The Little {Mascara} That Could

Genetics has blessed me with long blond eyelashes, and rarely a day goes by that I'm not wearing mascara. I wear it to the gym, work, lazy days at home, the zoo, amusement park, and county fair.

I also wear mascara swimming.

In preparation for the triathlon, one of my To Do items was "Get waterproof mascara." I had two requirements for this wonder product: darken my lashes and do not cause raccoon eyes.

Google led me to an article from Goodhousekeeping.com with 10 different waterproof mascara options.
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/_mobile/product-reviews/beauty-products/mascara-reviews/best-waterproof-mascara

Their #1 pick was the $6 pink tube Maybelline New York Great Lash mascara. A quick trip to Target and I was set.

I can now attest to it's waterproof, sweatproof, and long lasting abilities. Applied at 5 am, it lasted through a swim, bike, run, shower, and hot tub.

It's now on my Must Pack list for my next race!

The Day After...

AKA Random Exhausted Thoughts.

I'm exhausted. Beyond exhausted. Yesterday was my SUPER SPRINT TRI! I was up from 5 am to nearly 10 pm. Today was my sister's sprint triathlon, so I've been up since 4 am and it's now 9 pm. I've fed, bathed, and put three kids to bed. They have school tomorrow. I'm loopy. :)

And that makes my mind wander...

My race was AMAZING! I have decided to train for next year's Super Sprint instead of the sprint. Why the change of heart? Well, I want a medal. Or, at the very least, the Top Ten. Yup, that's it. I was 67 out of 102 in my division this year. I'm happy to be in the middle of the group for my first race. I'm proud of my 63 minutes!

However, next year I want under 50 minutes. 45 would be even better.

My swim was almost 17 minutes this year, and I KNOW I can do better than that. My practice was 12:10. My bike was 25 minutes (average 14.7 mph, a personal best!!!) so I'm very very happy with that for now (next year I'll be even better!). My "run" was almost 22 minutes; in the gym I can do a 10 min/mile, so with training I hope I can do the run in 15-16 minutes next year. And not die.

Misc musings... No injuries yesterday but two blisters today following my sister's race... Being a mom to three young boys on little sleep and post-race is harder than the race itself... Hot tubs are my friend... Park my bike in transition where I'll find it, rather than wandering through a few multiple aisles trying to find where my stuff is... And *definitely* accidentally toss my wetsuit on my running visor so it's cold and wet and SO REFRESHING to wear after the bike ride.

I'm crashing now... I have more great stories to tell soon!

TRIATHLETE!!

Unofficial time according to my iPhone: 1 hour 5 minutes!

The swim was tolerable. It was so shallow the water was only up to my chest. A think a few people walked the swim, and I will admit to walking in and out as much as I could.

The bike portion was a piece of cake. Three loops. I was nearly knocked over at dismount though and when I caught myself my left calf cramped up terribly.

The run was absolute, utter torture. I walked most of it. About a third of the way into it I started speed walking with a another Wave 8 W30-39 woman who was running slowly. We kept each other company and stayed at a steady slow run/speed walk pace. At the 200 m to go mark she encouraged me to run ahead. I was trying to watch for her at the finish line, and I hope to see her again next year! She made the run enjoyable!

Now I want food and a hot tub!

T-36 hours! List making!

I have a list of lists for this weekend.
1. General gone-for-2-nights stuff
2. Race stuff
3. Transition stuff

I have extras of things I can't do without- contacts, clothes, goggles, and water bottles.

I have random things I never thought I'd ever need- Body Glide, baby powder, and weird Gatorade gel things.

I have things I didn't *need* but make me feel more ready- new bright towels for the transition area, more random Gatorade stuff, a Dipec waterproof iPhone cover so I can carry my phone with me, and a new hat, below (I feel weird racing in my Guinness hat).

I think I'm ready.... Hopefully I can fit it all in my bags tomorrow!

T-3 days, Adjustments

Resting, resting, resting. I have mildly sore shins and calves from a short brick on Monday, which I hope heal by Saturday.

Making a few minor adjustments on my bike seat height. It was feeling too low so I moved it up quite a bit higher. Feels great pedaling, but not so steady getting on and off because my feet barely touch the ground. So later tonight I'll lower it a smidge and take another test ride in the parking lot.

I'm also heading to Sports Authority tomorrow morning to pick up a water bottle for my bike WITH a straw. I haven't mastered the bike and tip to drink yet, and water isn't offered during my bike portion. I'm a little worried about dehydration, so I'd rather have water and not use than need it and not it.

48 hours until I'm heading to Chicago to check in at the Expo!!!!

Just a few more days!

Not much to say right now. I'm as ready as I'll ever be?

My bike is tuned up, my wetsuit is ready, my clothes are picked out, shoes all set.... Now its just a matter of nerves.

As a coping mechanism, I'm ignoring the triathlon that upon me, and focusing what's next.

~ September I am doing a 3K Fun Run with one of my 7 year olds.
~ After that I start training for the 2013 Chicago Triathlon Sprint, which is twice the distance I'm doing this year.
~ Next June I'm already signed up for the Dirty Girl Mud Run.
~ Looking to sign up for the Warrior Dash and/or Pretty Muddy Women's Mud Run, depending on dates and locations.
~ And August 2013 is the Chicago Triathlon. My 7 year old (^ the same one) will be doing the Chicago Kids Triathlon too in 2013. I think if I'm going to continue triathlons, which I'd like to, I will probably look into a custom wetsuit. I've looked at a few places online, and they don't cost much more then a standard suit. The downside is that I haven't found a custom place that makes two piece suits like the DeSoto. OTOH, if its custom it should fit perfectly and not need the two piece flexibility.

See, all this thinking about next year is helping me forget that I still need to get through this year. :)

Practice swim

Its a week before the Super Sprint Triathlon, my wetsuit is here, and its time for an open water swim. I haven't swam real laps in months. Will I fail? Will I freak out in the dark water again? What have I gotten myself into?!?!?!?

I was feeling very very anxious. Look at the bottom picture.... where I'm sitting is Start. I couldn't see End. All I could see was "There is NO WAY I can swim that far. No way." I couldn't even spot the buoys that marked quarter mile and a half mile distances. Fortunately, my sister has swam here before and pointed out the landmarks near the buoys, and I had my goal in sight.

The Super Sprint swim is 375 meters, or about a quarter of a mile. My goal was to swim to that buoy, climb out, and walk back.

I got in the water, started swimming, and panicked. The water is dark. Murky. When I turn my head to breath all I see is sun and more water. My swimming went like this: swim 5 strokes, stop, stand, look around, calm down, repeat. My sister is wonderful, she stayed with me. I even had her watch my stroke to see if there was anything obvious. I am happy to report that, while I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing, I fake it very well, and I don't look like a thrashing dying dolphin.

I am also proud to say that when I was swimming freestyle, I was easily able to keep up with my experienced swimmer sister.

I made it to the quarter mile mark eventually, and there was no place to climb out, unless I was brave stupid enough to step over rocks and who-knows-what-else.

My sister continued on the the 1/2 mile marker, and I faced the swim back. My iPhone was around my neck under the wetsuit it its trusty waterproof case, so I decided to time myself going back. I set two goals: 1) no stopping. If I had to do the backstroke the whole time, so be it, but I was not stopping. 2) 20 minutes was my aim.

I'm sure I was a sight. I'd swim a little freestyle, roll mid-stroke (TY swimming lessons for that skill), swim a little backstroke, roll again, and repeat. But I didn't stop until my hands kept hitting the sandy bottom.

Drum roll please.... 12 minutes and 10 seconds. Not a record, but way, way better then I expected.

I'm going to ROCK on Saturday!

I surived!

I've got my toes in the water, @ss in the sand...

My Catsuit is here!

AKA, my wetsuit. Its black, shiny, skin tight, and made of rubber. The Catsuit.

I have a hard time finding clothes that fit in general; finding a wetsuit that fit well was a unique challenge. Women's wetsuits do not come in tall sizes, and Men's suits, which do have tall sizes, don't have much room in the chest for a woman's chest. So I went to WetsuitRental.com, where they carry a multitude of brands and sizes. I sent them my stats, my shape, and my experience with other wetsuits. They recommended I try a DeSoto two piece suit so I could have different sizes on top and bottom, if needed. I received a size 4 and 5 top, and a size 4 bottom. The size 4's fit the best, but as usual the bottoms are short. :( Sometimes being 6" and slender is a pain in the patootie. (I can hear you all laughing as you wish for some of my inches... yes, woe is me.)\

I really do like the two piece design. Seems easier to get in and out of. The real test will be my open water practice....