really love running. And I can't wait for the next one!
And I was NERVOUS.
We arrived on Friday around noon. Our hotel was the St Francis at Union Square, which was right where the race started. Nike had TAKEN OVER Union Square for the expo and I knew that I wouldn't be comfortable until I went to get my bib number. After checking into the hotel, my parents, sister and brother-in-law went with me to get the goods.
The expo was...chaotic. They didn't assign you a number based on your time and they actually were letting people pick their corrals. Bad. Idea. As much as it hurts your self-esteem to be in the lower corrals, they work for a reason. The start line is crazy enough without people running in front of you at a madly slow pace. The rest of the expo had smoothies from Safeway, manicures from JetBlue (I declined), and some samples of Kashi, Ghiradelli, and Luna moons. However...there was no where to buy GU. No where to pick up last minute supplies. I couldn't believe that a destination marathon, with people coming from all over, wouldn't have more amenities. We went to the nearby Nike store (my name was on the wall!!!) but they didn't have any either. They didn't even know what it was!!
We went on to do some touristy things in San Fran...my dad took us all out to a really nice restaurant on Friday night and we watched the sun set over Alcatraz. On Saturday, I got to see a very good friend of mine who moved out there! She and her boyfriend took my bf and me around and even took me to a sporting goods store to get my GU. RELIEF! No GU = bad racing for me.
That night, I was all nerves. I made my boyfriend turn down a fancy dinner that my dad (and the rest of my family) got invited to, and he stayed in the hotel room with me and ordered room service. Meal of choice? Spaghetti of course. Still, I felt extremely nervous, almost like it was my first race. My parents stopped by and gave me a new arm band for my ipod, which cheered me up a little. Mostly, I was just ready to run.
Sunday morning came quickly and I was up at 5am. By 6, I was dressed, ready, and waiting! I had my race day Clif bar and went over to my parents' room. they were also ready and a little nervous about finding me. We went down to meet my friend who had braved the nerves and decided to do this feat with me.
The starting line was SO disorganized. Hoards of insane women hungry for Ghiradelli and Tiffany's crowded Union Square. My friend pulled me close to the start and we awaited the starting gun. My boyfriend, who was not there, said that he heard every word of the announcer, he was so loud, and with a burst of Beyonce's "Single Ladies," we were sent forth into San Francisco.
The race, of course, is something of a blur by now. The weather was insanely perfect and the views were absolutely amazing! I was impressed by how many people were out to cheer us on. We went through several neighborhoods where people had come outside to cheer. Nike had set up some pretty cool signs along the course to remind us to have fun.
The hills were brutal. I can't lie and say they weren't. The uphill was ok, especially since I had practiced it. But the downhill was treacherous and by mile 16, I could feel it in my ankles. It was an intense pain, something I hadn't ever really felt before. I also hadn't found my family yet. I didn't find them until mile 19 - after running by the beach, the Golden Gate Park, and the piers. My parents suddenly appeared and my mom ran out to run a mile with me! She carried the sign she made for me with her and got everyone to cheer for me! That was definitely the high point of my race! :)
But at this point, my ankles in severe pain. They felt like they were grinding. Several times I felt like I was going to cry and I could only remember my mother's words, "only 6 miles to go! you're going to finish it!" as I moved forward. Each step was painful and I had to stop to try to stretch them out. Nothing helped. I passed the Ghiradelli stop and couldn't even eat the chocolate. The view stopped being so beautiful...all I wanted was to finish.
And then...I did. In a blur, I was done. I hardly remember it. I passed the firefighters, who looked dapper in their tuxedos. They handed me a Tiffany's box. I took my timing chip off my shoe and turned it in. I found my sister and her husband at the finish line, where they hugged me in spite of my stinkiness.
All I wanted to do was sit down.
Slowly, everyone found us. My parents, my boyfriend, my friend who had braved the roads to come see me. I opened my Tiffany's box to reveal an adorable necklace that says, Run like a Girl. And then my boyfriend and my mother walked with me behind everyone else as I tried to make it to my friend's car. My ankles and the arches of my feet screamed every time I put pressure down on them.
Now, a week later, they still hurt. I'm not really sure why, I think it's because of the downhills. They hurt less now, more of an ache than a grinding pain...but in general I was still pretty happy. I finish in 4 hours and 42 minutes...about 20 minutes more than the Marine Corps. With the hills, I'm happy I finished in under 5 hours! I reached the half point in just over 2 hours. This one is not a good one to try to hit Boston for!!
Yesterday was the Marine Corps here in DC...I went to watch and cheered my brains out! It is really fun to cheer, especially when you know what people need to hear. But it's also really hard to watch and not be able to participate. I wanted to be one of the runners so badly! The looks of agony, the grins at a good cheer, the limping, the bloody spots on shirts where nipple rub had gone too far....oh man, I was jealous.
Somewhere in my race on the 18th, I thought to myself, "I need a new hobby." And at the time...yeah. I thought I did. But this is really what I love to do. I really love running. And I can't wait for the next one!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
19 days till Marathon
It seems like my triathlon was already a long time ago. If you just read my last post, you never would think that I did one. I expected it to kind of be this life changing event. And while I do think that I learned a lot from it, I think that like every "life event," the lessons are just added to the ball of knowledge that you've been accumulating since birth.
It will make a good essay in case I ever apply to grad school though.
Now, it is time for the Nike Women's Marathon! In only 19 days, I will be in lovely California! Running a marathon! To get a Tiffany's necklace! OMG I AM SO EXCITED! I'm trying not to think too much about it, since I will stress myself out if I do. Basically, I know that I can finish it. I'm aware that it will be painful and that my training for this was not as good as for the one I did last year. But I've also decided that this one is for fun.
I might already be planning for next year. I want to do one of the Big 5: Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York City. At least one. It would be fun to do all in one year, wouldn't it? Too bad I have to qualify for most of them...
It will make a good essay in case I ever apply to grad school though.
Now, it is time for the Nike Women's Marathon! In only 19 days, I will be in lovely California! Running a marathon! To get a Tiffany's necklace! OMG I AM SO EXCITED! I'm trying not to think too much about it, since I will stress myself out if I do. Basically, I know that I can finish it. I'm aware that it will be painful and that my training for this was not as good as for the one I did last year. But I've also decided that this one is for fun.
I might already be planning for next year. I want to do one of the Big 5: Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York City. At least one. It would be fun to do all in one year, wouldn't it? Too bad I have to qualify for most of them...
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
An Exciting Morning in the Yoga Studio
Last night, I was trying to figure out a workout schedule for this week. I figured I might as well log onto some of the yoga studios I’ve been to so that I could try to sign up for a morning class, since my office location has a shower on site (very important as I try not to stink on a regular basis). I logged into Flow Yoga to check out their schedule and saw there was a Pilates class at 7am…and I realized that I recognized the name of the girl teaching.
She was an instructor at GW when I was there, and I took Pilates with her my junior year. She was teaching a 7am cardio class first semester of my senior year and, being overly enthusiastic after her Pilates class, I signed up. This was spring of my junior year. Summer passed and I started my senior year of college. And realized that a 7am cardio conditioning class twice a week was maybe not exactly a typical thing to sign up for. Naturally, I skipped the first class, planning on dropping it. She remembered my name and email, and proceeded to email me and tell me that she hoped I’d be there the next class.
I never missed another one.
I was SO EXCITED to go this morning. This girl is just so energetic and cheerful without being annoying. She is one of those rare people who can push you without making you go insane. She understands that some days you’re just not on.
I arrived early and was one of the first few students in class. I was sitting there, trying to restrain myself, since I wanted to tell everyone who came in how excited I was.
This probably sounds really creepy…but it’s just amazing how someone can affect your workout. When someone is leading a class, they need to have the energy and the passion to reach out to everyone, but the intelligence and people smarts to back off when their input isn’t wanted. I’ve been to too many boring classes and had to listen to too many weird instructors.
So anyway, I’m sitting in this class, just SO EXCITED to go. It was a great class. She always has AWESOME music too. Then in the middle of the class, she came over, looked me right in the eye and said, “you were in my cardio conditioning class at GW, weren’t you!?” OMG I WAS SO EXCITED. It was like a celebrity recognized me! AND she remembered my name.
Ok, so now I’m seriously thinking about buying a big pass to Flow again. I just really like having an instructor that I could go to on a regular basis and already know. I’ve always been jealous of the people who know the instructors and NOW I AM ONE OF THEM.
She was an instructor at GW when I was there, and I took Pilates with her my junior year. She was teaching a 7am cardio class first semester of my senior year and, being overly enthusiastic after her Pilates class, I signed up. This was spring of my junior year. Summer passed and I started my senior year of college. And realized that a 7am cardio conditioning class twice a week was maybe not exactly a typical thing to sign up for. Naturally, I skipped the first class, planning on dropping it. She remembered my name and email, and proceeded to email me and tell me that she hoped I’d be there the next class.
I never missed another one.
I was SO EXCITED to go this morning. This girl is just so energetic and cheerful without being annoying. She is one of those rare people who can push you without making you go insane. She understands that some days you’re just not on.
I arrived early and was one of the first few students in class. I was sitting there, trying to restrain myself, since I wanted to tell everyone who came in how excited I was.
This probably sounds really creepy…but it’s just amazing how someone can affect your workout. When someone is leading a class, they need to have the energy and the passion to reach out to everyone, but the intelligence and people smarts to back off when their input isn’t wanted. I’ve been to too many boring classes and had to listen to too many weird instructors.
So anyway, I’m sitting in this class, just SO EXCITED to go. It was a great class. She always has AWESOME music too. Then in the middle of the class, she came over, looked me right in the eye and said, “you were in my cardio conditioning class at GW, weren’t you!?” OMG I WAS SO EXCITED. It was like a celebrity recognized me! AND she remembered my name.
Ok, so now I’m seriously thinking about buying a big pass to Flow again. I just really like having an instructor that I could go to on a regular basis and already know. I’ve always been jealous of the people who know the instructors and NOW I AM ONE OF THEM.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Triathlete
It's really hard for me to blog about this. I'm trying so hard to put the right words into this to convey how yesterday went. I've never had trouble with this before - I just write what I think.
The triathlon was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I thought it wouldn't be that bad. In some ways, I was right. My body, although sore, isn't feeling quite as punished as after the marathon. Everyone said that I was in a better mood yesterday than after the marathon. In some ways, it was less physically challenging. But in many ways, it was much, much worse.
The weekend started on Friday, with a race orientation. I felt strong during that, although I was noticing that everyone was VERY hard core. It's not like running, where people can kind of just sign up on a whim. I've noticed that most people, unlike me, do not just sign up for a triathlon on a whim. Most people are very, very dedicated to it. But I still wasn't too concerned and I left feeling confident.
On Saturday, I took my bike down to the transition area. Wow...there were a LOT of bike racks!!! I was in row 41 and there were a lot of women my age in my area. I managed to deflate my back tire and finally had to ask someone for help. Yeah...it's true. I still have trouble with my tires, haha. The girl who helped me said that last year she had talked to a girl who didn't know how to pump air into her tires and laughed...I failed to admit that I was in the same spot. Silly pride!
Later, my parents arrived in DC and we went over to my friend's house for dinner. My friend Emily and I cooked for my parents and our boyfriends and we had a really nice dinner. I was completely distracted and relaxed - I have awesome friends and family :) I felt really lucky to be able to be with them the night before the race.
Race day arrived quickly. All of the sudden it was 4:45 am and I was awake and drinking coffee. I had my bag packed and ready and at 5:30 my parents picked me up and drove me down to the transition area. I was feeling pretty hard core as I walked in with all the other athletes. I went over to my transition area and waited. I set up my transition towel with my shoes, helmet, sunglasses, race belt...a girl came over and told me that the mechanics on duty would pump air into your tires FOR YOU, so naturally I ran my bike over. He mentioned that my tires were pretty low...I said it must have lost a lot of air, haha.
I put on some body glide and put my wetsuit on to my waist. We were herded out of the transition area at 7am and into the swim pen. Even now as I write this I am becoming apprehensive! What will happen to our young heroine?
Time flew as I waited with everyone for my swim wave to be called. The elite group did the swim in under a half hour - insanity!! We watched them jealously as they came back in to their bikes. I kept telling myself that it would be me soon...but I almost didn't believe it. As we slowly lined up, my dad appeared on the sidelines! I was so happy to see him. He told me my mom was closer to the water and they both cheered me on as I approached the water.
I was high on adrenaline or SOMETHING, because I tried very hard to be excited and not nervous. But as soon as they let us jump in the water, I felt my ego deflate. I could see NOTHING as soon as my head was submerged. Nothing. Just a murky, scary mess. They told us to get ready, to GO! And we were off!
IMMEDIATELY, I started to hyperventilate. Not enough that I couldn't move but enough to make scary gasping sounds. I wasn't scared of drowning, I knew the strokes but I couldn't move. I don't really know why it was so hard. It was completely psychological. I slowly, painfully made my way forward. I won't lie to you dear readers, I barely put my head under the entire time. When I did, it made breathing that much more difficult. I knew that if I got under the Memorial Bridge, I might see my boyfriend and friends. But I was just in a complete blind panic. The bridge I knew was pretty far, so by the time I got there, I was tired and still gasping for my strength. I FINALLY found a kayak to hold onto at a buoy.
USA Triathlon official rules state that you can hold onto a kayak as long as they don't move you forward. I tried earlier to find one but couldn't find one that wouldn't take me far off the course. Honestly, if I had found one earlier, I think I would have told him to take me in. I was petrified, I'm not going to lie. Before I even got to the bridge, I just wanted them to take me out. It was only thinking about all the people who had come to see me, all the people I had bragged to, whined to, that kept me going. At the time, I was doing it for them, not for myself.
At this first kayak, he told me the next buoy, actually visible, was the halfway point. But other than that he didn't really talk much. I finally pulled myself together and with a few hail Mary's, made my way to the next buoy. There was another kayak there and I flagged him down. This guy was much more talkative. I asked him if I was more than halfway. I searched for confirmation that there was an end in site. I told him that I didn't know if I could do it. He asked me if I wanted water, then told me that I was fine. That I would finish. He told me, don't worry, you'll finish.
This man saved me. He saved me and I wish that I could thank him for it. He saved my race. The rest of the way, as I pushed forward, I just remembered that he believed in me, this stranger who I never met, believed in me. If he said I would finish, I would finish. I didn't hold onto another kayak the whole time - I just pushed forward. It wasn't easy, it never got easy. But I knew that I was going to finish.
When I saw the final turn, I knew I would continue.
An interesting side note...I read online that it's easier to just pee into your wetsuit than to find a portapotty. so I figured at the beginning of the swim that I would just do that in the water. But I was too scared the whole time to even pee!! But as I ran out of the water, I knew that I would not make it through the bike ride unless I peed. But I didn't want to stop at a port-a-potty, ESPECIALLY since I was barefoot. So I made an unfortunate decision. As I arrived at my bike, I stood there and peed into my wetsuit. Yep. I peed myself. You make interesting choices during a race like this. I have never done that in any running race, but then again, you don't wear a wetsuit in a marathon.
Then I yanked off my wetsuit and pulled on my cycling shoes. As I tried to run with my bike to the point where I could mount, I saw my friends and family all together, cheering me on! It pumped me up and I was off!
The cycling really wasn't that bad. I think I approached it too recreationally and didn't really push myself as hard as maybe I could have. But honestly, I wanted it to be a little enjoyable. But it seemed to go quickly. I realized that I was pretty far at the end of the pack. Being in one of the last swim waves and being REALLY slow in it didn't help at all. I passed a lot of people on the bike, but by this point I didn't care about time. I just wanted to finish. I saw a woman who was seriously injured at the beginning and a bunch of people who had technical problems with their bikes - flats, broken chains, one woman whose pedal had come off..I knew I was lucky.
By the end of the cycling part, I tried to run my bike in. I was pretty bow-legged. I saw my cheer group again and was cheered up! I knew that this was my time - it was the run!!! But my legs were so sore! I wasn't really anticipating it to be as bad as it was. This transition was quicker and I made it out to the run. A LOT of people were walking it. It was painful for the first few miles, then it kind of evened out. I was really excited to be in my comfort zone.
The run was pretty easy - only 6 miles. I was feeling pretty good for most of it. Near the end my mom found me and ran with me for a little bit! It's amazing how much someone can boost your spirits. Having my mom and my dad and my friends there just changed the race for me. It made it more than just about me. I was doing it for them too. I wanted to be faster so I could see them again.
At the end, there they were, cheering and high fiving me! It was the best to see them there! I got my medal and handed back my race chip and immediately went off to find them.
And now, it's over. It's done. I've done it. Several times during the race I had to remind myself that this was it! This was my race! It was what I'd been waiting for! But at the time it was just so important to focus on what I was doing. And now it's over and I'm convinced that I will never do one again. Never again will I put myself through such torture! IronMan tattoo be damned! Who needs it!?
Well...at least...that's what I say now.
But in reality, I'm proud. It was the challenge I was looking for and instead of quitting I finished. I never could have done it without everyone's support - everyone was out there with me during it in my head. But in the end, I had to buckle down and finish it with my own body, my own strength, and my own commitment.
And now it's over. There's a reason why my blog is called MarathonMennone and not TriathlonMennone. It's back to the marathons for me!
The triathlon was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I thought it wouldn't be that bad. In some ways, I was right. My body, although sore, isn't feeling quite as punished as after the marathon. Everyone said that I was in a better mood yesterday than after the marathon. In some ways, it was less physically challenging. But in many ways, it was much, much worse.
The weekend started on Friday, with a race orientation. I felt strong during that, although I was noticing that everyone was VERY hard core. It's not like running, where people can kind of just sign up on a whim. I've noticed that most people, unlike me, do not just sign up for a triathlon on a whim. Most people are very, very dedicated to it. But I still wasn't too concerned and I left feeling confident.
On Saturday, I took my bike down to the transition area. Wow...there were a LOT of bike racks!!! I was in row 41 and there were a lot of women my age in my area. I managed to deflate my back tire and finally had to ask someone for help. Yeah...it's true. I still have trouble with my tires, haha. The girl who helped me said that last year she had talked to a girl who didn't know how to pump air into her tires and laughed...I failed to admit that I was in the same spot. Silly pride!
Later, my parents arrived in DC and we went over to my friend's house for dinner. My friend Emily and I cooked for my parents and our boyfriends and we had a really nice dinner. I was completely distracted and relaxed - I have awesome friends and family :) I felt really lucky to be able to be with them the night before the race.
Race day arrived quickly. All of the sudden it was 4:45 am and I was awake and drinking coffee. I had my bag packed and ready and at 5:30 my parents picked me up and drove me down to the transition area. I was feeling pretty hard core as I walked in with all the other athletes. I went over to my transition area and waited. I set up my transition towel with my shoes, helmet, sunglasses, race belt...a girl came over and told me that the mechanics on duty would pump air into your tires FOR YOU, so naturally I ran my bike over. He mentioned that my tires were pretty low...I said it must have lost a lot of air, haha.
I put on some body glide and put my wetsuit on to my waist. We were herded out of the transition area at 7am and into the swim pen. Even now as I write this I am becoming apprehensive! What will happen to our young heroine?
Time flew as I waited with everyone for my swim wave to be called. The elite group did the swim in under a half hour - insanity!! We watched them jealously as they came back in to their bikes. I kept telling myself that it would be me soon...but I almost didn't believe it. As we slowly lined up, my dad appeared on the sidelines! I was so happy to see him. He told me my mom was closer to the water and they both cheered me on as I approached the water.
I was high on adrenaline or SOMETHING, because I tried very hard to be excited and not nervous. But as soon as they let us jump in the water, I felt my ego deflate. I could see NOTHING as soon as my head was submerged. Nothing. Just a murky, scary mess. They told us to get ready, to GO! And we were off!
IMMEDIATELY, I started to hyperventilate. Not enough that I couldn't move but enough to make scary gasping sounds. I wasn't scared of drowning, I knew the strokes but I couldn't move. I don't really know why it was so hard. It was completely psychological. I slowly, painfully made my way forward. I won't lie to you dear readers, I barely put my head under the entire time. When I did, it made breathing that much more difficult. I knew that if I got under the Memorial Bridge, I might see my boyfriend and friends. But I was just in a complete blind panic. The bridge I knew was pretty far, so by the time I got there, I was tired and still gasping for my strength. I FINALLY found a kayak to hold onto at a buoy.
USA Triathlon official rules state that you can hold onto a kayak as long as they don't move you forward. I tried earlier to find one but couldn't find one that wouldn't take me far off the course. Honestly, if I had found one earlier, I think I would have told him to take me in. I was petrified, I'm not going to lie. Before I even got to the bridge, I just wanted them to take me out. It was only thinking about all the people who had come to see me, all the people I had bragged to, whined to, that kept me going. At the time, I was doing it for them, not for myself.
At this first kayak, he told me the next buoy, actually visible, was the halfway point. But other than that he didn't really talk much. I finally pulled myself together and with a few hail Mary's, made my way to the next buoy. There was another kayak there and I flagged him down. This guy was much more talkative. I asked him if I was more than halfway. I searched for confirmation that there was an end in site. I told him that I didn't know if I could do it. He asked me if I wanted water, then told me that I was fine. That I would finish. He told me, don't worry, you'll finish.
This man saved me. He saved me and I wish that I could thank him for it. He saved my race. The rest of the way, as I pushed forward, I just remembered that he believed in me, this stranger who I never met, believed in me. If he said I would finish, I would finish. I didn't hold onto another kayak the whole time - I just pushed forward. It wasn't easy, it never got easy. But I knew that I was going to finish.
When I saw the final turn, I knew I would continue.
An interesting side note...I read online that it's easier to just pee into your wetsuit than to find a portapotty. so I figured at the beginning of the swim that I would just do that in the water. But I was too scared the whole time to even pee!! But as I ran out of the water, I knew that I would not make it through the bike ride unless I peed. But I didn't want to stop at a port-a-potty, ESPECIALLY since I was barefoot. So I made an unfortunate decision. As I arrived at my bike, I stood there and peed into my wetsuit. Yep. I peed myself. You make interesting choices during a race like this. I have never done that in any running race, but then again, you don't wear a wetsuit in a marathon.
Then I yanked off my wetsuit and pulled on my cycling shoes. As I tried to run with my bike to the point where I could mount, I saw my friends and family all together, cheering me on! It pumped me up and I was off!
The cycling really wasn't that bad. I think I approached it too recreationally and didn't really push myself as hard as maybe I could have. But honestly, I wanted it to be a little enjoyable. But it seemed to go quickly. I realized that I was pretty far at the end of the pack. Being in one of the last swim waves and being REALLY slow in it didn't help at all. I passed a lot of people on the bike, but by this point I didn't care about time. I just wanted to finish. I saw a woman who was seriously injured at the beginning and a bunch of people who had technical problems with their bikes - flats, broken chains, one woman whose pedal had come off..I knew I was lucky.
By the end of the cycling part, I tried to run my bike in. I was pretty bow-legged. I saw my cheer group again and was cheered up! I knew that this was my time - it was the run!!! But my legs were so sore! I wasn't really anticipating it to be as bad as it was. This transition was quicker and I made it out to the run. A LOT of people were walking it. It was painful for the first few miles, then it kind of evened out. I was really excited to be in my comfort zone.
The run was pretty easy - only 6 miles. I was feeling pretty good for most of it. Near the end my mom found me and ran with me for a little bit! It's amazing how much someone can boost your spirits. Having my mom and my dad and my friends there just changed the race for me. It made it more than just about me. I was doing it for them too. I wanted to be faster so I could see them again.
At the end, there they were, cheering and high fiving me! It was the best to see them there! I got my medal and handed back my race chip and immediately went off to find them.
And now, it's over. It's done. I've done it. Several times during the race I had to remind myself that this was it! This was my race! It was what I'd been waiting for! But at the time it was just so important to focus on what I was doing. And now it's over and I'm convinced that I will never do one again. Never again will I put myself through such torture! IronMan tattoo be damned! Who needs it!?
Well...at least...that's what I say now.
But in reality, I'm proud. It was the challenge I was looking for and instead of quitting I finished. I never could have done it without everyone's support - everyone was out there with me during it in my head. But in the end, I had to buckle down and finish it with my own body, my own strength, and my own commitment.
And now it's over. There's a reason why my blog is called MarathonMennone and not TriathlonMennone. It's back to the marathons for me!
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