New Year's Eve and 2010 recap

Well 2010 went out with a bang and so far, other some bike time, pancakes for brunch and windchills that made me happy to be inside for now, 2011 has been wonderful!

Last night we went to my parents house for dinner. This has become a nice tradition where we have lobster and have an early dinner and then go home to watch a movie and fall asleep in the middle of the movie. Last night didnt disappoint in the excitement for a few reasons...

1)The weather was iffy. They had forecast freezing rain but really never happened and other than scaring all the people who watch the news 24-7. The driving was fine, temps dropped and it got cold! When we woke up today windchills were -10 and temp was 2. hmm..

2)Luckily the weather held so my parents had4 live lobsters that they didnt have to try to eat alone..we cooked them up and sat down to dinner. My dad did a lovely job of draining them and cutting the claws and the tail so all we had to do was use our crackers and dig out the meat.

Somehow I was struggling to get the tail out of it's shell and when it did pop out it popped right off my plate and into a waiting mouth next to the table:

Yes Miss Ruby was planted next to the table and when that tail went airborne she did not miss a beat, and before i could even say "NO!" it was gone.

Happy 5th Birthday to Ruby! I didnt starve, and it wasnt her fault. We had a laugh, we shared the rest of the lobsters and Ruby was quite thrilled with her birthday feast. Even tho i dont think she even chewed it. And no butter:) To be honest Rich reminded me that I had let her smell the lobster and he thinks that she was ready to pounce and figured it was for her anyways:) Maybe she was right.

Then as if that was not enough i broke a glass, then while carrying it out ( the clean up) I managed to drop it again and more glass went flying. Yup. Butter fingers all night long.

To top it off I hugged my dad good night and said "Happy 2007!" WAIT?

two thousand seven sounds like.....

two thousand eleven???

And really, I had 1 drink before dinner and 1 glass of champagne...um....hello lightweight. I think i was just giddy and excited. I love ruby I love my parents I love my husband and we had a blast! ( and I do love Lobster!!!)

I have a longer post to do on 2011 and my intentions for the year. I dont do resolutions and have learned that when I "give something up," it makes want it that much more. Rules dont work for me. Goals and a path as to what I want to have happen in 2011 are far more valuable to me, and i like the idea that there can be a trend to how i live my life.

It isnt "At the end of this day, Did i fail or did i succeed?" It's more about the big picture and my overall happiness and health. It just works for me even tho, YES. I have to be reminded just like anyone else of the big picture. Like anyone I do get caught up in the little victories or the little defeats. But really that is all those are, in my opinon, my ego needing to be stroked for short term gratification. I know some people need to go cold turkey on stuff, but that never sticks for me. Seems like the right thing at the time but come 3 days i go "So why did i say i would do/not do that?"

As for 2010: Lots to be thankful for. It was a busy year. I wont be racing as much in 2011 which is ok....I trust the plan and the coach:)

Good friends and fun travels:

Pink Sox rock!

Tennis with the best and fittest dad out there:

A new team to play with, hang out with, and a great store that supports the local and national triathlon scene in so many ways. I cant wait to wear the GW colors in training and racing.

Ok that got a bit into 2011!

To Be Continued!

Happy New Year!

New Friends and Bous Video's!

Today i slept till 8:30 am. I stayed up last night till midnight. I went for a walk today, with Rich. We walked slow. We went to get coffee, we sat there and didnt leave till 11. We shared a muffin, it was all cake like. Not grainy or good for you at all. Then i came home and had some halloween candy.

This is NOT my normal MO.

I was out last night with these fun ladies:

Kortney ( 2 kids down, one heck of a nice person and a magnified Vo2 max, hmm pregnancy anyone?!) Suzie ( lovely Suzie, who has the cutest dogs and a fabulous smile ..oh and dont mess with her on the bike), Hannah ( the nicest, and best Gear West staffer/manager/friend, dog mom who is hosting the next party in her sauna..who looks very serious here but i think that is bc the host was taking like 5 minutes to take the picture), Your's truly, and Marta( who ended up with a $52 salad after the parking ticket) Blah on that.

We kept it tame, good Greek eats and one bottle of greek wine ( for 5 of us, i would say we kept it tame!) These are my fantastic teammates. I am so lucky to have friends that are also people who love multisport. But best of all is that i think we genuinely like each other even if we werent swimming biking and running too. That is what this sport has come to mean to me. Friends, people that have a life outside of the sport, and despite our odd quirky love to tear ourselves up, I have gotten to know these women more off the race course/ training course than on. Pretty cool.

It took me a while to remember that I had these: Our group pic..I am in the middle

straight down from the E in "Best"...

As for the video they are not in order, but it goes T2, Run finish, then some swim video.

I may or may not have gotten cabin video in there too. oops. My biggest fan, Rich, took these video's and as you will hear, has a very loud voice!

I have another week of no structure coming up. That is just fine as i am taking my time getting back into the swing, searching for a pool that isnt 83 roasting degrees, biking outside on my road bike while its still above 40 and easing back into runs as my posterior allows. Not sure on that one really and since the A game doesnt need to be in full swing until next spring, why rush it? ( Easier said than done as i saw runners out today on the trails and ached to be running, not walking! ) Seems i am a huge wuss walking. I can envision running miles and miles but walking seems so long and hard and boring at times.

Anyways enjoy the video!

BOUS weekend and race report!

Best of the US!

This picture was my nightmare worst case scenario for this race. Luckily the pic was AFTER the race and not in the middle of the race, so all was good. PHEW. As many of you know about 2 weeks ago I encountered a case of the " MY BUTT wants to be done" -ITIS, it was the same day as AG natz that my butt started saying " You said TODAY was our last race, what is this 2 weeks to go stuff?" Turns out the temperature change, a hard week of running and just general body wanting rest made the 2 weeks leading up to BOUS a bit of a mental and physical challenge for me.

But...I was going to go and give it the old college try. Why not? I had plenty of sleepless nights about my sore backside, and my overactive PT brain had me thinking WAY too deeply about this. Finally I had to just say " I AM NOT INJURED" over and over again and that seemed to work.

Rich and I arrived friday afternoon and got settled, we flew into San Diego bc we would spend a day in La Jolla on the backside of this journey and fly out post race. We drove up to Mission Viejo and got a good nights rest friday and saturday then started with a bang! We kept MN time bc it would prove to be helpful for a 7 am race start sunday. So we were up early friday and went to Lake Mission Viejo to swim and bike and run. Other than they wouldnt let us in the water, oh well. It is a lovely lake, and let me tell you, Mission Viejo is a lovely place if you ever get a chance to visit. I know its a big swimming town, and this lake is owned by the community who pays to maintain it. Super nice. So instead i just biked and ran, and well...the run didnt go so well. Ok. Dont cry. 9 minutes of running and my butt was not happy.

Here is Rich showing me how to cross the finish line:)

Sigh. I did meet Seeley and we talked a bit and then Rich and i headed back to the hotel for another breakfast. Rich was killing me! I had been trying so hard to eat really well, and he goes and buys carrot cake whoopie pies! Oh and Red wine cube juice boxes! ( not for breakfast!)

We had a busy day planned with packet pick up, a race meeting with a Tri coach from the area. She was SOOO enthusiastic but she kinda stressed me out bc she was SOOOOO enthusiastic. I think she must have been a 1st grade teacher or a drama major. Or just really really hyper:) Anyways we headed out to drive the course and boy was i glad i did. It was hilly but LONG hills, the kinds i love:) And i knew i would need to use the small ring a few times. But what a descent it would be when we got to go down into the canyon.

We made it back to the 2pm Bous meeting where Jerry and Trudy introduced alot of the athletes, we "meeted and greeted" ( bad grammer, but you get the idea) and got our numbers and our wine:) hee hee.

What a great race goodie. It's a local label called Wyland with wildlife on the label. Yum!

The only sorta stressful thing ( other than the tri coach lady who was doing cartwheels and talking REALLY loud) was getting T2 set up the day before. I have had separate T areas before, like at KS, but i have never had to leave my run shoes outside all night. So i wrapped them up in a baggie with my visor and my nutrition and we left those at T2. I was lucky that i thought ahead bc many people race morning were without warm up shoes since they didnt have two pairs of run shoes.

I slept ok, not great, but ok and got up around 3:45 am ( PT) The lake opened at 5 am and the parking was going to be tight so we figured we would get a spot right at 5 and then take our time getting into Transition. That worked like a charm. It was so helpful to have Rich help with my bike, carry some stuff and just calm me down a bit pre-race. I tell ya, those headlamps are pretty cool but i dont know if people who are wearing them know HOW BRIGHT they are in your face when they turn to ask you a question! Whoa, blinding.

I warmed up a tiny bit in the parking lot with my special pair of shoes:) I did laps up and down and actually felt OK! WOW. Dont jinx it, just go with it. I have to admit that i did start taking celebrex (bid) the day before ( for my period, which thank you very little arrived race day too! Alright, this is gonna be a sufferfest for real!) And then figured i didnt need to win the warm up and stopped.

Marit was arriving and i found her right before i got into the water to warm up! Pink socks and all I cant say how fun and special it was to see her, and for Rich to have a veteran Triathlete to spectate with all morning. Most the race day pics are from Marit, who truly knows how to capture a moment on film. And who knows how to say just the right thing to make me feel like a champion:) more on that later.

Ok did you want to read about the race?:) you know some of that is a blur but here goes:

SWIM: The water was about 74 and perfect. I was not hot or cold in my wetsuit and was glad to have it on for the added protection it gave me from the arms and feet smacking me around. I Did start up front, or close to it, so maybe it was my fault that i got kicked around a bit.

I cant say i had the best swim. I got my goggles knocked off/ or at least the left goggle got wedged off my eye in the first 200 YArds from an errant foot. I was going to stop but it was chaos and i realized i could still see out of the Right goggle and so i soldiered on. I was VERY trusting of the women next to me, bc i could not sight a dang thing. There was one buoy about 800 Yards out and a lifeguard boat with a flashing light in btween that first buoy ( where we would turn right and i would get kicked again) and the 2nd buoy where we would turn back intowards shore. So i just kept that red light to my right and prayed i would suddenly see a big yelow buoy. Horray there it was! I turned right and SMACK, i got kicked again. Oh well.

One more turn and i was able to catch up to a few people but now the sun was right at us and again, I prayed i was headed in the close vicinity for the boat ramp. It wasnt a straight shot back, it kinda veered to the left and i just kept the shoreline parallel to my swim and then veered left at the final buoy and seemed to find the boat ramp. Phew. I made it in!

I ran up the ramp and headed to my bike!

Bike:

I debated shoes in or shoes out. I just have tried to be consistent and they stayed in, despite a real uphill T area and start. I started in the small ring so i thought that would be adequate.

All was fine till i was getting my Right foot in and UGH, AGAIN. my shoe liner bunched up. I nearly had to come to a a full stop, but i just pushed my feet in so hard that the liner bunched in the toe area and i said " Ok i can ride 24 miles like this. it will be fine" and off i went.

I do need to figure that out bc its the 2nd time i have had to come to a nearly complete stop bc the liner slides when i put a wet foot in.

Somehow out of nowhere i pulled my next Bike 101 error, I pulled a Schleck. I really cant tell you what i did, but yup, my chain was off. I tried to back pedal to get it to catch but it was too far off so i did have to stop. And that just added another UGH to the early ride. I Was happy with how easily i just let those both go. I kinda forgot about them until i saw another gal drop her chain on a major climb and it made me feel a bit better.

The ride was so fun. It was alot of climbing, and as it was about 7:30 am you would go thru these hot and cold pockets as you climbed up Santiago Canyon. When we dropped down into the canyon it was alot hotter and the roads were so fun to ride. I am not sure if it was my Coffee Powergel or that i was having so much fun but i felt like i was flying! I knew we had to climb back out of the canyon and that was going to be hard, but then i knew we had a great descent to look forward to. The bike went by super fast and i played cat and mouse with a few gals and that kept me honest and made me work hard. Coming into T2 we had to get on a bike path the last 2 miles. That was super fun and tho i was a bit cautious ( one of the things the hyper Tri lady told us was that we would have to SLOW DOWN to get on the path, and it was no passing on the path) well the path became as wide as a road so there was plenty of passing room but since it was dark, and the shade made the road hard to see i just rode fast ( at times 30 mph!) but safely behind a few gals. All the sudden they are yelling dismount line! What?? I did nearly throw myself from my bike but i got it together in time to do this:

My ride was good ( despite the early mishaps) but this was the sweetest dismount ever:)

Now to be honest I didnt even know who that girl was but she bolted past me in the first mile and i think she ended up like 6th. But it was sweet while it lasted ! I got my stuff out of the bag, and didnt fumble too much and i was off on the run. My mantra was " I am not injured" and i planned to focus on anything that did not hurt. So for mile 1 I was thinking " LEFT ARCH LEFT ARCH!" you see i spend alot of time working on my foot strike and NOT falling out to the outside of my feet. I tend to oversupinate ( spend more time on the outside of my feet) and that can lead to peroneal issues and of course the big bad ITBS. So left arch it was. The first few miles are downhill, gradually down hill, and on the same path we were biking in on. I passed a gal right away and then just kept chasing. The Hammer gal who i passed in the dismount area was not impressed with me and had left me in the dust:)

They had said there would be water stops "about" every mile, but that was rough so as i was starting to get tired i just sorta zoned out and had no idea where i was on teh course or what my pace was. I never race with anything, HR or clock, i just have to GO HARD. The first of the hills came about mile 3, i think. Up up up a woodchip path and i thought it was hard but not too bad. I passed another gal and we exchanged " goood jobs" And i thought..."HMm, they said the hill was at mile 4, we arenot at mile 4..." knowing deep down i wished we were. Then all the sudden i see it. a sharp left turn up Vista Del Lago. That sucker went on and on and on and it was not a gradual hill. I thought about staying up tall bc i felt like my 5 foot 9 stature had shrunk to at least 5 foot 4, i felt so hunched over. Lots of volunteers greeted me at what felt like the top of the world ( i guess it was about 500 yards long?) and said "That is it, no more hills! "

Um not really.

Of course every little incline felt like a hill after that:) I knew there was a gal behind me, i coul hear her and i had a gal in front. I just could not close the gap on the path bc it was weaving andup and down. But i sure tried. When we turned onto the final mile they take you past the finish area, down about 200 Yards then back up to the turn into the Lake MV park. I Tell ya I HATE seeing who is behind me on those out and back! IT's funny how the people i see in front look liek they are going SO Fast, but when i turn around i see the people chasing me and i think " WOW they are going fast I am gonna get caught!" So i tell ya, it was ZONE 5 from that point on. I didnt want to look back bc i didnt want to know and its a waste of energy to do that. CAtch me if you can was my thought, and i just picked it up as hard as i could.

Not until I turned into the park, and the slight downhill towards the lake did i glance and see nobody. But i still was gonna get this done ASAP.

IF you want a glimpse into the pain locker here it is:

My lovely hubby was there to greet me, and i still look a little bit wasted.

I was really really happy with the run, the race and how my butt held up! I would be lying if i didnt say that even tho i went into this race with a slight mental hurdle of the sore butt, i was still going for top 10. I knew i was close. And when i found out I was 11th by about 20-30 sec's I was heartbroken. I wanted nothing more than to podium for our state, for Jerry and Trudy, and for me new Gear West Bike and Tri team. I told Marit that i was bummed. I felt like it was so close, and then i realized that I had all the sudden gotten SO GREEDY. 3 hours earlier, or even 43 minutes earlier ( before the 10k) I was not sureI could even run!) and all the sudden i am pouty lipped ( not really) at finishing 11th? When i looked at Marit i felt selfish, and i quickly apologized. My good friend has been faced with more challenges than any young person should have to, and I am thinking....boohoo I didnt podium??! Julia, pull your head out.

Thankfully Marit ( as i said, she knows what to say!) said " Julia you are a great athlete, you set goals and you extend yourself beyond your limits to try to reach them, its normal to be disappointed, but that doesnt mean you didnt have the race of your life."

And how well said, that sure made me feel happy and proud of myself, proud of Marit and so grateful that my butt let me do one more race!

It didnt hurt that Jerry came up to me and said our MN team had gotten 3rd! Woohoo! And that was quite a treat as well.

Me and the fastie Matt Payne, who got 3rd OA! What a nice guy, It was great to meet Matt and his wife! They headed to San Diego and Sea World after the race.

and a few more images from Marit:

This is a great picture that i am thrilled to end the race season with. I gave it all I could and I am so thankful for the chance to go race with the best in 2011.

Thanks again to Jerry and Trudy. You seriously know how to make us feel special and i applaud your quest to give back to the amateurs that are racing day in and day out for the love of the sport. Many thanks to my husband of course, my coach who led me to the pain locker but never closed the door on me, she let me do that myself, and to all the super fun friends on blogland, fb land and in real time that are so supportive of me and this amazing sport! I am super excited, as i said, to be joining a new team for 2011 and racing and laughing with the Gear West Tri Team.

We already have our first race this coming weekend. The Beer Mile. I am not sure i can race but i will do my best to sherpa for anyone that needs me:)

More on the recovery later!

But it started that night with dinner in La Jolla at Piatti with Marit:)

A Two-Fer post

Part 1, an email my mom sent me: remember my parents are in their 80's so i listen to their advice:

Q: Doctor, I've

heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this

true?
A: Your heart

only good for so many beats, and that it... Don't waste on exercise.

Everything wear out eventually. Speeding up heart not make you

live longer; it like saying you extend life of car by driving faster.

Want to live longer? Take nap.

Q: Should I

reduce my alcohol intake?
A:

No, not at all. Wine made from fruit. Brandy is distilled

wine, that mean they take water out of fruity bit so you get even more of

goodness that way. Beer also made of grain. Bottom

up!

Q: How

can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you

have body and you have fat, your ratio one to one. If you have two

bodies, your ratio two to one, etc.

Q: What

are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise

program?
A: Can't think

of single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No pain...good!

Q: Aren't

fried foods bad for you?
A:

YOU NOT LISTENING! Food are fried these day in vegetable oil.

In fact, they permeated by it. How could getting

more vegetable be bad for you?!?

Q:

Will

sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the

middle?
A: Definitely

not! When you exercise muscle, it get bigger. You should only be

doing sit-up if you want bigger stomach.

Q: Is

chocolate bad for me?
A: Are

you crazy ?!? HEL-LO-O!! Cocoa bean! Another vegetable!

It best feel-good food around!

Q: Is

swimming good for your figure?
A: If

swimming good for your figure, explain whale to me..

Q: Is

getting in shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey!

'Round' is shape!
Well... I hope

this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and

diets.

And remember:
Life should NOT

be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an

attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways -

Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up,

totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO, what a ride!!"

AND.....

For those of you

who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health.

It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional

studies.

1. The

Japanese eat very little fat and suffer

fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of

fat and suffer

fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little

red wine and suffer

fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red

wine and suffer

fewer heart attacks than Americans.

5. The Germans drink a lot

of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than

Americans.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink

what you like. Speaking English

is apparently what kills you.

So what do you think i do when i read this?

Believe it?

Decide to start speaking French?

Nope.

I signed up for Ironman Wisconsin, 2011. But i am not speaking English on 9/11/11. Ok?

Ironman and Active.com have a few things to learn about how to best process 1000 hits in 1 second, but other than that stress, and feeling like i had the same nervous stomach pre sign up as i do pre race I felt ready. I knew that after the site went online it was out of my hands and if i didnt get in, well that was meant to be. But finally on wednesday i got in. And thursday I woke up with a hangover( not a real hangover) and a "WHAT DID I DO?" And a groan. Then again i think that was bc coach had assigned a challenging trainer wko for the day AFTER the sign up and i was not recovered enough and was scared of it. I think coaching protocol should change so that the day after sign up you get a recovery day. Just sayin'....Hear that coachie poo?

But in all seriousness, i mean this is a serious topic. NOT.

I know if i trust her, I will get to the finish line. End of story. There is plenty of time to think about wheels ( do i ride sewups, can i change a sewup,) and technology ( i dont have a Garmin, do i need a Garmin?) and all the other one million and three questions i have for all of you.

So I cant possibly post all the thoughts that have gone thru my head but the bottom line of signing up for an Ironman is that in my heart of hearts I know i can do it. I am excited to train and i am excited to expreience the highs and lows that day will bring. I have already started apologizing to my family. My family gets it, I am not sure if my inlaws will but here is what my mom and dad said:

Mom "As long as you can come to the family reunion in Iowa in August that is fine. You can bike down to Iowa, get there in time for the ice cream social."

Dad " Is that the thing your sister did in Hawaii?"

* here is studly sister last year in Galveston....as she reminds me " i did IM / Kona BEFORE GELS were invented." And actually that is pretty cool, i think!

Me " Yes dad but i only have to go to Wisconsin."

Dad " Oh that sounds better."

When i asked Rich to remind me that i can do it, ( meaning when i am crying on a 100 mile ride and whineing next summer) he said "You can do it." NO I dont need you to " ecoutez et repetez" now i mean when it counts! I know i can do it NOW, but when i need you is later, like in March when i have to ride 100 miles on my road bike. To which Rich says " Ok, but can we stress about some other stuff first?"

Ha, how well he knows me.

And you see, I am familiar with this position after long rides. I am READY!

5 x 5k relay tommorrow with some fun Gear West Bike and Tri teammates. I have to take photos and will hope its above 50. We have had an abrupt start to fall. Not at all what i want right now. Other than our pool is 59 degrees. Free ice baths, if you live local, come on over!

Gear West Duathlon Race Report

Before I get to the race report and the pre-race report, which as you recall usually has more anxiety and self talk than the actual race...I wanted to post a picture of what i really really love about multisport events:

Yup the FINISH LINE. And the random kid who appears to like the TWINS and IM.

No, really, the hanging out with gals (and guys) post race. I cant say I know these gals really well, and even tho we are FB friends, when you get in a race with people, sometimes it can get AWK-WARD! I entered T2 with three of these four ladies and exited with one of them hot on our heels as Jen L is a speedy fantastic runner. We all finished within 1-2 minutes of each other. And to have that comraderie and maturity to know we all pushed each other on the course, the entire way, is pretty darn cool. Ok now onto the pre-race and race.

Pre-Race:

I am not a fan of sunday races. I usually work a shorter day friday and with weekends at a premium I want to get it going. Plus then you have sunday to recover or train if you are not too beat up. Saturday was a tired day for me. We babysat the night before for my nephews which was a hoot. Spiderman 3, pizza, trampoline time, the mandatory tears when Joe whacked his head on tramp ( Rich said "so you guys just smash each other until someone gets hurt? To which the boys said "Yup.") this time the older one took defeat in stride. And the late night took a toll on me. We go to bed by 10 at the latest and we didnt get home till midnight! But it was all fun and I am glad we did it.

Saturday I did my little tune up and then napped, tried to pretend i was GRRRRRRRRR...but realized we had a birthday party to go to that night for my dear 83 yo aunt. She is usually an early bird but the party didnt start till 7pm! Usually I am done eating my pre-race meal by 7! So i tried to just eat really well all day long knowing i couldnt and didnt want a big restaurant meal in my belly 10 hours before race time! We had a lovely time with cousins and family and I dis-obeyed the "dont try anything new on race day" motto by having Seared Marlin and Quinoa for dinner. The place we ate has the best best best baked garlic and casear salads but ...um...can you say HEARTBURN! So i was a good girl and ate bland, but even so i was a bit unsure how the raw-ish fish would do. Turns out it was GREAT!!! Got home had lights out at 10pm and slept sorta ok till 5am wake up.

Race Day!

Got up and had the pre-race brekkie and headed out by 5:45 to the race site. When i got there around 6:25 I saw that the entire front rack was taken. So much for Transition opening at 6:30:) No worries, I found a good spot that i knew i couldnt miss, right near the car.

Huh?

You may have seen this on Speedo's blog but my bike is just to the right of the hood and my pink IronGirl Knapsack is on the hood. I knew where my bike was, that is for sure!

I racked my bike, did my usual panic talk of " OMG so and so doesnt have her disc, she usually does, maybe its super windy, maybe its windier than it feels, maybe i should not ride my disc..." but then shut myself up and refocused on getting the lay of the land and then went to warm up with Jen L, another one of JPH's athletes. She said to me " By chance do you have a warmup of 20 minutes and 4 strides?" I said, "No, I have warmup REALLY WELL. Like you are doing a 10k. But maybe we can work something out." We laughed and headed out to warm up. It was really fun to talk each others nerves down, talk about how TOUGH the field was, and then talk about our upcoming seasons. Jen L is doing IM KY, and when she asked what my wko was today ( monday ) and i said "recovery swim," I felt like a wuss when she said " 100 mile bike! "

Heck its 94 out right now. I am glad she told me she talked JPH down to 3 hours in the saddle and the NikelBack ( spelling?) concert:) Nice coachs do that for their athletes. Anyways it made me say "Crap, I am glad i am not doing an IM!" Ha, I say that but you know i am thinking about it:)

Anyways..see this is far more interesting than OUCH. Which was my FB update post race.

So....we go line up and we are set to go 3 minutes after the elite men. I look around and think that there is nowhere to hide now. Last year we were with the elite men, so we could kinda hide from other women. This year I was right up there with Julie H, CY, Jenny Wilcox, Cathy Lee, Marlo, Suzy Finger, Jen L, Marta, Jan Guenther, etc...lots of fasties...Gulp, all these people that are super fast. I just then remembered i had my name on my butt. Ok Girl, time to put up or shut up. ( or take your name off your butt) I wasnt intimidated but i knew i had some work to do and I was ready to give it a try. The gun went off and ....

We are off. I am in my super awesome Kiwami suit on the far right. Woohoo, knee lift:)

CY the eventual champion of this race ( and a super champion person too, for that matter) is out in front in her Gear West colors.

We run on the road for the 1st 1k, and then its 4k of loopy in and out trails, grassy fields, a wooden bridge, ups and downs and some very uneven footing. A few times you come in and out of the grassy trails you actually take a 180 degree turn and can then see who is behind you. That is a good motivator to keep on truckin! The final part of the last 4k is a steep uphill. It isnt super long, maybe 50 feet? I dont know, but you have in your head POWER UP THE HILL, but i know for me it is a "small chain ring" climb, meaning i take small steps, pump my arms and when iget to the top i can get right back into that big ring and power on the flat.

Ok bike talk but that works for me. So i am running about 10 gals back the entire time, passed a few in the last 2k but am right on Jan Gunther the entire way into T1.

Jan is 51 years young and my idol. She is a champion skier, winner of the Birkie, and is just a fantastic athlete. I couldnt tell you her times at races, but she has placed high at IM Moo, and is just a great athlete. She owns the ski side of Gear West and does a lot for women in all arena's of sports, winter and summer! Anyways...I knew my chances at masters champion were null with her in the field...

So I got into T1, and ran to my car.

I had a few seconds of getting my shoes caught but i put that helmet on FAST and off i went in my socks.

BTW I am totally stealing Stenzel's pictures, thanks Steve. But even tho i did walk a bit...

I had to walk and steer my bike by the handle bars not the seat to get thru my car passage. Not sure that was a good rack spot or not.

So T 1 was 50 some seconds. Helps to have no wetsuit, eh? And that was a great improvement from last year. Got into my shoes ok, and was quickly passed by and never saw again the phenomenal Julie Hull. Dang she is fast. She is right behind me in T in this picture and i think it was the last i saw of her!

Ride 28 K. I started out thinking "OK so i didnt hold back on that run. Now what does that mean for the bike..." The wind was not too bad. It was 12-14 MPH from the South so we had more of a cross wind on our rectangular course than a head or tail wind. I did what i wanted to do and that was RIDE HARD. I was trusting JH that i was trained well enough to not hold back on the ride and still run off the bike. Even tho some people think i am this uber biker...well...I still struggle with the bike. IT is hard for me. It is hard for me to suffer on the bike.

Bike racing is all about suffering to stay in the break, or to close a gap, or to block ( La dee dah) while your teammate is in the break. IT involves suffering but it you get to drop back, hang out, and yes you have to be alert otherwise you will get dropped if you are not on the team with the most in the pack or you are dumb, but overall, you get to suck alot of wheel.

So as I am riding knowing this isnt THAT long, its about 18+ miles...I know i have to really just LET IT RIP. I dont wear a HR monitor and i do have a computer with my speed. The course is rolling and there are no major climbs but there are a few longer medium grade climbs that make you really work. I think other than one time where i really had to cry MOTHER i kept it pretty high and was able to power over the apex and down the the other side. MY disc is just so sweet and I do feel it helps me go faster downhill, which is NOT my strength. Some disc's weigh a bit more but this is a Zipp Sub 9, supposedly it gives you a free 9 watts! Anyways I love mine and feel really fortunate to have one.

I did get passed by a few women. And was leap frogging with 2 of them, Marta and Tara. We were honest and encouraging each other, and there was no drafting. But it was good to have the finish come so quickly, and i let them go ahead by about 20 feet so i could get my feet out and get ready to hop off. I knew i had beaten my 2009 time by over 3 minutes and with that I was so happy. I knew the race was a success no matter what my finish place was. But to see if i had legs...hmm...4k on trails....to come!

So I was super lucky on the dismount! Tara stopped left. Marta stopped right.

I rode right thru them, moving dismount, and into T2! That was fun.

The announcer said "well this will be interesting. We have 4 women all into T2 together. They will be working each other over on that run course." And that was the truth.

Tracie ( another phenomenel rider) passed us about 1 mile from the finish and Sarah had also decidingly passed me about 3 miles out. I hadnt really thought about it, but knew how hard i had worked to get a 21.4 mph average and saw afterwards that these ladies had ridden upwards of 22.5 mph. That is fantastic. I never really thought...OH i have to run them down. I just ran.

I passed Marta and Tracie pretty quick, within the first 1/2 mile. I saw Sarah ( who has the cutest baby, btw) ahead and ran behind her for about 1/2mile. I felt kinda bad bc I was being Darth Vader behind her. So i ran along side her when i could and said " Ok sorry to be breathing on your back." At one point we had to duck back into the woods so i just hopped ahead of her. And then...I guess I hopped ahead of her enough that i had a gap.

TThis picture is from Christine Wood photography. Christine is the wife of Curt Wood,who is a talented athlete and employee of Gear West. They are new parents as well! Thanks for the pictures Curt and Christine! I think this is while i am still chasing Sarah. oops I just realize this is run 1. bc i have no visor on. I am too lazy to move it:)

As we weave in and out of the wooded area as i said you can see people ahead of you. And I do see another woman ahead. It is the very talented and strong Suzie Finger. I dont know Susie but i know she was the rookie of the year, she is alot younger than i am, and i know she likes to Juice and eat Raw stuff:) She had a great season last year and I know she will continue to get even stronger. So as i ran the first 5k with Jan, my masters idol, It was time to finish the run with a Rookie idol! I could tell Suzie was struggling, and as i came upon her on a little incline before that Mac-Daddy hill i passed her and said "come on girl, you can do this." Now maybe i should have shut my trap. But there is always that part of me that wants to encourage and not just pass. Even tho we are so NOT in the same AG. It just felt right. I mumbled it maybe, but all the sudden her fan base was camped on the hill and i heard " get her Suzie, you can catch her!" and i thought "ruh-roh, I gave her some power." I knew Sarah was back there too. And Jen L, I knew she was making up minutes, not seconds, on us.

So as i did my small chain ring climb I had a few thoughts in my head:

1) You are almost done. You can do this.

2) You had better kick some tail into that final sprint bc if you are sprinting a super talented athlete that is 20 years your junior, you are going to pull a hammie!

3) It's a track. GO.

And So i went. I didnt wait at the top of that hill i just put my hips forward, too funny that i thought of that, and i pumped my arms and recalled running my last 800 on tuesday sub 3 and knew i had it in me. I did what i could and you know what. I didnt hear anyone behind me.

I glanced back with 25 yards to go and didnt see anyone and came in to the finish.

( Stenzel pic, thanks Speedo)

YYYYYYup those are pink flamingoes lining the run course.

OK. In hindsight i do remember being confused by them as you run on the track then off the track onto the grass again before the timing mats and i was like " do i run inside of them? outside of them?" What are they doing there? I dont remember them from run 1.

I talked to the gals at the finish ( first pic) and my honey was there waiting as well. He rode out from home, saw a few friends and hung out a bit then rode back home. A great riding day for him as well, even tho he covered about 50+more miles than me! He is recovering so well, so positive and so strong to come back from such a devastating diagnosis. You cant see em but i wore my pink CANCER SUCKS socks. I need a new pair, this pair has gotten too much wear lately:(

Final notes:

I ended up narrowly winning the 40-44AG. Turns out Sarah is in my AG! As i said i was super pleased dropping time off my bike, and my runs were a bit slower, but who knows, not alot and maybe the sloppiness ( we had some rain saturday) made it slower. I dunno. I dont race with a HRM so I cant tellya any bodily stats other than it was hard.

I missed the money by 2 spots, but I was 2nd master to Jan and 7th OA in a field of really talented and supportive women. Any of the women placing 8-12th could have been up there on another day.

Oh and the mocha Ultragen. AWESOME. I drank that right down and wanted more:) I feel pretty good today, I am really not sore, surprisingly, after the race I didnt knot up and get a super sore butt like i often do riding hard in Aero. Yes there were cupcakes, and there was good post race food and then i came home after the awards toRich working in the yard. He was super covered in grass and well, I loved the pic, he didnt:) end of story:)

This is what i came home to:

My super survivor hubby who will do his first Tri at Minneman!

Thanks again to everyone that raced and encouraged me during the race, and those that cheered and a special thanks to Gear West! Of course thanks to my honey:) Always cheering me on and helping me with my training, Hannah, DKT, Curt, Trent, Jan, Kevin ( who was out riding with the pros at the TOC TT! I never heard if he beat Chrissie, but what a chance of a lifetime!)

Jules Mac and Brian, Erik, Katie, It really was so fun to see everyone!

Gear West puts on a first class event and as much as i think i should do hill repeats to get ready for that hill, its almost better just to leave it till next year.

TNTT's are approaching...watch out for the 4 person teams from GW.

This is for David (rocketman) and Hannah.
Thanks for all your help with my new wheels and the other stuff.