Chicago Lifetime Triathlon 2013

Official time 2:15:09! I beat my little sister's time, and came in under all my "worst case" times, even in the swimming portion!

I decided to swim boat to boat, and while it was slow, I wasn't panicky or scared, since I knew I could swim boat to boat. I felt so proud when I got out of the water, even with two events left to go.

The bike was so enjoyable. I didn't race to kick butt; I raced to enjoy the skyline, the waterfront, the perfect weather, and to save my legs for part 3. It's here that I realized I was having a great time! I truly enjoyed this portion-- up the coast and back-- much more than the super sprint's "round and round in circles". 

The run was barely that. Lol. I had my GPS running app on my phone, my bottle full of Zym, and I took off at a speed walk. Super speed walk. I only ran at the photo spot halfway through, and then the last 1/4 mile or so, when all the people where cheering me on. I finished with a 12:30 pace, and I finished feeling strong and good! 

I flew through the finish area and ran back over to the start line, just in time to see my little sister start her Olympic distance triathlon. 

Looking forward to next year!

~Crazy eyes~

~Pause for a picture~

~2 medals in 2 days~

2013 Super Sprint

Official time was 62 minutes, only 1 minute shorter than last year. I lost a lot of time wrestling with my wetsuit. :( 

The highlite was watching my BIL race and my 8 year old son do the kids triathlon. I am so proud of them, especially Noah! 

As fun as its been, I don't think I'm sign up again for the next few years. I'm going to focus more on the Sprint triathlons now. 

 

It's Crunch Time!

We leave at 1 pm tomorrow. I have a sitter coming to watch two of the kids; then we're picking our Tri kid up from school (yea, we're pulling him put early the first day of 3rd grade, lol) and driving to Chicago. Chicago traffic is so bad, we're doing our best to avoid it. We'll probably get downtown around the time packet pickup starts. Grab all our packets, get munchkin a race belt (I only have pink), and check out Saturday's course.

I'm not nervous at all about Saturday. Maybe nervous FOR my son's race, but not mine. Been there, done that, lol! However, I think kiddo is nervous so I want to show him as much as possible before his first triathlon.

Funny kid... All he wants is 1. an official shirt to wear to school on Monday, and 2. a medal. He *wants* to place, but he refused to train/practice all summer, so it's not likely. Hopefully this will plant the BUG, and he'll want to actually practice and do more in the future. I'd love to have him follow in my new Tri footsteps.

I AM terrified of Sunday. The swim portion. I am constantly telling myself, "You've done double the distance in the pool. Frequently. You've done this in open water, and yes it's hard, but you did it. You CAN DO IT." Repeat.

The bike... Eh, only 13 miles. Done more than that.

The run... A 5k. Done. Often.

The swim... A crazy chaos of 150 people going every 4 seconds who will be kicking me, hitting me, even swimming over me! OMG...

Seriously... My swim plan is to swim boat to boat and stay clear of everyone else. I'm estimating about double the time of my pool time, and I'm ok with that. :) As long as I get out on my own two feet, I'm good.

I've been making lists and packing for three days, so anything I forget I'll just buy at the Expo. I'm so ready to just go and do it!!

BTN Big 10k (5k)

It was my best run ever! The weather was perfect. My nutrition was great. I was surrounded by approximately 15,000 of my closest friends. There was just so much positive energy in the air!

First, I'd planned to take the train to the city, and then a cab to the race. Race planners predicted the parking garage would be full by 5:45, and additional parking was over a mile away. The train was scheduled to leave at 6:20 am. I was awake, packed, and ready to leave at 5:45.... and decided to drive. I'm SO glad I did! I arrived at the parking garage at 6:15 (before the train was even scheduled to leave!), and there was a ton of parking!

I spent the next two hours wandering around, watching the 10k runners finish, using the bathroom many times to prevent a "my bladder is going to explode" repeat of my last race, and waking up.

At 8:15 am our corrals started moving toward the start line. I had my iPhone set to MapMyRun and Songza, and my new Soleus heart rate monitor/watch ready to go.

My first mile was great at around 9:30. Second mile also great. As usual, third mile I stopped to walk briefly. But I was bookin' it!

Official time.... 31:04!!! Two freakin' minutes faster than my last two 5ks! A 10 min/mile pace average for the whole race!

I skipped the post-race beer since the line was 200-people-long, and headed home on a natural post-race high. :) 

I feel OLD

My joints are creaking. On a 20 mile bike ride with my sister, my knees were aching. My back was aching. My neck was aching. I think the only thing that wasn't aching was my face. I hobbled off my bike, and said to my sister, "I'm getting too old for this!"

My lovely sister didn't say, "No, you're not." or "You're still young."

She tells me, "Hah. Some people don't even START triathlons until they're in their 40's or older!"

Yeah, that made me feel soooooo much better, knowing I'm going to be passed by 50 year olds. LOL

Run From the Cops 5k

After a week of 90-100° temperatures, this morning was a lovely mid-70's. Actually, when I first got in the car I turned the heat on for a few minutes to take the chill off! By race time it was perfect in the shade, and hot in the sun.

The run was a nice flat surface, out, loop, and back. The out and back section was partly shaded, but the loop was all in the sun. HOT.

The first mile I was smokin' at a 9:20 pace! The loop was harder being in the blaring sun, but I was at a 10:15 pace which is still really good for me! I was feeling good, and super excited about making a new personal best!

The last mile is always the hardest [obviously] but the coffee and 16 oz water bottle I'd had prerace was starting to cause issues. Like "my bladder is going to explode!"  Running got to be very difficult, LOL! I ended up speed walking more of the last mile than I would have liked, and I didn't stop going until I got to the Porta-Potties. :)

Official time 33:12. I came in 13/37 in my age group, and 77/180 of all females.

Next race is on Saturday!

Bummed...

I haven't posted much lately, and I'm sorry. It's been a rough couple weeks.

I pulled a muscle in my lower back June 28, and aggravated a nerve in that area June 29 on an obstacle at the Dirty Girl run. For nearly two weeks I had lower back pain, fluctuating from OUCH to "just aware of it." I finally succumbed and took a week off from training. I swam once but no running, biking, or heavy weight lifting.

Today I realized I could finally bend over without pain!! I ran/walked a little and still feel ok!

Now, the bummed part....

Thanks to plantar fasciitis for months in the spring, and now over two weeks with back pain, my running is about 50% slower than last year. :(

I pulled up an old post from last year... June 20, 2012 I was running 2 miles in 20-22 minutes. Today it took me over 30 with all the walking I had to do.

BUT! I have a plan! I'm adapting the run portion of my sister's Tri training plan to HOPEFULLY get me back to at least being able to run the course in 5 weeks. :D

I also have two, yes 2, 5k's next week. I'm not going to attempt a PR, but I think they'll give me a good idea if where I'm at right now.