Milkman Race Report..

So after reading those Dueceman reports, I feel like a weeny, but here goes. I woke up yesterday feeling pretty good at the start of the swim in beautiful Lake Van. Now this race has a nostalgicc flavor for me as it was my very first triathlon in 2001. I was pretty cocky about the swim that year. I was raised on the swim team and thought i had it in the bag that year. Well, I was unprepared for the panic attack i was going to have as I started swimming so ended up doing back/breaststroke the whole way. It was humbling for my first tri. After many years of practicing getting in the water first for about 15 mins and swimming before the race, and a hypnosis session, that is no longer an issue. I did feel a bit nervous this year at the start which surprised me. I had this debate with myself in the morning. Should I wear a wetsuit or not? It was a bit chilly outside, the water felt a little cool, so I decided yes, since buffalo springs is in 3 weeks, will be good for practice..I am faster in the wetsuit, yes but transition will be slower..Ahhh, but I will be so much more comfortable in a wetsuit, all toasty and warm! So the "I just wanna be comfortable" part won. The weather actually ended up being cool by Dexter standards, cloudy, in the 70s-got sunny and warmer at the end. They use to start the race a 9:00 AM so I remember those 95 degree days-ouch!

They lined us up in waves and of course I was in the next to the last wave, being a more "mature" woman. I forgot my prerace goo so just had to wait til the bike to get nutrition. that kind of threw me off a bit. So there I am in my wetsuit and the race started. I took off, for the first time ever, I went out hard in the beginning. Of course this lead to getting knocked around a bit and have you seen those huge bouys they have on the swim in Lake Van? Ha-the little yellow balls they call bouys kept running into me..Swim time was 10 min, something a minute faster with the wetsuit. Then I proceeded to lose all that time in transition- I could NOT get my wetsuit off. I looked like one of those cartoons doing to wetsuit dance. Well after about what seemed to be 10 minutes ( I think only 2 actually), off I go on the bike, feeling very discombombutlated (is that a word?). I have this new philosophy. I am not wearing a watch or using a bike computer, just going by "feel". I think I get psyched out by numbers, MPH, etc. This has helped my bike I believe. Milkman road suck, as in a bumpy, needs major repair kind of way. Two women in my AG passed me on the bike. I just could not get the last one. I really did my best on the bike. It took me 44 min, a minute slower than my last time here in 2004. OK, so better T-2 and off I went on the run. Now here is where the whole no-watch thing could have been my downfall. In my mind, I was running 9 min miles-I could have sworn to it. I am really doing good I think! My first clue should have been when my friend Kathy, 10 years older than me literally flew past me! Then at about 2 1/2 miles, I started bonking. Hunger! I looked down and the goo that was suppose to be in my goo belt was gone! It must have fallen out. That damn race belt has to go-it doesn"t hold guu! At the water station they have no gatorade so I start yelling-"anyone have a goo?" This very nice man comes out of nowhere and asks me if I want a "shotblock" Now in my state of mind I wasn't sure what that was, hoped it wasn't something alcoholic, and said yes. Out of his pocket comes this little goo cube. Ahh yes-I have had those before-God bless this man. That was all I needed to bring it home. I saw the clock at the end and it said 1:55! The waves started every 5 minutes appparently so I thought I had a 1:25! That was a PR for me-I was sooo excited! Tired but not wasted- I was so happy for about 20 minutes. Until the times came out and my time was actually 1:29. Damn!! I was 4th in my AG out of 4 women. There was only 9 minutes separating all of us! Of course I got beat on the run as usual-I was so pissed!! Our wave must have started early..

So always a bridesmaid, never a bride! I am so tired of coming in 4th. 4th at Jay Benson wasn't as bad-4th out of 10. but 4th out of 4 is humiliating!! Esp. since I thought i was running so fast! As it turned out, my run time was 32 minutes. I seem to run the same pace whether it be a 5k, 10k, half marathon, or marathon. I think I am an endurance athlete. Either that or I am really going to have to except the whole aging factor. Maybe the fact that i am still even doing triathlons at age 52 is a miracle! Maybe I need to lower my sites. Maybe I should not have gone to the dentist 2 days before the race! All of these immediate post race questions that won't matter probably tomorrow. My goal this year was to have fun doing races-bullshit! I wanna WIN-waaaaahhhhhhh...OK enough whining.

Now I know and do accept that i may be last in my age group at Buffalo Springs Half IM. I have looked at the women in my AG doing it so I have to be realistic. If I go in knowing this maybe the let down won't be as bad!

The good news is (and this is amazing and awesome) Hartley got second place in his AG, he beat my time for the first time!!

I am going to try out the shot blocks for nutrition for BSLT. Giving it a try on the bike today.

Pre race routine..

I have come to develop this pre-race routine over the years. Well, esp this past year. The day before the race (today-Milkman is tomorrow). I eat carbs like crazy, no fiber past noon, no veges, fruit just carbs and a little protein. Then at dinner I have pasta & spaghetti sauce,usually around 5:00. Lots of gatorade today, lot of water. Then in the morning, I have a bagel with cream cheese and then another half bagel plan. One more gatorade and water. My usual FRS supplement (Lance uses this so I will be fast as Lance-:)), then I am off to the races. I have my lucky transition rug, my lucky Lance bracelet always with me. I swim 15 minutes before the start so I don't freak out at the start swimming..Sometimes a goo before the race if I feel in the least bit hungry.

I was suppose to do transition practice Wed but i was a slug. Then (I would not recommend this), I went to the dentist yesterday to have some chipped teeth worked on but he also removed a fatty growth from my cheek. Ouch! That hurt last night, think it is Ok today.. So now I need to get off my butt and go to the pool to swim and transition practice. The reward for this is a massage at 11:00 with Stephanie, the goddess of sports massage touch. Then off to Roswell, beautiful window to the world of UFOs. The weather looks like it may not cooperate for this evening practice swim and T-showers all nite but sunny in the AM until 11:00. Perfect!! Well i hope I am done by 11:00 !! :)

Thoughts on transition..

A year ago today I closed my business. You know I had no idea a year ago what to expect when I closed my busy counseling practice. All I knew is I was completely physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted. I had planned to work for 5 years at least in the field but only lasted 3 and 1/2. It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I felt I was letting alot of people down. People who "needed" me. I came to realize this was pretty arrogant of me. I mean they could only get help from me? It came down to choosing my well being over taking care of others. Now this is a life long lesson for me. I came from a long lineage of women who are care-takers. I had 4 sisters, I raised 4 daughters, now have 2 grandaughters and even the dogs were female (don't think they had much of the care-taking gene though-the dogs). I spent 17 years in my nursing career, raised 4 kids, then was a therapist. So what legacy do I want to pass on? There is a balance of giving to others and taking care of self. Have I figured this out yet? Probably not..I have spent the last year doing pretty much what I want to do, well within reason. Shifting the pendulum completely the other way. So what have I learned? I definitely have become less structured, more in the moment. My daughters think I changed the day I gave all my work clothes away. That was a big deal, believe me. We are talking banana republic kind of clothes. Very symbolic-clothes have always been important to me...i have become not quite a bum yet, but much less needing a "plan" all the time. this puzzles my family. I was really tired of constraints of always feeling like i needed to "do" something. Now I live more in day..that I know..So maybe eventually the pendulum will swing to the middle..I am a work in progress...

Training/Racing..babbling..

I have a new lease on life with my training this year. Maybe cause work isn't in the way anymore! Our days revolve around when we are going to train and when to walk the dog. And you would be surprised how much of the days are taken up with other "stuff". For instance, I could spend literally 5 hours on the Internet alone a day. I get lost and that is it. I try to limit my time because afterall, once in awhile we need clean clothes and clean dishes. Those are my "chores". Hartley cooks, I clean. Which is a great deal for me-I stopped liking to cook after all those nights of cooking for 6. Four daughters and hartley and I. What a trip those days were! Will need to share on that sometime..

Getting the hang of it I think..

Still not sure how I feel about the whole sharing online thing. Seems like a diary of sorts but I like to read others so what the heck!