I Am A Pineapple Woman!

As you know, the Rotary Pineapple Man 2011 Sprint Triathlon was on Sunday in Melbourne Beach.  If you've read any of the prior posts you know I'm not good at keeping things short so get ready for a mammoth post.

Saturday night racers had the option to have discounted pasta dinner at a nice local restaurant on the same road as the race site.  Since I've never done a triathlon before I wanted to participate in all of the activities so David and I went out for an early dinner.  I wanted to be at the race at 5:30 am the next morning, so like senior citizens, we showed up around 5:00 pm.  Before the dinner we walked around the transition area that was already set up with bike racks.  The transition area was huge!  We speculated about where the entry and exit points would be for each leg of the race.  We walked down to the pier and found a volunteer that David knows from work.  He gave us the low down on the swim portion of the race.  There were flags at the turnaround points in the water.  They looked so far away!  It was nice to have some idea of what to expect on race day.  The dinner was very good with salad, bread, and pasta with oil and herb sauce.

I came home and got to bed at an early 8:15 pm.  I don't ever have a problem sleeping.  Most of the time I have more problems staying awake!  I tossed and turned in bed for about 2 hours before I finally fell asleep.  I kept thinking about what I was forgetting.  I got up and went to the bathroom, went back to bed, got up and put some bananas in my bag for the next day, went back to bed, got up to go to the bathroom again, went back to bed.  Ideas of how the race would be kept running through my mind.  Would I fall and make an idiot of myself?  It's been really hot lately, am I going to pass out?  My thoughts were mixed with excitement and fear.  I thought about when I was a kid and I was really excited about an event.  I would wear my clothes for the next day to bed shoes included.  I know, I've always been a nerd!  Don't worry, I didn't put on my clothes for the next day.  Finally, I fell asleep.

At 3:45 am my alarm went off.  I am a snoozer.  I NEVER wake up on the first alarm.  Not Sunday!  I hopped out of bed and made a breakfast of eggs with an apple and almond butter.  I already had my clothes all laid out so I took a quick shower and put them on.  I loaded my bike in the car with all my gear.  Heidi was a good sport and left with me around 5:00 to head to the race.  I checked my bags two times even though I'd already checked them the night before.

When we arrived at the race it was still dark outside.  Ugh, God did not intend for people to be awake and moving around this early!  David got there just as Heidi and I did so I had a support crew with me!  Before I could enter the transition area I had to get marked with my race number.  They marked both my arms and the front of my thighs with my race number.  My age was marked on back of my right calf.  I wondered why they put my age on me, but didn't worry to much about it.  I picked up my timing chip that I would wear around my left ankle for the race.

By then it was light outside and I headed into the transition area to set up my bike and towel exactly the way I wanted.  Each bike rack was marked with the range of race numbers that should go on that rack.  I racked my bike on the appropriate rack as close to the exit lane as possible.  As I was setting up, the person on the very edge was asked to move because she'd racked her bike on the wrong rack.  Score!  I slid down in the best possible spot on the rack.  I practiced taking the bike on and off the rack to make sure I didn't pull a clutz move during the transition.  I practiced putting it back on handlebars first to make sure I would know what to do during the transition from bike to run.  By now the transition area was buzzing with activity.  I left to avoid the commotion.

Busy Transition Area

I still had over 30 minutes before race time so I ate a banana and drank some water since I'd eaten forever ago at this point.  I put on sunscreen and watched the other racers set up.  A lot of people had ironman tattoos.  I can't imagine being at that level of fitness.  I was hoping those people weren't in my age group.  :)  Closer to race time I went back in the transition area to make sure nothing in my area had been accidentally kicked around.  Everything looked good!

Family!  So glad they came!

As race time approached my family arrived!  I was so excited to have them there.  My friends Melissa, Laura, and Q showed up soon afterwards.  I brought a cheering section!  Time to start the race!

I walked down to the end of the Melbourne Beach Pier with the other racers to start the race.  We went in waves of 125 racers per wave!  They intentionally split the waves so the people who will probably race fastest go first.  I was in a wave with the rest of the ladies in my age group, wave 4.  I watched the first 3 waves start.  By the time the third wave started, the first wave was exiting the water and running to the transition.  Those were the elite racers.  They were booking it!  Once wave 3 was started I found a good starting position.  I was all the way to the outside of the pack.  My main goal for this portion of the race was to not get kicked in the head and drown.  I noted the location of the rescue boat.  It's possible I may need it.

I'm somewhere on the right side of this crowd

At the start of the swim I came out with some serious gusto.  I slowed myself slightly to make sure I wouldn't run out of gas before I hit the swim exit.  I couldn't really tell how well I was doing.  Before I hit the first buoy I thought I was doing great.  Then, everyone crowded together for the turnaround and I realized there were a lot of people in the same area as me.  I couldn't see much because water was splashing everywhere, so I just focused on staying on the right side of the buoys and swimming hard.  Toward the end I thought I'd never get to the finish.  At swim exit I had no idea how many people were in front or behind me.  Turns out that I was sitting in 5th place in my age group!  I came out of the water looking like creature from the black lagoon.  As a result I have sludge all over my face for the rest of my race pictures.  Oh well!  I look like I worked hard.

Creature from the Black Lagoon!  Laughing at the cheering section.

As I ran up the dock toward the transition area I could hear my family and friends cheering for me.  I don't know why, but that struck me as absolutely hilarious.  I haven't been cheered for like that since I was a kid competing in sports.  It just seemed funny for it to happen as an adult.

I entered the transition area and found my bike easily.  I went to go through the routine to get all my gear on for the bike ride.  I hadn't unstrapped by cycling shoes beforehand!  Oh well, it was only another extra couple seconds.  Everything else went smoothly and I ran out of the transition area.  My transition time was 01:22.  Perfectly fine with me.

T1 - 01:22

Upon exit I was careful to get out of the way before mounting my bike.  I'd seen people wreck at the mount point and I had no interest in doing it myself.  Everything went smoothly.

There were a ton of people on the road for the bike ride.  The ride south was with the wind so I started off the ride at a fast pace for me, about 20 mph.  I realized very early on that while 20 mph is fast for me, it is pretty slow for everyone else.  It became obvious why your age is written on the back of your right calf.  It is so people can weep as you are passing them in the bike ride.  A few people in my age group passed me.  Then, a lot of people in my age group passed me.  Then, people in the swim wave behind me started passing me!  Oh no!  I was losing serious ground.   I passed a few people, but I don't think any of them were in my age group.  I kept thinking to myself that I needed to hydrate early so I didn't have a ton of water sitting in my stomach for the run.  On the way back north I was thinking that I was still going really fast compared to my regular pace.  Even then, I was slow for my age group.  Looking back at the race results, I found out that I was 16 out of 24 if you only consider the bike leg of the race for my age group.  Obviously, I need more time in the saddle.  As I was biking I kept thinking to myself, "Enjoy this!  You've worked hard to get this far!"  Even while getting passed I was having a lot of fun pushing speeds that are high for me.  I finished the bike portion of the race in 51:03 at an average speed of 17.6 mph!

Bike - 51:03

Coming back to the transition area I unclipped early.  The last thing I wanted was to end up taking a spill because my feet were still attached to the pedals when I stopped.  I jumped off the bike without mishap and started running.  Well, I thought I was running, but the scenery was moving by pretty slowly.  My legs weren't used to powering a bike at that speed so they were very sluggish starting to run.  The transition went as planned and I ran out for the final leg of the race.

The grinning fool starts the run

My legs were a lot more tired than I expected.  I knew I would be tired, but I'd pushed a lot harder on the bike than I had planned.  Overall, I felt good though.  My attitude was still positive and I didn't feel lightheaded from the heat.  The run was much different than the local 5k's I've run.  In those, people are really moving.  In the triathlon, people looked really tired.  A lot of people were walking and nobody was running really fast.  It was hard to find someone to pace because people were stopping and starting and either going too fast or too slow.  I slowly started seeing the ladies in my age group that had passed me on the bike.  I managed to pass a few of them and make up some of the time lost on the bike.  The run went through a neighborhood and the residents were hanging out in the front lawn watching us pass.  They probably thought we were crazy.  Some of them had hoses out and were spraying the runners.  The water helped beat the heat and I was sure to take advantage of every hose.

As I got closer I could see the final turn.  Once I turned that corner I knew I only had about 0.1 miles left to run.  I was moving slow.  I couldn't let everyone see me moving this slow!  I sped up to come around the corner.  I could see the finish!  I started to get really excited!  I was about to finish a race I'd been training for!  I wasn't dead.  I actually felt decent!  As I got closer I heard the cheering section.  My friends had made a Pineapple Woman sign!  I couldn't help but smile and laugh as I crossed the finish.  They are nuts.  I may not win any awards for my race time, but if there was an award for best cheering section, they would have taken first place!

Smiling Fool strikes again!  At the finish!

After crossing the finish, they handed out towels soaked in cold water, water, and completion medals.  Whoever decided to hand out those cold towels was sent directly from heaven.  It felt so good.  I stopped to recover for a minute before going to join my family and friends.  My final time was 1:35:07 putting me in 9th place for my age group.

Results Ticket

In my wildest dreams I had hoped to finish the race in 1:30:00.  In hindsight that probably wasn't very realistic.  At my current fitness level I don't see how I could have shaved 5 minutes off of my time.  While that was my wild goal, my main goal was to have a great time and get into the best shape of my life.  In all the pictures I'm smiling like a fool so I think that goal was accomplished!  My fitness level has increased dramatically since I started training.  I feel great.

Best Cheering Section and Sign Ever!

I did this race to prove to myself that I could.  I wanted to do something I didn't think was possible.  I'm no one special.  Anyone could do this.  At the very least I've proven to myself that I can achieve more than I think is possible.  This isn't just true in physical fitness.  I can and should be pushing myself towards bigger goals in other areas of life as well.  At most hopefully someone else has seen me out running the neighborhood or read the blog and been inspired to set bigger goals for themselves as well.

I'm not sure what's next for me.  I'm taking the week off to rest and regroup.  Getting ready for this race was a big commitment and my body and life need some attention and rest.  I can't wait for the next adventure!

~~~~~~~~Final Note~~~~~~~~

This race required a lot of patience from my close friends.  Thanks for being understanding when I missed events or didn't get to hang out as much as usual.  Thank you also to David and Q for the excellent photographs!  Below are some of the photos that they took that didn't fit into the story above but I couldn't help but post.

Crazy enough to hug me when I'm sweaty and gross

Really Tired

Mom

David

Pineapple Man Gabe -  01:21:32 Great Race!

Gear Ready!

I have everything packed and ready to go for the triathlon tomorrow.  I practiced my transitions so they should go fairly smoothly.  There was a pasta dinner near the race site this evening so I stopped by to check out the transition area.  This is what my transition area will look like.

I will start the race with the swim cap, goggles and earplugs (top left).  In transition 1 I will drop them on the top left of my mat.  Sunglasses are open inside my helmet.  Those go on first followed by the helmet.  Next, socks and cycling shoes.  The Camelbak (far right) will be hanging from my bike handlebars.  That goes on last.  Afterwards I will grab the bike off the rack and run to the bike mounting area where I'll start the bike portion.

For the second transition I will run my bike in and put it on the rack.  Camelbak will come off and get thrown on the ground next to my towel.  Next, cycling shoes off, helmet off.  My running shoes have elastic laces so I don't have to stop to tie them.  I'll pull on my running shoes and pick up my race belt with number sitting under the shoes.  I'll put the race belt on as I'm running out of the transition area.

Phew!  I'm excited and ready to go!  Off to bed as 4:00 AM is coming early!

Are You Ready?

Now that the race is in just a few days I've been asked the question, "Are you ready?" a lot.  I've thought about this race every day without exception for the past 6 months.  I've worked out more consistently in the last 6 months than I have in my entire life.  Am I ready?  My answer has been, "As ready as I'm going to get."

I've overcome a lot of fears since I started training.  At the beginning of all this the furthest I'd ever run was a 5k.  I'd never even touched a road bike and I'd never swam for fitness sake.  If you've been following you know that my biggest fear has been drowning during the swim leg.  It took a lot of open water swims to overcome that fear, but I'm at the point now that I'm cautious but not afraid.  I never expected that would happen before the race.

But most importantly I've learned a lot about possibilities and setting goals.  If I hadn't signed up for this race I would still be struggling through occasional runs.  You and I are capable of a lot more than we think.  This has made me realize that I'm selling myself short in other areas of my life.  I have settled for what's easy rather than what I can achieve with consistent hard work and pushing myself towards goals that seem unachievable.  The lessons I've learned apply to more than just this race. 

I'm not going to be setting any records this weekend, but I feel ready.  I'm excited to participate in a race that has helped me overcome fears and learn lessons that have changed my outlook on life.  I can't wait for Sunday!

Coach Jane

This is Coach Jane.  As you can see, she is insanely flexible.  Up until about a month ago, she taught yoga at the Pro Health by my house.  I started taking her class twice a week in November.  I absolutely love her class.  She has made a noticeable impact on my life in the past 6 months that I've been attending.  I can easily see the positive influence her class has had on my yoga, my physical fitness, and my life in general.  Coming from a basketball background, the person who is directing your exercise and pushing you towards your goals is "coach."  So naturally, Jane has become Coach Jane.  I call her that when I refer to her in conversation with my friends and family.  She doesn't know that I call her Coach Jane.  I guess she'll find out if she reads this. :-)

It is weird how people can impact you.  Sometimes, they don't even know who you are.  Even if they do they might not know they've had an impact at all.  Coach Jane's influence has been like this to me.  We speak in class now and then, but we don't know each other very well.  I don't know much about her outside of class.  I don't know anything about her history or how she would react in common life situations.  The same is true in the reverse.  She knows some things about me, but not much.  Regardless, she has left a lasting impression.

I came to Jane's class in late November.  I decided to start my new year's resolutions early so I wouldn't be one of the people coming to the gym for the first time on January 1.  In the past I'd been in and out of yoga classes and I wanted to get back into it.  Her class was held at a convenient time so I started attending.  I was immediately hooked.  Her class is unique in that it brings peace to your mind like you would expect from yoga, but it really challenges your body.  When most people think of yoga they think of the peace but not the challenge.  The challenge is what keeps my body and mind interested and coming back for more.

Coach Jane has taught me a lot in class.  Some of it has been directly relevant to my triathlon training and a lot of it has been relevant to life.

Listen to your body.  This is kind of a yoga creed.  If your body is saying ouch, don't push it.  This lesson pushed me toward getting my bike fitting to relieve my knee pain.  It also influenced me to make a really tough decision, to stop taking spin class.  I love spin class, but it was causing knee pain that I couldn't fix.  This lesson doesn't mean you stop pushing your body at any resistance.  Your body is capable of much more than you give it credit for.  You can push it pretty hard and in exercise that is a good thing.  Pushing when your body is sending a signal to stop because of pain is a different story though.  Before yoga I wasn't able to differentiate between the two.  Now I recognize when my body needs a day to recover or just should not be pushed in a certain way.

Choose a positive attitude.  One of my favorite things about Coach Jane's class is the positive attitude she brings to class.  She's never walked in the door without a smile on her face.  Now I can't believe that in 6 months she's never had a bad day.  While she always seems to have a positive attitude, she doesn't give off an everything's perfect vibe.  She realizes that some of us come out of really stressful days, but like in yoga you have to be able to adapt and work with what you've been given.  This has been a tough lesson that I still haven't fully figured out.  God placed Jane's class in my life at exactly the right time.  When I first came to class my family had just found out that my mom's cancer had returned after a 2 year disappearing act.  I didn't feel like I was succeeding at work and other relationships around me seemed to be falling to pieces.  I realize that there are a lot of people with much harder lives than mine, but let's just say positivity wasn't really in the forefront of my mind.  Jane's attitude has slowly helped me work though the negative thoughts and feelings and realize that you can still find pleasure in the little good things in life when things seem to be falling apart.

Everyone is welcome.  Jane's class is very popular.  Sometimes the class is seemingly full.  However, when the next person walks in the door she happily instructs us to move our mats closer together to make room.  She has said that the most fun classes are always packed full.  Some days our mats were only 6 inches apart.  But she was right, they were a lot of fun.  Even if you do accidentally kick someone on the head!  This is a good life lesson.  No one is more important or less important than anyone else.  Yoga has been a very individual activity for me in the past, but this class has helped me realize that it's not just about me.  It's about the class as a whole and the environment that is created when we all get together.

Yoga can be about strength.  Most people think of yoga as stretching, but it can also improve your strength.  I have always been pretty puny when it comes to strength.  By regularly attending yoga I've gotten to the point that I can do two full "man" push ups.  To a lot of people that may not sound like much, but I have never been able to do even a single full push up.  It is so rewarding to see progress.

Regularly attending yoga has done so much to improve my physical and mental well being since I started attending in November.  When Jane announced she was leaving the Pro Health I was really bummed about it.  Sometimes, people are only put in your life for a short season and I was pretty sure this season was ending.  Fortunately, Jane has started a new class in Melbourne Beach that is actually more convenient for me to attend than her previous class.  For now, this season will continue and I am incredibly grateful for each class.

***Note: if you are interested in attending Jane's class send me a note and I'll get you her information.  It is a great class!

Workout Summary: 5/25/2011

Swim:

Warmup: 50 yd freestyle, 50 yd kick repeat

Distance: 24 x 25 yards = 600 yards = 0.34 miles
Time: 10 min 52 sec
Breathing: 3 stroke
Pace:   1.88 mph

2 Minute Sprints:
In 2 minutes, swim 100 yards, rest remaining.  Repeat 5 times.
First 100 yards: 1 min 32 seconds
Last 100 yards: 1 min 43 seconds

Attitude:
I love hanging out at the pool.  Today was water aerobics.  There is a young guy that teaches the class and you can tell the little old ladies just love him.  He really plays it up.  I felt like I was floundering in the swim but my time was decent.  I'm itching to get back and practice in the river.

Workout Summary: 5/24/2011

Bike:
Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/13376928
Odometer: 15.5 miles
Max Speed: 21.3 mph
Moving Time: 56 min 15 sec
Moving Avg: 16.6 mph
Stopped Time: 02 min 30 sec
Overall Avg: 15.9 mph
Total Time: 58 min 45 sec

Run:
Route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/13354056
Odometer:  3.42 miles
Pace: 8:46 mile
Total Time: 30  min 10 seconds

Attitude:
This was a practice run of the Pineapple Man course.  I got lost for a little bit on the bike and went the wrong direction, so I probably wasted at least a minute there.  The initial ride south is rough against the wind.  The bike lane is really just a shoulder and gets pretty narrow in places.  The ride back north is much better.  I think I might buy a side mirror for my bike because I have some trouble staying out of traffic.  :-(  I was a little disappointed with my bike time.  I would have been the last place bike finisher in my age group with that time in last year's race.

The run was really good.  I thought I was lost the entire time but it turns out I was exactly where I needed to be.  The route is through a neighborhood with lots of mature trees so it was mostly shaded.  I actually felt really good after the run.

This was my first dress rehearsal with my new tri shorts.  I think they are too small, but it's a little late now.  They were more comfortable than I expected on the bike, but not as good as my bike shorts.  I hope to practice swimming with them this week. 

Workout Summary: 5/23/2011

Run:

Fartleks
15 min warm up
Sprints with 2.5 min rest in between
   2 min, 3 min, 4 min, 4 min, 3 min, 2 min
Cool down for time remaining to 1 hour

Route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/35341448
Odometer: 6.03 miles
Pace: 9:57 mile
Total Time: 1 hr

Attitude:
This run actually felt good.  It has been forever since I've done sprints and my legs were in for an awakening.  The weather was warm but not sweltering so I didn't feel like death.  I'm very happy with a 9:57 sprint pace.  I'd be interested to know how fast I was going on the sprints.  On the last sprint my form was getting sloppy and my right hip started to hurt a little bit.  Hopefully it's nothing and it goes away soon.

There were two kids playing outside while I was running.  They were probably 3rd graders.  As I ran past them one of the kids faked falling off his skateboard and rolling around in the street like he was dying.  I ignored him and ran past.  On the way back I saw him fall to the ground again as I came around the corner.  He started screaming bloody murder again.  His friend had a grin from ear to ear.  I just laughed and said, "I saw you faking it.  You can't fool me!"  Nice try kid.

Workout Summary: 5/22/2011

Bike:
Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/34279122
Odometer: 17.1 miles
Max Speed: 24.6 mph
Moving Time: 1 hr 1 min
Moving Avg: 16.8 mph
Stopped Time: 02 min 27 sec
Overall Avg: 16.1 mph
Total Time: 1 hr 3 mins

Run:
Route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/33783450
Odometer:  3.94 miles
Pace: 9:02 mile
Total Time: 35  min 39 seconds


Attitude:
Great bike.  I almost died on US1, but other than that it was uneventful.  There we lots of bikers out on Rockledge Drive today.

Ugh.  Don't ever go running at noon in Florida during May.  There was no wind and the air was super humid.  I walk/ran the last mile of the run.  It makes me feel unprepared when I have to stop.

Workout Summary: 5/21/2011

Swim:

Warmup: 50 yd freestyle, 50 yd kick repeat

Distance: 24 x 25 yards = 600 yards = 0.34 miles
Time: 11 min 03 sec
Breathing: 3 stroke
Pace:   1.85 mph

2 Minute Sprints:
In 2 minutes, swim 100 yards, rest remaining.  Repeat 5 times.
First 100 yards: 1 min 33 seconds
Last 100 yards: 1 min 45 seconds

Attitude:
I felt good swimming.  I hadn't been in the pool for a long time.  My buddy, Gabe, suggested trying some sprints so I did them just to switch it up.  I get sick of just going back and forth over and over.  My initial sprint speed was faster than I expected, but obviously I can't sprint for 0.34 miles.

The usual swim lessons at the pool were going on while I was there.  One kid cried the entire time.  It was hilarious how upset he was while his parents looked on with a mixture of disgust and embarrassment.  Parents should qualify for instant sainthood.

Crazy Dream

I had a really weird dream about the Pineapple Man last night.  It has been at the front of my mind this week so now it's closely sneaking into my sleep as well.

Cast of Characters:

High School Acquaintance:  I haven't really even thought about this person since high school but she showed up in my people you may know list on facebook so I was looking through some of her photos a couple days ago.

Tri Swimming Coach: There is a girl at the gym that teaches a triathlon swimming clinic at the pool.  I haven't taken the class, but I've been on another lane while she was teaching it a few times before.  She also teaches swim lessons to little kids at the gym which is where I saw her yesterday.

Heidi: Roommate

Sharon: One of the ladies I met in yoga class.  She is also a cyclist.  When I did the 33 mile route for the Cycle Jam she did the 100.

Dream:

Now that the cast of characters is established I can tell the dream without going off on tangents about who everyone is.

I show up for the Pineapple Man race ready to go.  That morning I was running around getting everything ready last minute as is usual for me.  I didn't dream anything about setting up my bike and other gear at the transition area.  I just started at the swim.  I was wearing my swimsuit not my triathlon clothes.  Heidi was competing with me (she's not signed up in real life).  At the start we jump in and start swimming together.  The water is very clear, and my viewpoint is not from my eyes but through a video camera recording the scenes in a movie.  The swim starts in an open area but narrows down through two high walls about 20 feet apart.  There is red tape on the top of the water indicating the lane.  If you go outside the lane you are automatically disqualified.  I have trouble with swimming in a straight line so I was being really conscious about not going outside of the line.  One of my fears going into the actual race is that I'll disqualify myself.  In the out-of-bounds area, there are referees guarding and recording any violations.  I am swimming along and I feel a pull on my ankle.  The pull brings me under water just as I'm getting ready to take a breath.  It is the high school acquaintance.  She had pulled my ankle and was dragging me under water to the out of bounds area.  She was playing dirty and intentionally disqualifying swimmers.  Since I didn't get to breathe before getting pulled I had to surface in the out-of-bounds area.  When I surfaced, the referee was the tri swimming coach.  She said, "Player #X, your time won't count."  I was devastated, but I wanted to finish anyways so I kept on swimming.

When I got to the end of the swim I arrived at a boathouse where we were to pick up our kayaks.  I don't know how this happened because there is no kayaking leg of the Pineapple Man.  I don't remember bringing my kayak to the race.  Heidi was at the boathouse and pulled out two kayaks.  That wasn't my kayak..."Heidi, where are our kayaks?"  "They lost them," she said.  What?!?!  I get out of the water to figure out where my kayak was.  I ran inside and it was like a maze.  I couldn't find any kind of line or checkout system or anything.  I saw Sharon and asked her where we were supposed to get our kayaks.  She said we had to take our swim caps to the vending machine.  I don't know what I was supposed to get out of the vending machine, but I went to the closest machine and it said to scan the UPC label on my cap.  I took it off and sure enough there was a raised UPC that I scanned into the machine.

The rest of the details of the dream are fuzzy.  The main theme was that it was a total mess and everything was going wrong.  I remember thinking I was going to write an email to the race director expressing my disappointment.  I know that the actual race will be well organized without devious players.  I guess I've been nervous that I won't be ready.  A couple days ago I had a really terrible workout where I could only run about half of the 2.76 miles I planned to run.  I think that has allowed some doubt to creep in.  I still have two weeks to get ready so I should be prepared for the race.  I'm really excited for race day.  Hopefully it is nothing like my crazy dream!

Workout Summary: 5/20/2011

Bike:
Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/33579160
Odometer: 20 miles
Max Speed: 22.7 mph
Moving Time: 1 hr 13 min
Moving Avg: 16.2 mph
Stopped Time: 03 min 27 sec
Overall Avg: 15.5 mph
Total Time: 1 hr 17 mins

Run:
Route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/33579502
Odometer:  2.75 miles
Pace: 12:57 mile
Total Time: 35  min 39 seconds

Attitude:
Great bike ride today.  It was my first day with new tires and tubes.  There wasn't really a noticeable difference, but it was fun.  I noticed a lot of houses that I'd never noticed before.  My knees felt pretty good today.

The run was a totally different story.  I immediately felt awful.  I had to stop before I even finished a mile.  I walked for about 1.5 miles before I could start again.  I had a weird cramp from below my ribs down into my hips.  I don't know what the problem was.  Earlier in the morning I told my mom I was feeling pretty ready for the race.  Maybe I was getting to cocky.  Today was humbling.

Workout Summary: 5/19/2011

REST DAY!

Workout Summary: 5/18/2011

Cardio rest day.

This was unintentional.  My master plan was to do the yard work then go for a bike ride.  As I should have known, the yard work took forever and the sun was too low in the sky to start a ride when I was done.  The new tires on my bike are so lonely!  Instead I came inside and did some strength training with Heidi.  3 sets of 10 pushups/10 situps/10 squats followed by 10 modified burpees.  Hopefully I can move my arms in the morning.

Workout Summary: 5/17/2011

Today's swim was at Melbourne Riverview Park.  The first time, I swam two sets of 0.1 miles.  I was extremely tired and discouraged after each set.  Swimming in the river is much harder because your arms and legs don't get the short rest you get when turning around at the wall in the pool.  I took a short break and then swam a full 0.3 miles.  I felt much more confident.  I did have to stop a couple times and breast stroke for a little bit to catch my breath and rest.  I've been working on my sighting which is slowly improving.  I completed the 0.3 miles in 9 minutes 40 seconds.  My goal in the swim portion of the race is to not drown so I'm not too concerned about time, but I would be more than happy if I did that pace on race day.

Workout Summary: 5/16/2011

Run:
Route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/34547406
Odometer:  5.97 miles
Pace: 9:06 mile
Total Time: 54  min 25 seconds
Splits: Loop 1: 26 min 23 seconds, 8:50 pace
          Loop 2: 27 min 36 seconds, 9:14 pace


Attitude:
Internal soundtrack: Usher's "DJ's Got Us Fallin' in Love."  I kept hearing the "no control of my body" part over and over in my head.  Kind of annoying.

Good run today.  My hip hurt a little for the first mile but felt fine after that.  My knees ached around mile 4 but nothing that made me want to stop.  I felt surprisingly good until mile 5.  At that point my body started falling apart.  It became difficult to put one foot in front of another.  I still managed to finish up feeling decent.  I did 2 loops so I was able to take a ~30 second water break between loops.  I slowed down quite a bit between loops.

Workout Summary: 5/15/2011

Bike:
Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/34454052
Odometer: 21.3 miles
Max Speed: 26.1 mph
Moving Time: 1 hr 18 min
Moving Avg: 16.4 mph
Stopped Time: 06 min 58 sec
Overall Avg: 15.0 mph
Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins

Run:
Route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/34454372
Odometer:  2.54 miles
Pace: 8:54 mile
Total Time: 22  min 37 seconds

Attitude:
My knee hurt a little on the bike today, but not too bad.  I felt more balanced in the saddle than usual today.  I was able to pedal and get water from my Camelbak at the same time.  Cycling was an exercise in love bug catching today.  I couldn't breathe through my mouth without risk of swallowing 10 of them.  At a stop light I looked down and I had about 20 of them stuck to my shirt and shorts.  Gross.

I'm still nursing my hip so I didn't kill myself on the run today.  I think I'm close to recovered, but not there yet.  I'm hoping to put some big miles in tomorrow.  After the run I felt really lightheaded which is abnormal for me.  I drank plenty and had a gatorade to get some sugar into my system.  It seemed to go away in about 15 minutes.

Workout Summary: 5/14/2011

Planned to open water swim Saturday after kayaking, but a storm was rolling in so the water was too choppy.  Kayaking will have to be the day's workout.

Pineapple Man Will Be Available For Live Internet Steaming

This is crazy.  The Pineapple Man blog just announced that the race will steam live on the internet.  There will be a camera at the swim exit, bike turnaround, run turnaround, and finish.  They will also have a big screen at the race for the spectators.  It will be nice for spectators to be able to see what's happening at different points of the race.  It would be impossible for them to make it to all of those viewing points.

I'm not sure how many people will watch remotely, but the option is available.  I'll post updates when specifics are posted closer to race time.

Workout Summary: 5/13/2011

Bike:
Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/34279122
Odometer: 17.1 miles
Max Speed: 24.2 mph
Moving Time: 1 hr 1 min
Moving Avg: 16.7 mph
Stopped Time: 02 min 12 sec
Overall Avg: 16.1 mph
Total Time: 1 hr 3 mins 

Attitude:
No running today to help heal my hip.  I tried to keep my ankle at the right angle again, but my knee hurts again.  I had to push a lot against the wind today.  Maybe the knee pain is from mashing the pedals too hard.  I try to just spin when the wind is hard, but I'm a little to stubborn for that.  A guy passed me on the way back to the house.  I tried to keep up with him for a while, but he pulled away pretty quickly.  He was going a good 2 mph faster than me so I couldn't keep the speed for very long.  I wish I was faster, but I can't feel too bad losing seeing as his thighs were probably twice as muscularly thick as mine.

Workout Summary: 5/12/2011

Bike:
Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/34167112
Odometer: 16.3 miles
Max Speed: 27.3 mph
Moving Time: 57 min 44 sec
Moving Avg: 17 mph
Stopped Time: 01 min 23 sec
Overall Avg: 16.6 mph
Total Time: 59 mins 7 sec

Run:
Route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/34212208
Odometer:  3.52 miles
Pace: 9:21 mile
Total Time: 32  min 57 seconds

Attitude:
My butt is sore from lunges yesterday...ugh...

The bike was really good.  The wind wasn't directly at my face for very long so I was able to keep a high speed.  My rear is getting more comfortable in the saddle.  I tried to keep my left ankle at the right angle and my knee seems fine.

My hip is was still hurting for this workout.  I took the run very slowly in an effort to keep from hurting myself.  Afterwards my hip still hurt a lot.  I'm hoping this goes away soon.  If it still hurts for the next workout I will probably not run.

Workout Summary: 5/11/2011

Run:

Plan: Fartlek sprints
Actual: 15 min warmup run, 2 min walk, 2 min fast run, walk, 0.07 mile lunges, walk, some side shuffles, walk, 10 modified burpees

Attitude:
Tough day.  An old hip injury flared up today at work.  I used to get sharp hip pains, but they've been gone since I started exercising more regularly and taking glucosamine.  I'm not sure what made it flare up.  It could have been my new shoes from Sunday or our hip stretches in yoga or that I've stopped taking the glucosamine lately.  In the warm up it hurt a little and on the first sprint it hurt a lot.  I really didn't want to cut the workout short, but I'm not going to injure myself for this.  I tried to work on my leg strength by doing lunges and side shuffles.  I wanted to get my heart rate up so I decided to do some modified burpees when I got back to the house.  My upper arm strength has improved a lot since I last tried to do them, but there is still a lot of strength to be gained.

I'm a little discouraged by this body I'm working with.  Hopefully taking the glucosamine again will help.  I hate being dependent on medicines though.  I really want to hike the Appalachian Trail one day but it's going to be hard to do if my hip hates me.  I'm worried.

Workout Summary: 5/10/2011

Cardio Rest Day!

Yoga with Coach Jane in Melbourne Beach.  So glad her class is back on and at a convenient time and place.

2011 Run for the Gecko 5K Photos

The race organizers were kind enough to give us complimentary photographs of the race.

Mid race

Check out the chick with the crooked legs.  I was born that way, baby.  Based on this picture I have some work to do with shoulders back, chest out.

Proof that if you start from nothing you're bound to improve:

This is my finish picture from the same race in 2009.

You may or may not be able to see it on my face, but I feel like I got run over by a truck.  It was incredibly hot that morning and I had to stop multiple times during the race.  Official time: 29:53.8.  I remember feeling really accomplished that I'd broken 30 minutes.  I hovered around this time until I started running regularly late last year.

Some things don't change.  I felt like death again, but with much better results.  Instead of being excited about breaking the 30 minute mark, I'm just under the 25 minute mark.  Official time: 24:56.5.  Obviously, my t-shirt color choices have improved drastically!

First Open Water Swim

Today was my first ever open water swim!  I was very nervous about it and thought about it all day.  The plan was to go out to a riverfront public park, David would kayak and I would swim.  We'd trade off when the swimmer got tired.

My biggest fear was that the water would be freezing.  I can't stand being cold and I'm a pretty big wimp about it.  Seventy degrees is still jeans weather for me.  Before we unloaded the kayak I went to check the water temperature to see if I'd even be able to get in.  It was like a bath!  The water at the gym pool is much colder.  Now, a slew of other fears came to the forefront.  Maybe the water was too warm.  Was I going to get an amoeba?  Was I going to drown?  It's close to sunset and I think that's when sharks feed.  Am I going to get bit by a shark?  I watched shark week once about 10 years ago and I've never been able to get into the ocean without thinking about it.

I was nervous but figured it was better to face my fears now rather than when I was racing.  The water was less than knee deep much further off shore than I expected.  There were some sailboats anchored out in the distance and I had to walk all the way out to them before the water was deep enough to swim in.  When I started swimming a lot of things I hadn't considered happened.  First, the water was salty!  Duh.  I hadn't thought about that.  I couldn't see anything.  I knew I wasn't swimming in a pool so I wouldn't have the line at the bottom of the pool to keep me going in a straight line, but I couldn't even see my hands during my stroke.  The waves weren't big, but they were big enough.  I could feel my body bobbing and the waves splashed into my mouth a couple times when I was trying to breath.  I also didn't realize how crooked I swim when I can't see where I'm going.  I swing way out to the left.  I didn't look up to see where I was going on my first few strokes and when I finally looked up I was going a good 45 degrees or more from where I thought I was headed.

I thought my pool workouts would have prepared me for an open water swim.  Comparing open water swimming to pool swimming is like comparing jogging on a treadmill to jogging uphill against the wind.  Not at all the same workout.  My initial plans to only do one open swim per week may have to be thought out again.

I took some good lessons away from my first open water swim.  I'm less worried that I'll get eaten by sharks, and I'm less afraid of drowning.  I have a more realistic view of what the swim will be like for the Pineapple Man and I still have a lot of work to do!

Workout Summary: 5/8/2011

Bike:
Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/33579160
Odometer: 20.0 miles
Max Speed: 25.3 mph
Moving Time: 01 hr 13 min
Moving Avg: 16.3 mph
Stopped Time: 02 min 12 sec
Overall Avg: 15.8 mph
Total Time: 01 hr 16 mins

Run:
Route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/33783450
Odometer:  3.94 miles
Pace: 8:53 mile
Total Time: 35 min 02 seconds

Attitude:
The wind wasn't so bad today, but I was still going into the wind on the return trip.  I did a better job of pacing myself so I didn't feel like I was going to drop dead on the way back.  I took the visor off my helmet today which made a world of difference.  I didn't have to lift my head as far to see the road under the visor.  On the bike ride I saw the COOLEST recumbent bike.  I don't see one in my future in the next year, but I'm not sure I'll be able to resist forever.  I tried to focus on my left leg today.  It is the one with the knee that hurts when I bike.  I tried to focus on keeping my ankle more at an angle.  I noticed last ride that I was pointing that foot.  I'm going to give that a try for a while and see if my knee starts feeling better.  Today I noticed it, but it wasn't as bad as the last ride.  It is frustrating for my body to be the limiting factor in my speed.  I would like it to be something more controllable like my cardio fitness level.

The run was good.  I was breaking in some new shoes and still managed to keep it under a 9:00 min mile.  I didn't want to buy new shoes, but I'm still not ready to transition to the flats full time and I wore a hole on the inside of my regular trainers.  I seemed to have some hot spots on the bottom of my feet, but I'm thinking that will go away as I wear them in.  I saw two beautiful swans in the canal in the neighborhood.

Happy Mother's Day

Me and Mom

I am fortunate to have the most amazing mother.  In my family we call her "the glue."  She brings us all together.  Every year I am more and more aware of the many reasons I have to appreciate her.  I could list them all here, but it would take forever...literally.

One of my first posts was about why I signed up for the Pineapple Man.  I was looking for a challenge, felt stuck in a rut, wanted to get in shape, etc.  These reasons are all true, but there are stories behind each.  My mom has always preached the importance of good diet and exercise to me, my brothers, and my dad.  In college she would always ask me if I was utilizing the nice gym on campus (I wasn't).  When I started working full time she'd always try to encourage me to start going to the gym or taking yoga classes again (again, I wasn't).  Sometimes it takes something to knock you in the side of the head with a brick before you'll change your habits.

Most people know that my mom was diagnosed with cancer a few years back.  This was a real eye opener for my family.  After all, mom is the healthiest person any of us know.  She has been an aerobics/yoga instructor since I was a little kid.  She is always eating right and exercising.  The cancer was serious and had spread from her lung to her brain but seemed to be localized to those areas.  The doctors were optimistic and wanted to treat the cancer aggressively.  To make a long story short, after a few surgeries, radiation, and chemo, they could no longer find any cancer cells in her body.  I was convinced that we'd witnessed a miracle.  My mom had been healed.  She was still on watch by the doctors going in for regular scans, but the cancer was no longer present.

Late last year mom was having neck and back pain.  She didn't tell us kids, but her and my dad suspected the cancer had returned.  After visiting with the doctor, we found out that the cancer was back.  This time in her bones.  As a family, we were much more prepared for what was to come, but that doesn't mean it was easy.  The cancer had cause severe bone degeneration in her neck and upper legs.  This required more surgeries.  I don't like the word hate.  It carries a lot of negativity with it so I try not to use it.  I could probably count on one hand how many times I've said "hate" in the last 3 years.  I have no trouble using the word "hate" when it comes to cancer.  I hate everything about it.

The surgery to my mom's upper legs left her in bed for a short time and with a walker for a while after that.  I know it is hard for her to not be able to be active.  I felt helpless.  I couldn't really do anything to help her from Melbourne.  I would visit on the weekends and try to help around the house, but it obviously wasn't doing anything to directly help her condition.  People deal with hardships in life in different ways.  I like to try and stay busy, but there really wasn't anything I could do to help.  That is when I started running.  I didn't run because I really wanted to.  I didn't run because it was fun.  I ran because I had two perfectly good legs and my mom couldn't even walk on her own.  I felt so guilty that I was wasting perfectly healthy legs.  In hindsight I admit this is maybe not the best way to deal with things, and my emotional state while running was not the best, but there wasn't really anything else I could do.  My brain had finally registered the message.  Exercise is important.  Sometimes there is nothing you can do to prevent disease, but you can greatly decrease your risk just by taking care of your body.  Improving my physical fitness has become a much higher priority.  If that switched hadn't flipped, I would have never registered for the Pineapple Man.

My mom is a champ and continues to improve every day.  She is back to teaching yoga and lifting weights at the gym.  She is still under treatment for the bone cancer, but is still more active than most women her age.  I could not be more proud of her.  Her lifetime of fitness, strong faith and family has carried her this far and will continue to see her through.

I love you, Momma!  Happy Mother's Day!

Workout Summary: 5/7/2011 Run for the Gecko 5K

Run for the Gecko 5K: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4468824

24:56.5!  New personal record!!!

FEMALE AGE GROUP:  25 - 29
Place O'All No.   Name                    Time      Pace  
===== ===== ===== ======================= ========= ===== 
    1    38   341 Jessica Wiedenbauer      19:52.0  6:24 
    2    79   319 Jenny Tagg               21:47.2  7:01 
    3   105   108 Kristin Diederich        22:25.5  7:14 
    4   143   739 Jill Lorvin              23:39.9  7:38 
    5   173   616 Alison McBride           24:36.0  7:56 
    6   184   377 Megan Heffernan          24:56.5  8:02 

I didn't finish last in my age group.  I just didn't want to copy the entire score sheet here.  There were 47 people in the female 25-29 age group.  Yesterday I was seriously wondering why I signed up for this race.  I was tired and had no feeling of competitive spirit.  I just ran the Art Festival 5K a couple weeks ago, so what were my chances of any kind of gain anyway?  I started the race with no expectations of my performance.

The first mile seemed fairly easy.  I wasn't breathing too hard and I was pretty well distracted by the runners around me.  When I got to the 1 mile mark I realized that I was booking it!  I'd done the first mile in 7:49.  I've never seen a leading 7 at the 1 mile mark in a race before.  The second mile was slightly harder although I felt like I was running slower.  As I was running the second mile, the leading runners where coming towards us on the way back.  It is irritating that they don't even look like they're running that fast.  I'm huffing and puffing at a much slower pace and they're just gliding along.  My second mile time was 15:51.  So I ran my second mile in just over 8 minutes.  After mile two I started to hit a wall.  I started feeling nauseated and I was breathing pretty hard.  I kept telling myself that I was running a great race and it was almost over.  I could see the clock at the finish line as I finished mile 3.  Just 0.1 miles to go.  By the clock time I knew I was never going to make it in under 25 minutes, but I was better than my personal record so I didn't care.  I tried to keep pace to the finish and sprinted the last 30 feet or so because I saw someone coming up behind me.  Nobody likes to get beat at the finish line.

When I looked at the scoreboard for my final time it was 24:56.51!  A new personal record.  I felt terrible, but the good time made me feel a little better.  If you'd told me a year ago I would break 25 minutes in a 5K I would have laughed in your face.  It feels good.  The people I was hanging out with after the race all finished between 19 and 23 minute times.  They keep me humble.  :-)

OVERALL FEMALE CHAMPION
Place O'All No.   Name                    Age Time      Pace  
===== ===== ===== ======================= === ========= ===== 
    1     9    31 Jessica Crate            25  17:53.3  5:46

Congratulations to Jessica Crate, female overall champion.  This woman is a machine.  In my wildest dreams I run looking as effortless as she does.  She pretty much wins all the local races she enters.  She is registered to compete in the Pineapple Man.  I have the swim/bike/run times for each runner in my age bracket from last year posted in my cube.  Of course, Jessica was the winner.  I look at her time often as motivation to work harder and set higher goals.  I know I'll never beat her, but if I try to train to a higher level I should at least reach my personal best.

Despite my initial lack of excitement for today's race, I'm glad I went and had a lot of fun.

Workout Summary: 5/6/2011

Bike:
Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/33579160
Odometer: 20.0 miles
Max Speed: 25.4 mph
Moving Time: 01 hr 16 min
Moving Avg: 15.6 mph
Stopped Time: 02 min 09 sec
Overall Avg: 15.2 mph
Total Time: 01 hr 18 mins

Run:
Route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/33579502
Odometer:  2.76 miles
Pace: 9:00 mile
Total Time: 24 min 52 seconds

Attitude:
Self talk summary: "I HATE THE WIND!  CURSE YOU KNEES!"  My body really hated me today.  A storm was rolling in so there was a lot of wind.  I knew I was in trouble when I was easily keeping a 20 mph pace on the way out on the bike.  That meant I had the wind at my back.  The way back was painful.  I lost my gusto, the wind was whipping against me slowing my pace down to a crawl.  My left knee really started aching on the return trip.  I think I'm going to take a visit to Clyde and see if I have an alignment issue that can be fixed.  Having pain in my knees continues to be discouraging.  My new saddle is causing some discomfort in my sit bones from the decreased padding.  I'm told my body will adjust to this in time.

I decided to take it easy on the run afterwards because I was already exhausted and I want to rest my legs for the Run for the Gecko 5K tomorrow.  Back to my normal 9 minute pace.  Breathing was light as far as running goes.  I was happy to see a new duck family in one of the creeks in the neighborhood.

Workout Summary: 5/5/2011

Swim:

Warmup: 50 yd freestyle, 50 yd kick repeat

Distance: 24 x 25 yards = 600 yards = 0.34 miles
Time: 10 min 54 sec
Breathing: 3 stroke
Pace:   1.87 mph

Distance: 2 x 25 yard sprint
Time: 45 seconds
Pace:  2.27 mph

Distance: 24 x 25 yards = 600 yards = 0.34 miles
Time: 11 min 0 sec
Breathing: 4 stroke
Pace:   1.85 mph

Distance: 2 x 25 yard sprint
Time: 45 seconds
Pace:  2.27 mph

Attitude:
They had toddler swimming lessons at the pool today.  How can I not smile?  I'm glad I didn't decide to quit the earplugs yet because a few of them were really wailing.  I felt much sleeker in the water today.  It seems my times prove that it wasn't just a feeling.  I tested out 4 stroke breathing for one of my 600 yard swims.  I wasn't as out of breath as I expected, but it took some effort towards the end.  Next time I will try swapping the 3 and 4 stroke 600 yard swims to see if 4 stroke is actually slower or if I was just tired because I'd already done one set.  My head hurt while swimming today, but I think it is a result of working outside all day and dehydration.

One Month Countdown

Time has really flown by!  Today I am one month away from race day.  I'm excited yet nervous.  I don't know what to expect.  My 5k run times are always much shorter than my training times.  I don't know if I should expect the same from my swim and bike times.

Regardless, a few important things need to happen in the next month.

Training:

No more workout slacking!  I need to get back to one rest day per week.  No more quick swim workouts.  I need to be on the bike three times a week if I want to see improved results.  I've been slacking off a good bit in the last couple weeks and that needs to end.

It's time to start practicing open swims.  I'm still very anxious about the swim.  I have no experience swimming in open water.  I'd like at least one of my weekly swims to be open swims this month.  I am totally against open water swimming alone.  The plan is to either swim with a friend kayaking or swim with the local Thursday afternoon open swim group.

Transition time reduction.   A lot of time can be saved in the transition area.  I need to have a routine for exactly how everything will be laid out and what order they'll be put on and taken off.  This sounds kind of obsessive, but I promise, other people do it too.

Other Business:

What to wear?  I'm still heart aching over what I will wear for the triathlon.  I don't want to spend a ton of time changing clothes so I'd rather wear something I can wear for all three portions of the race.  This sounds easy, but it's actually complicated.  There are a lot of options and they are all expensive!  I need to make the decision this week so I can start practicing in the clothes I race in.

Change tires/tubes.  I have no idea how long the tires and tubes have been on my bike.  I'm going to replace them just in case.  I don't want them on their last leg and failing during the race.  I'll use my current ones as back up in the future.

Nerd Alert: record statistics.  I'm a major nerd for data especially in the form of charts and graphs.  I want to keep closer track of my results for each workout and how I'm feeling during the workout.  This will help me see results and make goals to do better each workout.  I'll be recording my daily workouts on the blog.

I'm really excited for this month.  It's time to get down to business!

Workout Summary: 5/4/2011

Swim:

Warmup: 50 yd freestyle, 50 yd kick repeat

Distance: 24 x 25 yards = 600 yards = 0.34 miles
Time: 11 min 12 sec
Pace:  1.83 mph

Distance: 2 x 25 yard sprint
Time: 47 seconds
Pace: 2.18 mph

Attitude:
I felt like I was floundering in the pool today.  Sometimes I feel like I'm gliding through the water.  Other days I feel like I'm just splashing around wasting energy.  Today was one of those days.  My 600 yard time wasn't bad though.  If I could bring my 600 yard pace up to 2 mph that would be great.  On the sprint I felt like I was really moving.  I only took a breath about twice per length of the pool.  I'm thinking I may want to change my normal pace breathing rate from the normal 3 strokes to 4 or 5.  I'm having issues with my earplugs so I'm not sure if I'll wear them for the triathlon. 

Short workout because I got stuck at work and had plans for later in the evening. 

 My left knee hurts from biking yesterday which is discouraging.  The pain is just above my left kneecap.  I'm considering going back to Clyde and asking for more adjustments.

Workout Summary: 5/3/2011

I'm going to try and keep a closer record of my progress here.  I realize most people won't care much about this information but I originally created this for tracking my own preparation.

Bike:
Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/33347706
Odometer: 17.6 miles
Max Speed: 25.4 mph
Moving Time: 01 hr 01 min
Moving Avg: 17.1 mph
Stopped Time: 03 min 31 sec
Overall Avg: 16.2 mph
Total Time: 01 hr 05 mins

Run:
Route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/33348542/
Odometer:  3.22 miles
Pace: 8:31 mile
Total Time: 27 min 26 seconds

Attitude:
Felt good on the bike ride.  Headwind was crazy on Valkaria.  Max Speed reached on Malabar with tailwind.  Had a hard time keeping my shoulders down.  Knees started to ache slightly on the return leg on Malabar Road.

Didn't realize how fast I was running for a training run until I reached the mile mark at 08:15.  Breathing labored at the end but felt good.  Arch pain in right foot continues but only seems to bother me when walking in my work shoes.

Slacker Week

I missed a few workouts this week.  I didn't really want to.  I took a regular rest day early in the week.  Then later in the week I took a rest day because I had a weird arch pain in my right foot.  I took the weekend off to go on a overnight hiking trip.

Part of me feels guilty for taking so many days off.  I don't mind taking off for injury, but for fun is harder to justify.  I have to remember that I should be maintaining a balance between work, exercise, and personal relationships.  The hiking trip was awesome.  I have the mosquito bites to prove it!

Melbourne Art Festival 5k

One of my favorite local 5k races is the Melbourne Art Festival 5k.  A ton of people participate, there is free beer at the end, and afterwards you can stroll through the art vendor booths.  The 3.1 mile course for this race is a challenge.  It goes over the 192 causeway and back.  This is pretty much the only type of elevation change we can get in this area.  This year, the art festival fell on Easter weekend.

I ran the Art Festival 5k last year.  I wasn't working out regularly at the time so I definitely wasn't in good shape.  Like all other races I ran last year I ran three or four times beforehand to prepare.  On the day of the 5k I felt the usual level of not ready.  Running up the causeway I felt like I was running so slowly.  I was breathing really hard and I wasn't even close to the top.  Wow, I felt out of shape.  When I reached the top of the causeway and started heading back down, I realized the problem wasn't being out of shape (well, my primary problem).  The problem was the ridiculous incline!  My body was not prepared to handle it at all.  I don't think I've ever felt that terrible during a race.  I finished in 31:56.9.

My goal this year was to not repeat last year.  I've been exercising regularly so I wanted to beat last year's time.  The causeway is a beast so I wasn't shooting for a personal record.  David and I did a practice run the week before, just to get an idea of what the race would be like.  I wanted to get an idea of what my time would be.  I tried to do my best.  David totally smoked me as expected.  He became further and further away until I couldn't see him anymore.  The wind on the causeway was ridiculous.  I finished the practice run in 28:13.  At least I would finish before last year's time.  A 9ish minute pace wasn't exactly what I was hoping for after running consistently for 3.5 months.

On race day I was excited to tackle the causeway.  Over 1900 people signed up for the race!  It was super crowded.  We started up the causeway and I felt surprisingly good.  Toward the top I was hating my legs, but I didn't feel like I was in slow motion like last year.  I don't remember my time at one mile, the second mile mark was on the way back down the causeway on the return trip so I was a little more coherent.  It was about 17 minutes.  I thought to myself...that's a 8:30 pace.  Better than my practice run.  I tried to let gravity help and fly me down the causeway.  I kept telling myself that I had less than one mile left.  Some masochist decided to finish the race on top of a hill.  I put my head down and tried to power up the hill.  I tried to sprint to the finish, but I didn't have much sprint in me at that point.  I made it my goal to not let one particular guy beat me.  I think he knew that was my goal because as we got closer to the finish, he sped up.  The course narrowed at the finish line causing us to bump elbows as we neared the finish line.  I'm pretty sure we crossed at exactly the same time touching elbows.  The time, 25:28.5!  Seventh in my age division and over 1 minute better than my personal record!

I was so pumped to have beaten my previous time!  At the finish line there was free beer, fruit, chicken wings, rice crispy treats, and more.  I ate a ton and enjoyed the art at the festival.  Overall, a great day.

While I'm glad to have done well at the race I'm confused about why I can't practice at the same level.  I NEVER run a 8:12 minute mile in training.  The best I can figure is that it's a group think type of mentality.  I get around others and a competitive drive kicks in.  My mind is distracted by the other runners and not on how tired I am or how much my legs hurt.  I just feel like if I could train at that level my race results improve.  I've entertained different ideas for bringing my training runs up to speed like wearing a heart rate monitor or speed training.  I haven't settled on anything yet.  For now, I'm going to be thankful and excited for a great race!

Self Talk Struggle Update

A couple weeks ago I posted about how my brain wasn't cooperating with my goals.  Since then I've been working on keeping my thoughts more positive during workouts.  I've been trying to focus more on how far I've come rather than how far I want to go.  I may be far from an elite athlete, but I've come a long way from running twice a month as my exercise plan.  Since I've been focusing on positive self talk my workouts have been a lot more fun and effective.

At the SCEIC Cycle Jam there was a pair of guys on a tandem bicycle.  The guy in the rear was blind.  This guy had a legitimate excuse to not bike, but he was out there anyway.  Rajesh Drupal was born with no bones in his legs and half of one arm.  Today he has competed in many triathlons including the Pineapple Man and a FULL IRONMAN.  These guys has overcome overwhelming odds to reach their level of fitness.  When I keep that in perspective it's hard for me to feel sorry for myself or make any excuses.

I still have some doubts and concerns during workouts, but I'm feeling much more positive.  During runs I've been concentrating more on listening to my body and enjoying the feeling of running (hard to believe) rather than time and pace.  I've found that when I do this the speed follows.  My confidence on the bike is increasing as I spend more time on it.  My balance is improving to the point where I can actually stand and pedal at the same time.  I've really come a long way.

SCEIC Cycle Jam

Sunday, David and I participated in the 2nd annual Space Coast Early Intervention Center Cycle Jam.  For this ride you could sign up for the 100 mile, 66 mile, 33 mile, or 10 mile family ride.  Harris sponsors the ride so employees are able to register for a discounted price.  I love that Harris does this.  It works out well for me because I get to enjoy the races for less, works out for the race charity because they get more entries, and I imagine Harris gets some type of tax write off for it as well.

100 and 66 Miler's Start

I was a little nervous about the ride.  I didn't know what the environment would be like, how the course would be marked, or how I would do riding 33 miles.  I'd never ridden further than about 20 miles before.  I had no idea how much water I would need so I wore my monster Camelbak backpack just in case.  I easily had the largest Camelbak/backpack of anyone there.  According to David someone riding around him said, "Good grief!  What does that girl have in that bag?!"  When I arrived, the 100 and 66 mile riders were starting.  They all looked very serious in their spandex clothes.  None of them really bolted off the starting line though.  Everyone seemed very content to start at an easy pace while people spaced out.  This made me feel a little bit better.

Pre-ride

David and I lined up toward the back of the pack for the start.  This was a non competitive charity ride so you don't wear a timing chip or anything.  Neither one of us were really in it to win it.  The start was calm similar to the 100 and 66 mile start.  After a couple miles people started to settle into their place and there wasn't much passing going on.  I started off following a guy with a skeleton styled jersey.  He was going slightly slower than I normally would, but I didn't know how much gas I should leave in the tank for 33 miles.  He was an incredibly polite rider.  Every time there was something in the road like a branch or a pothole or sand he would point it out as he passed it.  When he was stopping he would use a hand gesture.  Just overall a pleasure to ride with.  I decided to hang behind him for a while to learn some good group riding etiquette and because it really was nice to have such a polite guy leading the pack.  At a stop light he introduced himself to David and I as Russel.  I like Russel.  Him and David rode together the whole ride so they are bros now.

After about a third of the ride I got a little restless with the pace and decided to jump in front and leave our miniature pack.  I really liked the group element of riding, but I like to hang by myself sometimes.  I can get complacent and just follow the rear in front of me in a pack.

The route for the 33 mile course was really nice.  The first section went through city streets (as city as Melbourne is), the second section through less used roads, and the final section up US 1 and side streets with beautiful river views.  My cadence sensor on my bike stopped working about at Malabar Road so I was riding blind for the rest of the trip.  I've come to be very dependent on that sensor.  I try to keep my cadence constant regardless of the speed it's taking me.  At a cadence of 85 rpm I might be going really fast or really slow depending on the incline and headwind.  I made the best of it and just tried to ride at a comfortable level.

My favorite part was the ride down Old Dixie Highway.  It had tall trees on both sides to block the wind so I was able to pick up some pretty good speed.  At the turn onto US1 at the 20 mile mark there was a SAG station with snacks and drinks.  In keeping with the non competitive nature of the ride I decided not to kill myself and make a pit stop.  They had the most delicious M&M trail mix ever!  As I was chomping along there goes Russel and David!  They were too good to stop at the SAG I guess.  All bets on the non competitiveness of the race were off at that point.  I hopped back on the bike to make sure they didn't beat me to the finish.  I try not to be competitive, but with David it just doesn't work.

The ride up US1 was tough.  There was a good wind and the effort that previously was taking me up to 19 mph was now pushing me to a measly 13.  I had to crank it up.  My legs felt ok, but my left knee was starting the ache and my butt was about done riding on the saddle.  In hindsight I should have just been ok with the lower speed and nursed my knee a little bit.  I should have gone down to an easy gear and just spun through to the end.  Of course, I didn't do that at all.  My knee is now yelling at me as punishment.  I'm more convinced than ever that I have quadriceps tendonitis in the left knee.  Hopefully it will feel better in a couple days.

Post Ride

After the ride I felt surprisingly good.  I wasn't feeling refreshed by any stretch, but I didn't feel like I was going to need a wheelchair to get to the car either.  Much better than I expected.  David and I stopped and chatted with Russel for a little bit after the ride and he invited us to join his Saturday ride group that leaves from the Palm Bay Hospital on Saturday mornings.  If they are all as considerate as Russel, it would be a lot of fun to join them every now and then.

32 miles, 2:01 moving time, 15.9 mph moving avg, 22.6 mph max

There were free snacks and lunch afterwards so David and I probably more than replenished the calories we burned.  Each rider got a lunch voucher that we could use for food from Jason's Deli, Olive Garden, Long Doggers, and Broken Barrel catering tents.  There was live music and a bounce house for the kids.  Overall, this was a really well done event.  Maybe next year I'll be tough enough to do the 66 miler!