Race Report: Mossman Sprint Triathlon

What a fantastic race experience. This summer is shaping up nicely! I've had a hard time figuring out what to write other than, "I can't believe I did it!"

Setting Up: So funny all the different rituals I observed from other triathletes and yet how relaxed I felt. I knew at this point (you know, morning of the race) that being a wreck would only hinder my swim performance. The biking distance was slightly less than my work commute and a 5K is such a doable distance (hopefully, I won't have lead legs). But swim...well, I needed to keep my cool if I was going to swim a half mile. I got my little space set up and decided to get the lay of the land by paying attention to the swim in/bike out/bike in/run out locations. It's helpful if I actually look like I know what I'm doing! Then I trekked down to the beach to feel how rough the sand and crushed sea shells were and to take a dip in the water. Blech! Salt Water?! I didn't think about that! Next thing I knew, it was time to line up by waves. Then I heard those damning words..."Ladies over 40, get ready!" Are you serious? I couldn't believe he announced our ages! Seriously, "Red caps, get ready" would have been just fine. Perfect even!


Swim. Nice rectangular course. Swim out to the first orange buoy, turn right and swim past three more buoys, turn right again and swim to the shore. Seems simple enough. But wtf, that first buoy seemed a mile away! I'm glad I never had to flip onto my back to calm myself (like Portland) and I managed to keep up my plan of swim 20 strokes, breast stroke to sight, repeat. The plan worked and got me safely to shore in 22:47 - an improvement of 8:03 from my half mile Portland swim!


T1: My hand is bleeding - yikes! Why won't my socks go on my wet feet?! Tell me again, which part of the helmet is the front? Argh - salt water in the mouth is disgusting! Where is my water? And gel - must fuel up. Ahhh, double latte powergel tastes so good and helps remove the salt taste. The hand - damn, still bleeding. Must have been the rough side of the third buoy marker when I made contact. Oh well, get on that bike and ride, girl! Must work on my T1 time in the future - logged in at 3:23.

Bike. Loved this course. As I was leaving transition, another girl yelled at me to hurry up and we could ride together. Cool! I've never ridden with someone else. Red rover, red rover, send Robin right over. We rode up Calf Pasture Beach Road turning onto Gregory and Saugatuck. Beautiful homes - mansions really. The weather was wonderful for a ride - clear skies and low 70s. The bike portion consisted of two loops and I could have pushed harder, but was still pleased with the results. Finished 12.5 miles in 49:41 (15.1mph).

T2. Drop off bike, get some water, pull on my hat (to hide helmet hair!) and get the H-E-double toothpicks out of there. The run was beautiful with a little over half the course along the shoreline. At first, I thought I had cement blocks attached to my feet, but then everything started feeling good because I WAS RUNNING - doing what I love to do. During the bike portion, Gina (my cycling friend)had commented that I must be from the Midwest because I was thanking all the volunteers. The volunteers were just fantastic and I noticed it even more during the run portion. Each time I thanked one, I would hear words of encouragement right back. I swear I smiled through the whole run portion because of all those wonderful volunteers. I didn't feel I was moving very fast, but I sure was hoping to finish in 30-31 minutes. Woohoo - I clocked in a 29:15 run finish.


Post-Race. Loved crossing the finish line. I even threw up my arms in victory! I had so much fun and was so happy with my swim performance that I just wanted to do the Dora dance and sing, "I did it, yeah, I did it!" Grabbed my medal, a banana, water, and went back to the finish line to cheer on Gina. Afterwards, I texted hubs and the girls the good news, loaded up the car with my mess, and headed back to the hotel to treat my girls to breakfast on the waterfront. Coffee and conversation are best post-race!

*****
Sunday afternoon, the girls and I spent a nice couple of hours at the Maritime Aquarium. It's become "our thing" - whenever we travel to a state, we always try to find a nearby Aquarium. The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk was perfect. We got to watch the divers feed the sharks as well as learn all about what's in the Long Island Sound (you don't want to know and I certainly didn't enjoy finding out!), we got up close to sea lions, saw more than 10 different frogs, enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit, laughed with the otters - just such fun! Another tradition is to always take pictures against measuring sticks. We did exactly this about a year and a half ago at the Boston Aquarium and of course here as well. Such great memories!

Race Report - Yes, A Race Report!

I can't believe it, but I spontaneously committed to a 5k race. At the request of a coworker, I registered Thursday night and then ran the Run to the Beach 5k at Portage Lakes this morning. What a fun race and great way to knock out 3.1 miles on a Saturday morning. The race was a nice split between road and trail, both single track and a bridle trail size. I wasn't sure how I would fare or what to expect since I haven't tackled a race since rehabbing the knee, but I was happy with this morning's results! I finished in 30:42 (a 9:54 pace) with no knee pain!

The course was outstanding with wonderful views of the lake. Finish line was amazingly well stocked with goodies. The race shirt is the brightest "highlighter yellow" shade I've ever known, but cool nonetheless. Temps were a bit chilly, with rainy drizzle all morning, but I'll take that over snow and extreme heat. Overall, great morning and a nice way to kick off racing season!

Today's guilty pleasure: Coming home to see Bridget playing with her Barbies and Ken. All of five of them were either in plank position or downward dog. Hysterical! She told me that even boys do yoga. Hear that, Nitmos? That's my little yogi.

Even though I consider the Cleveland Metroparks simply wonderful, I have to say I enjoyed Portage Lakes. Do you have a favorite park that you enjoy running - trails or multipurpose path?

Race Report: Rhode Island 6-Hour Ultra

Well, I did it...I tackled my longest race mileage to date. I did not complete a full 50k, but I did complete 27.012 miles. And I have the shirt to prove it.



The course: a 2.7 mile loop, run multiple times. To complete a marathon, you had to run 9-3/4 loops. The 50k required 11-1/2 loops. The catch, you had to complete a full loop in order for the marathon and/or 50k time to count.

The schwag: just a shirt and a medal. But that’s ok, I don’t really want to drag a bunch of stuff back in my suitcase anyway. Oh and hammer gel sample.

The story: There was a slight delay in the race start due to repositioning one of the markers. The location was Warwick City Park near the airport. And even though I was minutes from the airport, I felt completed secluded in a beautiful setting with the waterfront as my backdrop. The course was “rolling” and had a wicked bad series of three hills on the back side of the loop. The downside was that I had to tackle the hills at least 10 times! Ouch! The front of the course had many ups and downs, but also had long, steady inclines, which were tough on the quads and glutes. The course was very winding, and I learned a new body part could hurt. From all the pivoting around the curves, my hips really took a beating.



I have had the opportunity, through all these races, to run a variety of courses: point-to-point, out-and-back, figure eights, and now a loop. Each has its pros and cons, but I have to say I liked how running a marathon or beyond, broken down into manageable sections, really made the course must easier to run….at least until the 8th loop when I was done with the SAME course!

Meg sat in the car between laps, which generally lasted a half hour/loop. She would hop out of the car, see what I needed, act interested, then hop back into the car to warm up. My first two “laps” I waved and smiled at Megan, calling her “pumpkin” and telling her it was a nice day out. I shall call this my “happy mom/runner” stage. Everyone goes through this at the beginning of a race - that euphoric feeling. My third lap was a request for half of my ginger Larabar, followed by the other half at the end of the 4th loop. The end of the fifth lap was a shout out for Tylenol (13 miles were completed at this point and time to load up on the “performance-enhancing” drug called Acetaminophen). I was keeping a nice easy pace until the 7th mile when I lost 2 minutes on the loop. This is where I turned into “tired, just-give-me-what-I-need” mom. The 8th loop I only slightly waved at Meg, but she said it was more like, “Don’t talk to the hand” kind of motion…not really a wave. When I started my 9th loop, I grunted, “I’ll be finished soon.” When I hit the 10the lap, the poor girl only got a nod with, “See you in a few minutes.” Oddly enough, I PR’d in this race finishing the marathon in 5:06:21. Nine minutes better than my June 2010 Grandma’s Marathon finish and nearly an hour better than my 2007 Marine Corps Marathon time. Yet, sadly, I didn’t really care. I was tired of the whole running thing and, quite honestly, I just wanted to hang out with my daughter at Nordstrom’s, checking out the new Ella Moss tops, and drinking coffee drinks (which we did post-race).



When the race was over, Megan took me over to the beach area and we sat on the bench listening to the shore, the waves, the birds and it was beautiful. Best of all, I had changed into my uber-comfortable hot pink crocs. So even though the race was not terribly exciting, the weekend with my daughter was amazing and unforgettable. I love running, but my body and mind needs a little downtime. This will only last a couple of days...then you'll find me running on the bike paths in no time.

Oh, I hit the 1,000 mile mark at the end of the race!

My Disney Princess Half Marathon Experience

I have mixed feelings about my recently completed Disney's Princess Half Marathon. The vacation destination part was incredible. I mean how can you top Disneyworld for a family-friendly location?! But I don't feel the race lived up to the hype. So let's begin with the pre-race experience. I paid $120 for the race. When I picked up my "goody bag" at the expo I received a short sleeve technical t-shirt, a sample of Luna moons, a pink Sharpie marker and some race brochures. The expo was also pretty small. There a no race maps available for spectators...except the small 5x7 one in the race program. The map they did have was a bit deceiving. There was no mention that the majority of the race would be run on the highway and/or access roads. The map didn't even detail in writing the course or give elevation information.

The race day: I understand Disney can be difficult logistically. However, we had to arrive before 6am (5am was recommended). We then had to walk nearly a mile before actually beginning the race. Then the first 5 miles or so was all concrete highway - on ramps, off ramps, overhead passes, etc. Very few characters or entertainment could be found during this initial third of the course. We didn't have any real excitement until entering Magic Kingdom. Going through Tomorrowland and Cinderella's Castle was pretty sweet but then we quickly exited MK and found ourselves on back roads again. From miles 7-12 we ran on highway and more access roads. It wasn't until mile 12 that we came upon the parking lot of Epcot. We were ushered through the entrance of Epcot, ran around the big ball, then finished in the parking lot of Epcot. I was stunned that Disney charged families and spectators the full price to park of $12 even though the park didn't open till 11am (the race started at 7am). This also wasn't the original course which I signed up for. The course was changed a couple months prior to the race date. The water stops were plenty, but the cliff gels were handed out about a half mile or more from the water stop which was bad. I was happy with the abundance of biofreeze available. Another complaint was the lack of spectator opportunities. I'm sure that the race being mostly on a highway complicates the allowance for spectators.

Post-race: standard fare of oranges, bananas, bagels, and water/powerade. Nothing special or exciting. Disney could definitely learn from the amazing post race setup of Ann Arbor 10k or the Des Moines Marathon. Both were top notch race experiences.