An Unofficial 5k Win ( but at this point in my life i will take anything that feels good, official or not)

Hey so my sister got me to sign up for a 5k. Right after Rich passsed away she said "You need to do this 5k with me and my rowing friends." It was a Monster Dash so i knew i would pay too much for the race but about a month ago i was all up for planning anything that didnt involve a funeral home or lawyers. Sure. I am in.

Well a day or so before the race I see it starts at 11 am. Huh? who does a race at 11 am? I was torn bc i wanted to do the 10 miler which is a net downhill course yet truth be told ( dont be surprised) I have not been resting well nor have i been training well. I have been riding my bike an insane amount just to see Rich's friends and because it feels good and i dont really care if i am not running much or swimming 1500 yards and thinking that is an IM distance in my head. So...10 miles would be dumb. Like why waste that hamstring energy on that now?

My sister sadly got sick. She travels to India in a few days and she was smart to skip the cold weather run and the general standing around with 2500 people. Many of whom had dogs in costumes that even I would not want to wear for 1 mile, much less 3.1 miles with some hills. Granted It was around Lake Harriet but we actually got the roads which was nice, but meant a few punchy hills as opposed to the flat And boring path.

Race dayI emailed Jen that I Was going to skip it. She told me to go have fun. Hmm. Novel Idea.
so i went over there around 10, and really the bonus of an 11 am start is i had NO. EXCUSE. to have not done my PT work AND my dynamic warmups. I was ready, my hamstring has had some FIRING issues, that is about all i can say that wont change the tone of this post, but when i was warming up it was ok with the strides, etc..I did see two other girl who looked 1) about 20 years my junior and 2) Like they had alot more power than i did as they did their pick ups. I was like "whatever."

Air Horn goes off and tho i did have my Garmin i didnt look at it once. I just ran. Turns out my splits were perfect with even a negative split at the end. Mile 1 one of the above girls passes me at the mile 1 marker and then sits right in front of me and slows down. Hmm. SO i sat in for about 30 seconds then i passed her up a hill and never looked back. Some dude with an impressive jacket on ( National this and that championships) was also there but he must have been a spectator at those events. At the same time as the girl stopped in front of me, another girl BUSTED past us and i couldnt even see her that 2nd mile...until we started to come around the lake and were about 800 yards from the finish i did see her coming back to me. Hmm. Whatever. I just kept running. They were giving out candy at mile 2.5 and i thought "IF i stop i wont catch her, sorry Rich we have to keep on moving." Then i passed her about 200 Yards from the finish, she was BREATHIng WAY hard and we had to go up another hill and i knew that she was likely about 18 yo ( ok she was 25) and she may actually be able to sprint so i went up that hill and never stopped until after the finish. I really had no idea where we were and until i heard someone yell "Second woman" to her, didi know that I had actually won.

Of course this is an non chip event ( lame, why? we pay the same as the longer runners) but that is not worth lamenting. I barely saw the clock and was so gasping that i couldnt hit my Garmin till I had actually stopped. I do know a few things:

1) The Girl I passed was SO. EXCITED, to have gotten 2nd. She could not have been happier for herself or for me. When is the last time you got outsprinted in an Tri and felt that way about your competitiors? Just sayin....Ya she was not in my AG but i do think that runners seem genuinely a lot less CADDY about their placements than Triathletes. Sorry if you dont agree.

2) I would love to break 20. I did when i was a child. I think my PR is 19:15 on a flat course. If said "firing issues" were to cease i think that is a fun goal to look at. And I am darn pleased with this since my IM legs were actualy able to run and my IM engine allowed me to pass that girl just because she was there. No other reason than that.

3) I stood around, knew nobody, went home all happy knowing that not one of you can now look this up online since its not official but actually not really caring. Of course i did post it on FB and I am blogging about it so maybe i actually do care that you all know.

4) I ran with Rich. He was there with me the entire way. And while he isnt the fastest runner he sure knew how to get my head in the right place before a race. I am not doing any long distance ( well no IM) next year in 2013 unless i get lucky, but I am super excited to get some speed back. He also had some sweet kicks that he wore for surgery at the offices:

He is color blind which cracks me up that he liked these shoes and that surgery cap.

Here is Rich saying  : WE WON!!!!

YES WE DID WIN HONEY!!! 

One of the things that makes me happiest and makes me able to get thru each day is remembering Rich. So I guess you can expect my blogs to reflect that. Hope you on the East Coast are safe. 

Rich Weisbecker Memorial Ride Parts 1 and 2

Well this will be as close to a race report as you will get for me for awhile. We started out planning for a century. Each year since ...gee at least early 2000's Rich has organized a century ride ( plus!) for his friends. I have found some of the folders he kept for the FALL CENTURY CHALLENGE, with the original route and with the original screen for the bike jerseys they made. See Rich was into riding WAY before we met and married. I would like to repeat the route he did on the inaugural ride when I am better organized in 2013.

Each year the rides have been different, depending on the cast of characters and the weather. With me being in the picture for the  last 4-5 years I of course had to have a "short cut" depending on how trashed i was from some race or what i had upcoming. I think one year I had the Irongirl Du so doing 100 miles the weekend before was surely contraindicated and Rich put up wth my " I need to stop at 60" whining, and of course some other ( men) were happy to stop too!

But this year, unlike other years, we had no crashes, no broken anythings no body off the back and lost and no toes or fingers lost to frostbite. WE had hoped to do 100 saturday but the forecast was not good, and as it turns out we did the right thing, aiming for 70 on friday AM and 30 on saturday to make it a 2 day century. Well mother nature didnt rain on us on friday but met us with 27 deg temps in the city and as we rode out of the city it just dropped.

7 Hearty riders gathered well before the sun was out ( I dont have a light other than on my helmet so trust me i was going nowhere till i could see) i rode from my house and nearly bit it in the gravel getting down to the coffee shop. We set out just before 8 with a 70 miler in mind, and about 20 miles in the talk stopped and the pace picked up and it was clear we were NOT going to make it the full 70. Truth be told I knew this and made myself the " weak one " when i said " ok i am going back, you can join me or you can go on..." and nobody said a word. They all followed suit. As we got back into town it was warmer but not by much and once you lose feeling in your toes the game is sorta over till they warm up, painfully at that. So I got in about 45 miles, which in the winter i would ride but no more, and since it was winter temps i was pretty happy with that. My road bike does NOT fit me well. Its too big and when i ride "LIKE THAT" meaning HARD and pull alot it hurts my left biceps/tendon bc i have to pull too much ...sorry no PT description though you know i am dying to tell you...

We had so much fun warming up to good talk and fun memories that i was just giddy to do it all again the next day with even more people.

Cut to saturday, an hour later and 20degrees warmer we set out to ride 20-25 EASYmiles. Rich's brother and sister in law came on their touring bikes and i did NOT Want to blow them out of the parking lot so we rode pretty simply and then when they decided to go back early it was a pretty decent pace. AT one sprint sign i went for it expecting someone to come from behind, and they didnt, but itw as like a wind up toy that let go after that. I eventually got dropped off the back as did 4 of us bc there was something in the road that one of the front riders hit ( some sort of plastic lawnmower piece) and it flew up and i thought for sure that there was going to be screeching carbon in 1-2-3 seconds. But turns out they didnt even know they did it and we all swerved and slowed, and the train pulled away.

Totally Fine. But shows me that my road riding skills are a bit rusty. And that my ITband hates my road bike. BUT most importantly that I lOVE THESE people and I am so lucky to have them and their families in my life.

Here are some fun pictures of the First Light Team. And btw, the name FIRST LIGHT. Isnt based on a Christian Cycling Team tho they are all Christian.. I did ask Mike Madden who was one of the original members with Rich and he said " well one day at 5 am we were riding and we decided we needed to name ourselves. IT was dark and the sun was coming up and Rich said "how about First Light?" To which mike said "sure sounds good." ! too funny, no discussions. First Light it is!
And that is bc they ride in the dark before the sun comes up...and yes they have lights that are stronger than headlights of a car. I am going to ride with them this spring when i get Rich's light set up but for now I am happy to ride in the daylight, thank you very much!

The Saturday group, we were too  cold to take pics friday! 

THE MOOTS!!! Mike goes up hill like he is floating, so to see him on Rich's bike is so fun!

Elliot and his dad, Chuck

Team line up...Mike, Bill  ( brothers) Tony ( who's dad owns the coffee shop) Elliot and Chuck, ( son and father)

The better halves of some of those riders

So how's it going?

It's going. Sorta just trying to get thru the day's still not sure where to start.
I have been trying to get out to swim bike or run a bit. We are doing a memorial ride for Rich this coming weekend. Every year he did a Fall Century Challenge. Usually it was either 70 miles or about 110. So depends on the weather if we go 70 or 110! As I have said, any day on the bike is a good day, so what is the fuss about rolling into the finish EXACTLY at 100? I mean why worry about a missed turn or a gravel road that didnt show up on the map my ride ? :) Rich is chuckling.

It doesnt matter the distance, but i have been riding a bit more on my road bike to get my Sassy A$$ ready for that distance since my Tri bike is a bit more forgiving. Thinks Fizik Arione versus ISM saddles. Now you get it.

Not sure what next year's Tri/sporting life will bring. For now I am just winging it, and liking the freedom. FEeling like i am running with a bit more speed which is fun, despite being cold at the start of the runs. I do miss the heat.

I leave you with a great picture, it may make you weep, and for that i am sorry. But i love it. It makes me smile when not much else does.