A time out in the action

Well not really but i hate to be the blogger that only updates when I race. I love to blog but I just get so dang busy with LIFE and since i am on the computer alot sometimes it feels like work to blog. I know some of you agree!

I recovered pretty quick from the Wizard of Oz Tri last weekend.
I was amazed how fast my energy came back but i didnt have much appetite for about 4 days. I suspect that eating cupcakes and drinking wine didnt help, but i finally feel like my legs and my brain are in sync again. Just in time for my big build to:

Finding musicians, meeting with the florist, reserving rooms, getting a Pashmina ( I dont actually totally know what that is but my sister in law said to get one since i am getting married in November and it wont be sleeveless weather post ceremony) and....yes I am in full on mode for a November 7th event. Haha. I am doing my best to make this fun, but like all good workout sometimes i get the "head down, do the work, get it done" mode on and i have to stop and breathe and remember this is fun. And it is. It is all so wonderful and I have such wonderful family and friends that are throwing parties and celebrating with me. ( After i am done with my JH prescribed workouts, of course) Today i think is the first day EVER that i missed a workout and I am outing myself on the blog LOL ( core. I can do that in a hearbeat, not a big deal) but i just got so busy with work and then some wedding stuff and of course now my blog:) Dont worry my core will get attention tommorrow. I promise.

So what IS next? I am doing a duathlon at the end of september and I am really excited about this one. Last year at IronGirl I just had NO legs on the bike and so I really just want to feel good on the bike. The run(s) are super short so that is just gonna be a hammerfest. My sister is doing it as well and i love racing with her as she kicks butt, all basted on her rowing training and her bike commute fitness!

Then i was lucky enough to get a lottery place in the TCM 10 miler. All the fun and I get to cut off 16.2 miles. Sweet. I hardly would call this a goal race as i didnt think i would get in. but i may as well show up and run hard, dont ya think? From Oct 4th on tho it is full on wedding training. More on that later of course.

I thought i would be ready to be done after Pigman. I mean never in my wildest dreams did i think i would do 2 HIM's this summer and live to tell about it, meaning it just was not possible last january. I remember emailing Jen trying to weasle my way out of one of them " I am not going to be able to do this, maybe we should skip the june HIM just aim for the AUGUST one."
You know what Jen said " DONT BE RIDICULOUS it is 6 mos away." Yes she was right.
But i am mourning the end of my swimming leg. I really got to love the LCM and the open water and even if i dont have Marit-esque fears It is a big deal to swim across a lake and be out there in the early morning when it looks like nobody could see you if you got in trouble. I worry. And I think that this summer it has been harder since our air temps have been SO COLD. The Lake's have not warmed up. And you can guess my insulation isnt great so i do get cold. Then i start to get worried and then...so everytime i swim OW and make it further than i think i can is a great day for me. And I CANNOT WAIT for MN to have a real summer next year and i can linger for hours in the water! and thanks to my swimming pals Kelly and Steve who talk me thru some swims when i start to get cold. "Ok Julia, keep going." If you ever swim with me and i swim by the buoys I am not being anti-social, just keeping moving!

Ok signing off now. I have to get back to wedding duties.
Congrats to all the racers last weekend. You inspire enough to make me think i want to go to Natz in 2010! I even have a roommate lined up! Right Kari??

Pigman Half IM Race Report

WARNING: LONG.

OR...
Julia playing the role of Dorothy, looking for the wicked witch of the west...or hallucinating that she saw the scarecrow and the tinman flying above her. Ok upwards and onwards...here we go.

As i said in my last post i had a good focus going into this race. I knew what to expect and was ready physically and emotionally, having been told by the legend and race winner Jules Hull "congratulations in signing up." I kinda swallowed hard on that one. Uh oh. She told me it was one of the most challenging races she has ever done. I dont know Jules super well, but i kinda think she is an HTFU gal so if she thinks it is hard it must be HARD. But i was ready. I was fully hoping to swim without a wetsuit, and to push the bike harder than i did at Liberty ( ie I WAS NOT GOING to slow down and smile for all the paparazzi!), and the run was just going to be a matter of having fueled well on the bike. Stick to the plan, GET IT DONE. So that was the plan.

I have worked really hard ( thanks to Jen...) on not worrying on what i cant control. Weather. Flats. Other people's races. I have pretty much let go of that, bc it is my race. and what others do or dont do ( this will show up again in the swim...just wait) is their business.

Saturday dawned and Rich and I headed down to Iowa with 2 bikes and lots of stuff, food, our new iphone toys and hopes for a fun trip south. I didnt even bring warm clothing and as we headed into Iowa even tho it was kinda overcast the humdity was thick. After the Firehouse weekend i was surprised I hadnt packed arm and leg warmers. And hot cocoa. Just MN paranoia after our non summer i guess. I DID brilliantly remember my SALSA rain slicker and some baggies. Ya never know. Forecast had been for 30-40% chance of rain sunday, but i dont get concerned till i see 60+ % chance of rain. Plus i didnt want to know.

Iowa sure is a productive state. If it wasnt a corn or soybean field it was a wind generator field. We were laughing at all the exits that had the blue highway signs EMPTY / BLANK when it said : GAS/LODGING ..............nope. So la dee dah. We got there. I hadnt been to Ia since a tennis tourney in Waterloo, and i just remember it was hot. Good. I like hot. I acclimated last week. LOL. In truth i was worried bc my training has been in sub 60 degrees. You east coast peeps laugh but northern MN has been cold and of course i had the Tri training trip to Alaska. you know the buffet glaciar training trip. So when we finally hit 90 or even high 80's w/humidity the weekend before Pigman i was a bit EXCITED but then not so when i had the most lethargic hour run ..I emailed Jen in a panic. ( RELAX) she said. I kept the faith that all those 5-6 hour days standing on a tennis court, playing and teaching werent for nothing...( other than to give me a Melanoma, I mean stay positive here right? !) So heat was my friend!

We arrived and got to the host hotel ( which, note to self, was too much for me. need to stay down the road next time) CY had so graciously called to give me the lay of the land and some tips on the drive and the course etc...it made me feel much more at ease that she, KY, JH, EH and MS were there. They make racing really fun. And i dont stress out as much when i see them. Phew. But that night i got myself in a tizzy over the weather, and i was just downright tired. Rich went out to try to find me a potato ( in addition to other stuff) and when he came back he had Wendy's potatoes and chicken and other goodies from Panera. What a sweetheart. We tried to get food at the hotel but with everyone there it wasnt fast and they didnt seem to have a baked potato. I even packed a few but no microwave. Yep I am getting better about my pre race meals but i am still not too interested in pasta and sauce the night before. Just how it is.

We hit the hay early and i didnt sleep too well. Around 2am i was awoken by ( my tossing over?) no by rain. HARDrain. I was trying not to suffer ( Rich had already put the kabbutz on my pursed pouty lip) and I thought it has to stop. Yes it does. IT will. At 4:40am it was still raining. Drat. I whined outloud for a minute or two, then sucked it up and got up and ready to go.
I suppose I may as well show up, but my first thought was "OK AT LEAST DONT CANCEL THE SWIM...please no lightening." It hadnt been storming, just HARD rain so i was hopeful.

We get there and i set up my T area. It had stopped raining but the wind was up and the clouds were not looking like they wanted to cooperate. It would rain intermittently, then downpour, then stop. I was in the porta john during a downpour and thought " ha, i dont want to leave the porta potty. OK that is sick." And got out of there.

Ta dah welcome to my wet T area. The pic below is me getting ready to do my wu run in my crocs. Seriously. It was to dang wet and my shoes were wrapped nicely in my rain slicker.


I am not sure if this is before or after the race but i am handing rich wet stuff. nice. Thanks laundry boy:) I owe you.

So my 10 minute Croc jog ( maybe that is why my shins are more sore!) then time to wetsuit up and go down to the beach. By now it has started to rain more and as i stood under the umbrella some gal in my wave ( red cap ) said to me "You cant swim under an umbrella, get down there." I was sorta just in avoidance mode. Sorry if these are not clear, it was pouring. And seriously i couldnt even see in my goggles before i started. lovely.





We were wave 4 after the elites/teams, Clydes and Athena, and then the men 35+...I happened to ask a gal with my same wetsuit to change my rip cord since i hadnt worn the suit all summer ( in HOPES it would be sunny and 80 and I could wear my new TORPEDO From Kiwami...yes yes!) but with water at 77 ( so close) and the waves and a bit of wind i was fine in the cheat suit. Gotta do it! Turns out it was a friend of Jenny from Tri camp! We chatted and talked and had a great time and nearly missed our wave. But i had to hear about her Kona prep and it was just downright relazing to talk to her. I had planned to go 1st in the wave, but ended up 3rd to the last in the TT start. This was fine actually...Here i go. chase chase chase.

I loved the swim. I actually did a great job sighting and picked off just about every red cap. Starting last was great. There was plenty of room to pass the blue caps in front of our wave and i really was quite happy with how i felt. As we started to make the first turn ( it was basically a rectangular course, but actually more of a parallelagram) the current was coming directly at us as we made the 90 deg turn right. ( Clockwise course) I felt super strong and was really just having fun other than noticing that many were cutting the corner and not *quite* swimming the full course. A pink cap pulled up next to me ( the wave behind mine) and i hopped on her feet. YES! I am drafting,, or she is blocking the current at least. At the same time i thought "I think there are little pellets hitting me, it is raining., raining HARD..i cant see ANYTHING..."
I held on to her for about 5 minutes and then lost her but oh so sweet. At the final turn again bodies cutting the corner, but as i said it is their race and maybe if i had thought i was gonna drown i would have done it too. I had a tiny error at this final turn back into shore bc I took it at 90 degrees when in reality i should have made it tighter and done about a 120 deg turn. I swam wide but got back on track and headed home. I was sad when it was over. I think it was more dread of what was to come...32:xx super considering the current and the extra swimming. YEEHAW!

oops I havent worn this in about 1.5 months how do i get that rip cord going again!?
So into T i go without much thought other than moving forward. I get to T1 and my helmet is pooled with water, but my shoes are on the bike ( ha, upside down!) so they are ok. I skip socks and know i can ride w/o them. Glasses on ( um, why?!) and off i go. I honestly dont know if it was raining or not when we started but as soon as i got going and i got out of the park it was like a wall of wind hit me. And that was just the beginning.




I swore at my helmet bc it kept lifting me off the bike ( if you have ever had this happen you know what i am talking about) but thankfully I had Rich's 303 since had i ridden the disk i think i would have been in a ditch. So off I go and well..I dont want to spend 30 min of your good blog time about the bike. Lets just say that it was the scariest/worst/hardest bike ride for me ever. I consider myself a pretty seasoned biker. And i have ridden in alot of wind. But the driving rain, the random gusts of cross wind and then the fact that the roads are crap( um sorry. MN dont ever complain about the shoulders and roads we have here, those roads were BAD) and no shoulder and open roads and more little cracks and potholes than you can imagine to catch a wheel in. I was riding sew ups and since i am light i was really thankful that when i hit a hole or a rough spot i didnt pop a tire or a wheel.

I was going 10 mph at times and pedaling as hard as i could in the big gear and going nowhere. I was not AERO for the entire first 22 miles, and finally when we hit Newhall we had about a 4 mile stretch where it was sweet riding. 30+MPH and i was spinning out. I wished i had the disk then but realized i wouldnt have made it there if i did. I kept telling myself to just ride to the turn around, and then i had to get home .Even if i stopped i had to ride home. At one point i prayed to God to "get me home safely." I then had to ask for a re-do since i didnt know if God would know i meant T2 ON MY BIKE not "Home" in the sense of his home in the sense of HEAVEN..OMG what did i just ask for??? HELP! I did tell myself to NOT CRY. And said "you can do that at the finish. If you get there. Stay in the moment. I dont like this moment. I dont want to stay here. I want to ride how I know i can. I want to be done. I want it to lightening. I want them to cancel it.No i dont. Stay in the moment. I dont like it here...." ETC.....on and on....

I have one thing to admit that i just remembered today. I remember telling Rich that i was little miss TT and i was gonna totally kill the turnaround. I do that well. I know how to come in hot but not too hot and make that tight turn.

I UNCLIPPED! I WAS SO AFRAID that if there was a gust I would go down. I put a foot down and danced around and got right back in but i had to laugh at that one.

It was really hard to stick to the nutrition plan as well. Partly bc I didnt really feel like i was riding the race i had trained for ( meaning an average speed of like 15 mph on the out part isnt really necessitating maximum fuel, so i thought) and bc i couldnt let go of the hoods was more the reason..but i did it i stuck to the plan. I thought that there was enough things i couldnt control today so i had better not be a dumb A$$ and mess up the nutrition. So every 40-45 min was gel time and as much infinit as i could get. I even tried to pee on the bike. Didnt work. And actually I didnt pee until about 1 hour after the race. Go figure. So the ride was hard and i will leave it at that. Luckily it stopped raining and the last 20 miles i played leap frog with ann moyer who i know from Rochester and we kept each other entertained by surging past one another and chatting. I did put the hammer down in the last 10 miles and likely gave my left quad/glute some issues for the run, but oh well. As i turned into the park DKT was heading in on his run. He had about 1.5 miles to go and i gave him a cheer. What a great athlete, and a quality guy.

Meet Hannah, DKT and their son Henry. DKT and Hannah have been SO helpful to me and since they live about 1 block from my parents we try to get the kids together.


So into T2 ( nearly 3 hours on that bike geesh that is annoying) i go, I got in and out of there fast. Bike racked. Socks on, shoes on, visor grab the belt and off you go. ( oh yea gels, dont mess with the plan) And off i went. I saw DKT coming in and he cheered for me as did alot of super MN peeps. I really felt that run was hard from mile 1.
It started out hard bc the legs were just kinda confused. and as the sun came out and the humidity got higher it was indeed a tough run. CY was riding around cheering and alot of racers were just out there slogging along. I once again did the "Stay here, in this moment" and for now that worked. I felt pretty good and just kept taking water and pouring it on my head and drinking a bit. I still felt like i had to pee, but obviously i didnt really. Around Mile 4 I remembered reading something that said "the Mind can do 10X more than the body wants to" and so that was 10 miles of running. The hill at the turnaround was tough...and i passed 2-3 women in my AG there. Rich rode by around mile 8 and said "see you at the finish. Smile."

And at mile 8 was when i felt like the wheels were starting to fall off. Hot, and head wind ( wind, really?) and uphill. In addition the road is crowned so depending on what side you are on you are always running with a virtual leg length discrepancy which doesnt sit well with my mind or my body. So into the gravel i went and knowing i was slower on the gravel didnt really make me want to get into the road. So be it. Slower but my hips dont hurt. Around mile 9 I started drinking that melon HEED. Another glass at mile 11. No more. That stuff isnt my fave. But i kept the gels down and was running conservatively on my HR the entire time. I felt like i could have pushed it but when i looked back i saw no women and I just really was so drained. It is pretty much uphill back into the park and my feet had obviously been wet and soggy from the rain and pouring water over my head so i felt a blister and i also had a sore right TFL/Glute med. I was just doing the baby steps up that last hill and then brought it home..

I started out running 7:30-7:45's but surely lost some of that on the last 6 miles. Finished in 1:46:xx and was thrilled with this. Once in crossed the line a nice kid took my chip off., I saw Rich and cried and nearly fell over. I think i was just so happy to be done and had chanelled that emotion away from losing it on the bike.

We hung out and i tried to pay the kids in the pop area $10 to let me stand in the ice water trash cans but their mom put an end to that. I was kidding with them and said it likely would mean i couldnt come back bc i would be banned from the race!

Turns out I won my AG with 5:23, havent really seen the official results but there was a gal ahead of me who placed top 10 ( I was 13th) and so she placed out of the AG results. I killed the swim and the run and the bike, well i was 4th in the AG. As i told Jen I was feeling bad and didnt want her to be disappointed in my bike. I mean it is what i love the most, but in truth I started riding bc it is the hardest thing for me. IT still is. I dont have Quad-Zilla's to push thru the wind. But I realized Jen would only be disappointed in me if i did something dumb like ride outside myself and get blown into a ditch:) ( and for those of you that dont know I DID drop out of a 12 mile TT this spring when there were winds like this...so a precedent had been set!)

This is WAY too long and i may have to do a post traumatic race entry, but KO is coming in and so I had better get the cupcakes ready. ( or the bootlegs)
Thanks for reading...
Will i go back? I dont know.

Focus

As I was riding today, ditching puddles and hearing thunder in the background, I was thinking about focus. My focus this summer has been to break up the bike bike bike that i have done for the last few years, and add in the swim and the run.

Thursday night I went to watch the PineTree Apple Tennis Classic, a fundraiser for Children's Cancer research, and the largest most talented mixed doubles field in the US. My partner of many many years ( about 10) was there watching as well. Funny. I kinda wanted to fly under the radar, but everyone was saying "when do you play? Are you playing?" I felt kinda sheepish when i said "Um no havent touched a racket in about..a year?" But so fun to know that this is still out there and that others have taken over in my place to carry on the great fundraiser for the kids.

So doing something different has been FUN. Not only have i felt healthier orthopedically and psychologically ( bc I am not racing every week in a TT and every weekend in a RR or Crit) but I really enjoy the racing community and the people I am meeting. Jen has kept me in line as I sometimes cant say no and try to squeeze in a team Time Trial or some other event the week before my A race. LOL. When you bike race you can pretty much do it all summer long...each week and each weekend.

But today's bike ride in the early AM on wet roads felt different. I am heading to the Pigman in IA and I really do feel ready and prepared to "GET AFTER IT." :) It may be hotter than we are used to since I have been training in ...um...69 and rain? today. Last weekend 50 and rain...Yea I am so ready for rain. But I also feel ready to accept and experience whatever the day brings me. With a new course and sleeping in a hotel comes the nerves and things i cant control.
"what if i cant get my normal pre-race meal?"
"what if i dont know the course on the bike?"
"what is this TT start format, maybe i should just start elite so i am in a group?"
"what if the Swim is cancelled bc we have bad weather? that would stink. I want to swim."
"Is it wetsuit legal?" ( I kinda hope not, I am so ready for it to NOT BE WETSUIT LEGAL!!!)

And really those things in my head are all just going to be fine. Once the gun goes off I know what i need to do, and I will do it to the best of my ability on that day. But what I am really starting to FOCUS on, despite the ease and the comfort of my 100 times, and my Watts and my Pace per mile ....is my wedding. I cant deny that I am starting to get really excited and a bit stressed as well about the upcoming nuptuals. But the focus I need for the Pigman will show up when it is needed. It has been here since Tucson Tri camp. The focus i need for the wedding and the marriage is something that wont ever be cancelled due to lightening, and one that an extra gel wont determine the outcome. ( Tho i do think that I am usually more even minded when I am not hungry, if that counts!)

So as I head to the Pigman, and a few other races this fall ( IronGirl Du ---dead legs last year. I need to redeem myself and TCM 10miler...) I have my eye on the prize.


My honey. And having a really special and fun wedding day that also is my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary. Can you say " FAMILY PARTY?"

Firehouse 50 TT and Best of Both 15K run Race report(s)

Saturday
Firehouse 50 Bike events. 50.5 Mile TT's ( team and indy) in addition to a RR and a Fantasy 50 that is 38 miles. ( not sure why this is underlining....??!)

We wake up to rain and clouds. We load up the cars and head to Grandview Wi for the starts of the 50.5 mile Firehouse 50 TT. Rich's group had 2 teams of 4, and a few of us were doing it solo.
Last year i did this solo for the first time and really enjoyed it. Well as much as you can enjoy a 50 mile Time Trial. I was excited to make a few changes in my approach ( ie WARM UP) and see if i couldnt use some of my newly acquired endurance to push a bit harder on the flatter sections.
But with the rain and wet roads i started to give up some hopes of a PR. That was ok. I just wanted to ride!
So no warmup and the usual "What to wear" filled my thoughts. Rich's teams went off around 7:20 and I was set for 8:19. So at about 8:10 it actually stopped raining for good. It may have been at 7:52 but whatever, the morning was filled with "on again, off again" downpours.
I settled on the LS skinsuit and off i went. Gloves. knee warmers. Yup. August. uh-huh.
Got to the start and was pretty relaxed but my Camelback kept sliding down my back. IT was totally annoying me and so i just decided to stay AERO until my time was announced. Meaning i was freezing hunched over my bike. But the dang bladder stayed put. We start in pairs, so i had some dude next to me that got off first and said "have a nice race..see ya" in typical testosterone form, so it was fun to match his pace up the continental divide and then finally pass him and never see him again.
So this could be a very long race report bc 50 miles solo makes you think alot. Or not at all. So here are the Cliff notes.
Race 1: First 12 miles up the continental divide to mile 5 then around Lake Namekagen and some rough curvy roads. The winds had picked up and I could feel i had no warmup. But overall ok, other than the having to get out on my hoods since staying aero across the bridges and open areas was too scary.
Race 2: Turn right on M. Phew, this is where i can make up some time. Oh, but guess not if there is a 20 MPH head wind. Lovely. And random gusts again. Oh well. Time to just be STRONG. Stick to your nutrition, even tho you have taken pressure off to PR, just follow the plan so you can practice for your next A race. A gel every 40 min and sipping on the bladder ( Infinit). This was a long section. I was passed by men and one woman right as i got into Cable and it was Marlo, looking STRONG! " go Marlo," I yelled.
Race 3: Mile 25, into Cable ( home of the Chewamequan Fat tire and the Birkie ski race... spelling?? Oh i should know this) ziggy zaggy on the roads and then onto the stretch that begins Lake Owen Drive. AKA the fun fest roller coaster. Blind fast corners. Whee! no yellow line. boo.
So you have to be careful, last year I nearly got bounced off my bike going down and up at 33 mph. This time i was careful and recalled the area and grabbed on good and sat my butt down hard. Phew. no bouncing off the seat today. I love this section. I do well with the short punchy rollers and have learned how to descend just enough to get up speed and then stand up and pump up those hills. The lovely thing is that even as my quads started to tell me that i had indeed been fighting wind and longer hills for 35 miles now, I had strength to keep punching the hills and when they evened out i had the strength to hammer on down the road. I dropped another leech who was conveniently sucking wheels as the fast guys went by, only to get dropped every 10 seconds. It was kinda humorous to watch actually. But i passed him clean after a hill and never looked back.
Race 4: Drummond and mile 42-50+ FINALLY! 63. I have a tail wind and this is just great. I am going 28-33 mph. wow. I took a gel just before the final turn and i was at 2 hours. I knew I wouldnt be under 2:22 ( 2008 time) but i also knew that I wanted to empty my legs and if i didnt have a full tank i could easily pop on the false flats ahead. So in went the gel and i was pleased i made that decision. In the past i would have just gutted it out. This finishing stretch was so much fun. Actually mile 25-on was fun! I was still passed by the eventual winner, Cam, and man she was flying. I was descending at 33mph and for me that is fast ..I think she had to be going 38 or 40 mph bc she disappeared!

I am trying to get the map in here but it is hard to read and it got cut off, but anyways..kinda as i said, 4 different races/courses.

Finish (above picture: tight 90 degree turn into the park area and onto the timing mat and i am done. 2:25:xx.
Sweet. With those conditions I will take an extra 3 minutes and I am pleased I was under 2:30!
I talk to Cam a bit then start to ride off but my left glute is wanting NOTHING to do with it.

I quickly went back to the car to change into warm clothing and got some ice for my bum. That helped a lot, and since it was so cold out and windy i really didnt want to hang around too long. But we had to watch the craziness of the RR finish. As I said, the race finishes on a 90 deg turn and there are people crowded around the turn trying to see the finish ( Um CRASHFEST). It is a too often sound to hear the ambulance sirens going during this race, and why they dont change the finish i dont know.

So honey and i watched as our friend and my teammate's BFF made the corner turn, gravel danced for a bit, then went on to win the race. Way to Go PETE! We hung out a bit longer and iw as ready to go home and warmup. In our ice bath. Hee. Seriously. We got the log -o-ice and I ran an ice bath and it was heaven. Nap time, then a fire and then dinner with our housemates at the Garmisch Inn then home to bed bc sunday was....

THE 15k RUN! woohoo!!
At this point my sore left bum was better but still tight. I slept ok, but had concerns about RACING sunday am. Elliot and chuck were going so i figured I would go, and see how i felt. I could always just run easy. And I wanted to run so why not run with others. I Did some warmup and i felt ok. My quads were a bit "stick" like but I wore some compression shorts and they kept my bum warm and i felt pretty good. My plan was...umm...hmm...just run. dont get sucked into chasing a female, but if at the end she is in sight and you have legs, go for it.

Long story short....
mile 1 6:59. Ooops, slow down.
Pick up elliot at mile 2. And we run steady on the rolling hills keeping about a 7:30 pace. I see girl #1 go and then girl #2 go and some guy says "you can see the 1st place girl, go get her" and i said to him "if she is there when i am at mile 7 I will chase, but unless she comes back to me I am sticking with the plan!" The plan became to run in Zone 3 other than the hills and just run. Dont turn this into an A race, just have fun. And help Elliot chase down high school boys who are in his AG. At mile 7 I told him he could GO whenever he wanted to, bc I was not going to sprint it in ( as if i could sprint it in for 2.3 more miles.) and off he goes. He said later that he went too hard too fast, but that was ok! He finished about 30 seconds ahead of me and ran a great race.
I had good legs, better than expected but the left ball of my foot was BURNING. It felt like i had a razorblade in there. I started wondering if i had Morton's neuroma. And then i panicked a bit. When i got done it was all i could do to stop from kicking my shoe off. nothing was there but a white patch that looked almost like frost bite.
Thinking about it i know that saturday my feet got REALLY cold riding . Carbon soles, plus cold makes me think i just killed some nerves or had frostbite minus the frost. It seems better but that was the worst 15 minutes...it felt like a hot poker.

So when we looked at the results we realized that the 3 women ahead of me in the B O B event were not listed in the run. One of them had started. I talked to her before we ran. Two of them had done the RR...and one had done the TT. Weird thing is that in Wis sport road races they time you. So these women had TIMES from a RR. Obviously FASTER than someone that had done an Indiv TT. But still i would have had to make up 6 minutes on them ( the RR ladies) and the TT lady had about 10 min on me. but she didnt show. So lucky me showed up and i never did find out what happened to the RR lady that started, but i am sure i would have made up the 6 minutes on her! I know it!

So just after the loaded all the kids into the fire engines to drive them to the start of their 2 mile race ( this weekend IS a fundraiser for the Grandview Fire department):


I got my big A$$ trophy beating the next gal by 45 minutes. I cant say my times were the fastest out there, they werent. I was 1st in my AG with a 1:10:09, and 3rd OA but the 2 girls who were 1-2 didnt ride saturday. So finally, a trophy that my nephews can be proud of. Though they seem pretty jazzed by the little medals too.
We headed back to the cabin to start the drive home. It was nice to get back to the cities where it was 80! What a great weekend with Rich's teammates, Greg and Marilyn Franzen, and all the other fun people i see up at this race. The weather was the worst it has been in my 4 years ( RR once, 4 man TT once, and 2nd year on the TT) and I look forward to more good times with the First Light team! Thanks for reading this too long RR!