Friday Edition of a Much Delayed Thursday Thirteen

1. Despite the lack of blogging – LIFE IS GRAND. And I really do have a lot on my mind, and talk myself through a blog post quite often. I just never have the chance to sit and type anymore.

2. I’m still “running” MCM…running, that’s funny! I’ve done two 16 mile runs so far. My next couple of weekend’s run mileage will be 18, 20, 16, 14, Race.

3. Two weeks after MCM is the B2B Bike Relay (Full Iron-distance). I’ve been loosely training for this. My next couple of weekend’s bike mileage will be 90, 100, 112, 60, 40 (MCM), 60, Race.

4. Somewhere in there I have a silly little Warrior Dash to do. Run through a pit of fire AND give me a furry warrior helmet. HELLS YEAH!

5. I suppose I should mention I rarely exercise during the week. Work, family, work, laziness, work, prior commitments, etc.

6. Even with the lack of exercise I’ve “maintained” my post Ironman weight. I gained about ten pounds in the depressing months following the race. I managed to lose five by Spring and have stayed there since. I’d still love to drop another 5-10 (marathon weight) but that would require eating less and exercising more.

7. A couple weeks ago a bunch of friends competed in Ironman Wisconsin. I couldn’t make the trip to cheer so I sat behind the computer and cyber-stalked them. WOW! It was fun to watch, text, message, etc. with people there and on-line. And it got me excited thinking about next year’s journey to Ironman Arizona!!!

8. My deal with Dude is I promised I wouldn’t be as obsessed about it as I was for Switzerland. I think I can make good on that…I know I can do the distance, I know my nutrition needs, I know what the training will be like…so I should be able to maintain some semblance of sanity

9. I got back from a week in Grand Cayman last Saturday all refreshed, relaxed, and happy. That lasted until around 10 am on Monday. Stupid job! Stupid career! Stupid need to stay clothed and fed!

10. While on vacation I realized I need to find something I’m passionate about (besides Dude, I can’t retire and do Dude…well I could but…). Once I identify that “thing” I need to try to make that a priority in my life.

11. The top things that come to mind are cooking (eating) and writing (reading). I suppose triathlon/exercise ranks up there, but that’s already relatively steady in my life.

12. So now what?! How can I turn these hobbies into something?! Anyone…Anyone…Bueller…

13. Holy crap – where has this year gone?? I just looked at my calendar and realized (1)it’s is October, (2) I’ve been incredibly busy since July and have done a ton of things, and (3) I haven’t been blogging about any of it!

BTW, did I mention I have a tattoo?

At long last...Musselman 70.3 Race Report

I am officially the worst blogger in the universe. And just so you know I’m only writing this race report so I can get to the cool picture at the end. Without further ado…

Package Pick-up Since nothing is popping to mind, I’m assuming it was uneventful.

Pre: Per the usual, Team Z rocks, pancakes with Nutella! We were also set up along the start/finish line so it was nice to be able to just hang out with the team before getting in the water.

Swim 1.2 Miles – 40:34 You could walk to the first buoy and that was my plan until I heard a guy talking about his brother’s best-friend’s cousin’s babysitter (or some strange relationship) that walked last year and fell and broke his ankle. DOH! So I swam. And I swear the course was lllooonnnggg. It felt like I was in there for an eternity and at one point I said if that next buoy is not the finish line I’m stopping. And I did, until someone ran into me and made me swim again. That swim SUCKED!

T1 – 3:10 So I put on the skirt to change and was shocked at how easy the bike shorts went on. I continued to get ready for the ride and when I went to put sunscreen on my legs I realized I still had my tri shorts that I wore during the swim on under my bike shorts. Clock was ticking so I decided to ride with both tri shorts and bike shorts. Would I pay for that later???

Bike 56.2M – 3:28 The answer is NO!!! It was actually quite comfortable. The bike ride ROCKED! I was cruising along thinking this course has NOTHIN’ on Mooseman, this is EZ-Peazy! Then I turned a corner and saw a steep wall disguised as a hill. The hills continued but overall it was a great ride and the scenery was GORGEOUS.

T2 – 4:53 This time I really did take off BOTH pairs of shorts and donned the compression shorts. No extra layers this time.

Run 13.1M – 2:31 My calves/ankle hurt at the beginning so I did the 10/2 run/walk. There was a lady that kept passing me and would chirp “you’re doing good” which got VERY annoying so I eventually passed her and never saw her again. The course was hilly and there was a soul-crushing gravel hill that lasted about a mile around mile 7. After that I ran everything except a couple of hills. The locals who were out cooling us off with their hoses are my new BFF’s – true saviors! Overall, I’m happy with my time but I do need to figure out what the heck is wrong with my calves/ankles though!

Overall 6:48 I thought I was going to PR this race and I was SOOOOOO close – two minutes to be exact! Dang-it!

SWAG Best ice-cream in the world, really good juice, a metal thermos, and a cool finisher medal made out a bike cassette (that I would later use as the outer ring of my tattoo).

Yep, you read correctly, I now have my Ironman tattoo. Instead of the MDOT I went conceptual to represent the sport instead of one race.



And now you know why I finally wrote this damn race report!

MicroMussel Race Report

Finally - My A Race.

An overview of the race: 100m (that's meter, not miles) swim, .6 mile trike (yeah, I mean tricycle), and .2 mile run.

And without further ado...Heeerrreeee'ssss my Radio Flyer (I'm ashamed to say I never named my trike):



Oh yeah, the IronWoman costume came out!

Anyhow...

Pre: Winery stop on the way to the Lake. Quick veggie burrito at the Team Z tent. Chugged two beers in the rain and headed to the "real" race start.

Kevin (in his aero-helmet, Iron-Es, and Iron-Cat (CHEATER)

Swim: Cancelled due to thunderstorm. I wore my goggles for the race since I forgot my mask, and it WAS raining! Instead of the swim, we ran a traffic circle.

T1: Water was ankle deep at the beginning of transition and sloped up to mere puddles. I didn't know how the puddle situation would be like come race time, so I racked RF up on the rack.



Bike: Who'd-a-thunk a .6 mile ride would be so hard! I swear, the "hill" (slight slope) at the far end of the ride felt like IM-Swiss' Heartbreak Hill! The "Rulz" were your butt had to be on the trike the whole time. You had the option of pushing with your feet or pedaling. I chose pedaling! (Other then the behemoth thigh, I love this picture)!



Right at the end of the ride, Cat (forever more known as CHEATER), passed me. She chose to push with her feet and I later learned her butt was NOT on the seat the whole time.

T2: RF back on the rack and off on the run (I suppose I should mention, everyone wore their helmets for the whole race. SMART!

Run: I was a little back from CHEATER so I sprinted to catch up. Finally, close to the turn around I caught up to her and instead of racing fair, she threw an elbow and stuck her arms out so I couldn't pass. I was laughing so hard, I decided that if she needed to CHEAT, I'd let her have the race. OK, maybe not "have the race", she is a faster runner but she did CHEAT!!!

Final: 11:04, 7th out of ~14. Post race I disqualified CHEATER for not keeping her butt on the seat and declared myself 6th place finisher.

Loads of fun, but I felt every inch of that .6 mile ride in my hip flexers and abs for the rest of the weekend. I imagine next year will have far more then 14 racers, there's a $500 prize - the winner did it in 8 minutes.

You Know What Thursday Means...

1. It's the start of my second 4-day weekend in a row! Boo-ya!

2. I'm now registered to relay the Beach 2 Battleship Iron-Distance race in November. I'm biking, a new Team Z'er is running, and Charlotte is running.

3. It's two weeks after Marine Corp Marathon...hope my legs will be ready for it!

4. Here's a surprise, I actually had fun "camping" last weekend. It helps that there was a cabin. And that everyone knew how I felt about camping so we got the room with the bed. So slept in a bed + incredible bug spray = fun camping.

5. Dude heard that I liked it so he's booked two more trips. Hope there's cabins wherever he's booked!

6. This weekend is Musselman!!!! Finally, a 70.3 that I'm somewhat, a little bit, trained for.

7. So, it's "OFFICIAL", I'm racing IRONMAN Arizona next year. Official is in quotes because I can't register until November.

8. I'm doing a Girl's Week in Grand Cayman for a week in September. There's extra room in the condo, anyone interested???

9. Someone is coming to look at my townhouse tonight. GULP, what if she wants to rent it?! Guess Dude and I are REALLY going to live together!

10. Lots of work to do on the house before someone moves in...plumbing, electric, yard work, wood floors, maybe ceramic in bathrooms.... All tax write-offs and increase value when it's time to sell.

11. Work is crazy busy but it's all good. Still looking for a replacement for myself!

12. Dude and I are going to Colorado next month. Woohoo - time with friends, time in the mountains. Oh, and we will be in a hotel!!

13. Marathon training is going well so far. Had a fantabulous run on Friday. Since then I've gotten some rides in but it's too flipping hot to run!

~~~~That's all, Folks!~~~

13 Training related blurbs...

1. I've been training!!!! Seriously, I only miss about one swim and one bike ride a week.

2. ...You should remember that I don't do strength training......Or the optional Sunday swim...So those don't count!...

3. And this particular week has been bad - work, getting ready for weekend trip, excuses, excuses...

4. ...But this past weekend I did it all.

5. This coming weekend...well, if I can convince myself that I AM ON VACATION I will run 10 miles tomorrow morning (otherwise I'll work). Then Monday, I'm hoping to get some friends to ride 60 miles.

6. In between I'm camping.

7. Go ahead, ask me how much I'm looking forward to sleeping on the ground and getting eaten by bugs. Go ahead, ask me! I F-ing dare you)

8. I should mention that Musselman 1/2 Ironman is next weekend.

9. I'm more trained for this then IM 1/2 FL (which isn't saying much)!

10. My pal Timra got us some SWEET Tricycles for the Friday Night's Micro Mussel.

11. What's a MicroMussel??
Swim (100 yards) (or so) - Take a flying leap off the dock and start churning. A few seconds later, if all goes well, you'll come ashore at the boat launch.

Bike (0.6 miles) (roughly) - This is where the tricycle comes in - you could do it on a normal bike, but F that, you can also choose a tricycle or BigWheel.

Run (0.2 miles) (give or take) - This is where I might improvise and moonwalk for .2 miles. Or at least across the finish line!

12. Costumes are optional. Betcha I'll be in costumes.

13. Good times and limited memories on the horizon!