Ironman Lake Placid - aka The Best Day Ever!

(Pre-race days here)

Race Day!

I slept pretty solidly from about 9:45 -1:30, and was wide awake and raring to go at 1:30, just as I expected might happen. I stayed in bed, reading and watching some TV on my iPad. I figured even if I wasn’t sleeping at least I was resting staying off my feet.  I read an article about the fire stating that there was a chance the swim would be cancelled due to the fire – like I said earlier, having watched the whole thing happen I was not about to get worked up about parts of the race I couldn’t control. They had put a boom in the lake to contain the debris and they would test the water quality at 5am. I decided that if we didn’t swim, that was ok and just meant I would need to do another Ironman. If the swim was a go, then I would look at it as we were fortunate to be swimming, and to be grateful! Finally at about 3 I couldn’t take it any longer and headed downstairs to make coffee and breakfast. I wasn’t super hungry but managed to choke down some coffee, a bagel and ½ of an avocado. (Side note: cutting that bagel was terrifying! It had gotten pretty stale overnight and I was sure I was going to slice my hand open trying to cut it! Luckily that didn’t happen :) The combo of coffee and nerves did its job pretty quickly and then I went upstairs to get ready for the day. Hair braided, SOAS kit on, HR monitor and fully charged 920xt, sunscreen and I was all set. I had been listening to the rain coming down steadily all morning but by 4:30 when we were getting ready to leave the house it seemed to finally be stopping.

Cid, Emily and I (along with some sherpas!) left the house around 4:30 and started the 1-mile walk to transition. It had stopped raining and we were pretty quiet on the way down to the oval. On the way we dropped out bags off at run/bike special needs, then headed to get body marked before going into transition. Once in transition I added all my bottles to my bike, set up the nutrition that went on the frame and double-checked every thing. I held Emily’s bike while she pumped her tires and greased her chain, then she did the same for me. A few pics and we were out of there! On our way out we ran into Kenny, our local 70.3 race director, who gave us the all clear – the swim was on!

I knew that I needed to spend some quiet time listening to music and ignoring the pre-race hubbub, so I found a spot to sit on the curb near the beach and put my headphones in. I was hoping some of the words to the song would stick well enough in my head to entertain me for the day!

I had asked my family to meet me near the tennis courts at 6, so a little before I headed there to meet up with them. I can’t say enough how awesome it was to have my whole family there. Mike and Sarah instantly started documenting everything I was doing, including trying to yank up the wetsuit and defogging my goggles with some baby shampoo. Before I knew it it was 6:15 and the race was starting at 6:30!

Swim - 1:08:19

Emily and I were pretty confident in our swim ability and wanted to start as close to the front as possible, so we took on last picture, hugged our families and quickly went to rinse out our goggles and get in line. As we were walking through the porta-potty area, I got a whiff and actually dry heaved a few times – I was terrified that I was actually going to throw up and figured that would be a terrible way to start my Ironman day! Luckily the feeling passed and Emily and I began to push our way to the front of the swim line. We wanted to start in the 1:00-1:10 group, but we got there later than most people and eventually got tired of pushing our way through the men. We ended up somewhere near the front of the 1:10-1:20 group. The new rolling start works great if everyone is honest...and that’s a big if. We had both swum a 1:06 in training and knew we were capable of that, if not faster, unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Thinking back, I’m glad we didn’t stand at the start any earlier than we did, because standing with all those people waiting for the countdown was nerve racking!!

Finally, the national anthem played and after a short wait the cannon sounded! Emily and I had been standing arm in arm waiting for the start, with a quick hug we wished each other good luck and started to move forward. We actually ended up being stopped on our way into the water and made to wait about 30 seconds, allowing us a little bit of clear water to start since we were now at the front of our wave. If people had seeded themselves correctly this would have been awesome. We must have been being super cute with all of our hand holding because someone at the start definitely snapped our picture – if only we could find those shots! Anyways, our group was eventually allowed to start and we dove in and started swimming side-by-side, stroke for stroke. But by the first buoy, all hell broke loose (gross exaggeration alert!) as we came right up on to the people who had a 30 second head start on us. It got very crowded and a little physical as we started passing people left and right (these are all the dumb people who didn’t seed themselves correctly!). That’s where we lost each other, and I had to start focusing on myself and racing my race.

I tend to get very panicky in race swims, even though I’m a very strong swimmer. I have this pit in my stomach for the whole swim, that goes away as soon as I’m done! The rest of the swim was pretty uneventful, I tried to find open water and focused on counting my strokes and swimming long and strong. I was out of the water for the first loop in about 33 min. I took a second to readjust my cap and goggles (my caps always start to slide off, anyone know any good fixes? And my goggles were a little askew from a gentle heel to the face early in the swim).

 I dove back in to start the second loop. The two loops were pretty similar, passing people constantly and just looking for open water. On the second loop I was even able to spend some time right on the cable with no one around me – that was nice! It got super crowded after I rounded the last turn buoy, but I just kept swimming until my hands were in the sand and I couldn’t swim anymore. I was up and running and all my nerves just disappeared! I found a pair of wetsuit strippers and they were just amazing – I hadn’t even gotten in fully unzipped and they each helped me with a sleeve, one of them pulled it down over my waist, I sat down and they whipped it off – so easy! I threw it over my shoulder with a quick thanks and was on my way to transition.

So excited to see my bro (and be out of the water)!

T1 - 5:30

The transition at Lake Placid is a solid ¼ mile run from the beach, but it’s packed with people cheering and I had to try really hard to slow down. It was also very wet and the road was only lined with the skimpiest rug. Falling would have been super embarrassing! Into transition and through the bags (ran by my bag but it only took an extra second to realize), grabbed my swim-to-bike bag and into the women’s change tent. A volunteer near the exit put her arm up and yelled for me to come over. She dumped out my bag, and offered to help anyway she could. She was awesome! All my nutrition went into one pocket, inhaler into the other, shoes, helmet and sunglasses went on and I was out of there. As I ran towards my bike there was a woman with a megaphone calling out numbers so the volunteers could grab your bike off the rack. I shouted my number at her and heard her call it out, but when I got to my rack there were 3 volunteers standing there with no bike! Oh well. Luckily my bike is very visible, so I quickly grabbed it and started running towards Bike Out.

Bike - 6:27:10

The bike course starts with a couple of sharp turns and a downhill so steep that they put haybales at the bottom, so I got clipped in quickly and just focused on getting through this section safely. It was somewhere after the hill that I realized my Garmin said run, not bike, and realized I had somehow clicked it a few too many times. I stopped it, hit save (couldn’t lose the swim data!) and started a new multisport event, quickly toggling through the swim and T1. I wasn’t worried about the watch for time or pace, but I had specific HR ranges Kelly wanted me to be in. Once the watch was set I could see that I had some work to do to bring the HR down into the right zone, but the bike course is also steadily uphill for the first 5 or so miles.

Anyway, after I got out of town and was heading out to the Horse Show area, I realized I already needed to pee! Good sign that I was well hydrated that morning? So less than 2 miles into the bike I just let it go! As I was peeing I saw Abby and Annie running up from River Road – sorry guys, that’s why I had such a big smile on my face! Feeling much lighter and better, I tried to get settled in for the long haul. Having seen Emily’s transition bag on the rack near mine, I knew she was somewhere behind me, but figured she would be coming up and passing me any second! Every time someone in pink passed me, I was checking if it was her! I was really hoping for a riding buddy, and knowing she climbs faster than I do I was expecting her any second.

But back to my ride. I sucked down a gel to replenish what I had used up in the swim, and focused on drinking a lot (water with my nutrition and nuun between). Before I knew it I was at the top of the Keene descent and I was flying! Garmin shows my max speed here at 49mph! Luckily there weren’t too many people around me here and those that were I passed easily. The bottom is still pretty rough (rougher than I remembered from training camp, actually), and I sat up and feathered the breaks a little to stay in control. The goal for this ride was to survive to run a marathon, not break any records. I made the turn at the bottom of the descent and started trying to eat my Larabars. Thank G-d this section is pretty desolate and there were no photographers to witness my attempt at chewing – it was pretty ugly. Speaking of desolate, this is about where I thought to myself, “This is so boring! What am I going to do with myself for the next 4ish hours?” Well, I remembered Kelly’s advice to sing to myself, so that’s what I did. Basically repeating the chorus to any song that would pop into my head.

Thankfully I was flying through this section and pretty soon I was starting the out and back section to Ausable Forks. At this point I saw some of the lead men and they were only 12 miles in front of me. Too bad that number was just going to keep growing. I reached the turnaround at mile 30 and was averaging over 20mph. Unfortunately I knew that the next 26 were pretty much straight uphill, so I was glad to have some time in the bank.  I snuck a glance at my watch at the turn around and started looking for both Emily and Cid. Emily was about 3 minutes behind and Cid about 15. It was so fun and exciting to see them!

By then I had just about finished the out and back and made the right and turn which signals the start of the climbing! I rode with a guy named Frank who had a Shiv like mine, before sending him off ahead so we wouldn’t get a blocking penalty. At the top of the hill at the aid station I grabbed a bottle of water and then heard my name screamed super loud by John (the AD at the school where I coach) and his wife. Their cheers gave me such a huge boost – I think I heard them all the way up the next hill! Thanks to some solid advice from Tim I kept it in the little chain ring through the rolling hills towards town and tried to conserve some energy for the second loop. Before I knew it I was heading up the bears where the screaming crowds made me feel like I was on the Tour! I guess there hadn’t been too many girls through at that point because I got a lot of “go girl!” cheers. The ride back into town put a gigantic smile on my face. I saw lots of friends and the crowd just past special needs included my friends Erin and Maria and what sounded like a huge group their friends – they went nuts when I went through and I just could not stop smiling. Coolest feeling ever. I hadn’t had a flat and was doing great with nutrition so I didn’t stop at Special Needs, but looking back I wish I had one more Nuun tab. Oh well. I was off on my second loop with a grin that lasted for at least the next 15 miles.

Every picture of me on the bike is from the back....I guess they didn't expect me so soon!

The second loop was pretty uneventful. I kept an eye on my heart rate and keeping the averages right where Kelly said. It started to warm up and I was starting to wish I had stopped for sunscreen on my way out of T1. I peed again (3^rd or 4^th time!) on the descent and briefly worried I had peed on my gels (ew!). Luckily they were dry and I just focused on fighting the headwind on the way to Jay. I rode with one of Emily’s Migonis teammates for a short while on the out and back section, who said she was not far back and doing well. It was nice to get an update! I got a big boost and some cold water to dump on my head from John and Kareen when I passed their aid station, then turned my focus to making it to the next one, where I knew my whole family would be volunteering! I shouted to my sister on my way passed them at the start of the little out and back so they would know I was coming. Successfully made it to the turnaround, got a water bottle from my sister and made sure to smile for my family! At this point I also saw Emily, and told her to hurry up and come run with me. I kept thinking about how nice it would be if we could hang together on the run, and how cool it would be if we could actually finish together.

Sarah got a 1 mile warning I was coming to get this one :)

Papa bear was just as fun the second time around, and I started to spin out my legs to get ready for the marathon. I was shocked at how consistently great I had felt throughout the whole bike, even with the increasing winds on the back half of the course, but it was really starting to get hot. Riding through town was slightly less exciting the second time, but I was about to get off the bike so I didn’t care. I got my feet out of my shoes and successfully dismounted, where I was able to just hand my bike off to a volunteer. 

T2 - 3:01

I grabbed my run bag and headed back into the changing tent. Another awesome volunteer dumped out my run bag, put my socks on my feet, helped me into my sneakers and even buckled my race belt! I can’t say enough about how awesome the volunteers were – they never even flinched about touching my nasty feet! The one thing I was really looking forward to in my T2 bag was the little bottle of mouthwash. It was so nice and refreshing to feel clean after eating all that sugary stuff on the bike. I swished it around while I got covered with sunscreen, then realized there was no good place to spit it out! My brother was waiting right by run out and said he would have gotten a great pic, except that I leaned over and spit the mouthwash out right on the side of the road. Sorry, Mike!

Run - 4:40:36

The run is also two loops, and you get to go through town 4 times, which means awesome crowd support. I probably started out running a little too fast, especially on the downhill, and I would pay for that dearly later. My plan for nutrition was to eat a shot blok at every aid station (so about every mile). The first aid station is right at the bottom of the hill on the way out of town, so I popped a gel even though it seemed really early. It turns out I’d only been running for about 6 minutes, not even close to a mile. Oh well! I decided to just stick with the aid station plan and not worry about the miles. I was running pretty well, taking ice and water and each aid station, dumping the ice down my bra and taking it out to suck on it between aid stations. The crowds on the way out of town were awesome – they cheered for every runner by name and I even met some kids from Canisius.

The one thing I remember being really conscious of for the whole run was how hot it was. All week the weather had been calling for about a 60% chance of storms, though it kept changing as to when those storms were supposed to hit. I had really been trying not to let the weather bother me, because I knew I was racing regardless and had trained in all kinds of weather. But I really wanted some rain or at least some clouds on the run. In the end, it was not to be. The run started out mostly sunny and just got sunnier and sunnier as time went on. I remember having several conversations with runners around me about how it was supposed to be raining. Oh well. That’s upstate NY for you. I had run the course before but I definitely didn’t remember how out in the open and unshaded it was!

River Road was really mental and lonely, and I tried to focus on just following the plan. Finally made it out to the turnaround and found Emily at the aid station. Seeing her along the course always made me smile! Soon enough I was heading back into town and the crowd support was amazing. Just at the top of the hill were Kris and Kurt, and Kris asked me how I was feeling – I told her I felt great and she said to me “You’re going to be an Ironman today!” Cue the tears. Shortly after I saw Matt (Emily’s coach who was so awesome in taking me in as a “free agent” for training camp back in June) and he told me to remember to pump my arms. I tried, and immediately felt that effort in my stomach! I slowed back down and made my way to special needs. I gave a thumbs up to signal that I wanted my bag (awesome idea, btw) and a fantastic volunteer actually put my dry socks on my feet for me! I took the little tube of aquafor just in case and extra salt since it was so hot and I was off. It was somewhere around mile 12-13 on Mirror Lake drive when I started to notice some really low level nausea. I had heard that the coating on the salt capsules could be hard to digest and I was taking twice as many as normal to deal with the heat and the amount I was drinking. I made a decision to buck the “nothing new on race day” adage and switch to the Base Salts they were offering on the course because I figured I knew I could digest salt ok and thought getting rid of the capsule might help. Luckily I was right!

Heading out for loop 2.
The best part of friends and family all over LP? Not having to buy the FinisherPix!

So my stomach stopped bothering me, but by the time I got to the bottom of the hill leaving town my quads were on fire! The second loop was a lot more painful than the first. I was prepared to have to walk, I guess I just thought I might make it a little further than 14 miles before having to walk more than just the aid stations! However, I had said to Kelly before the race, that if I needed to walk, I was going to walk with purpose, and I did that. Even when I was in pain, I kept my head held high and walked as fast as I could! Somewhere out on River Road I started to walk, and a woman came up behind me and said “no way you’re walking, you made me run when you passed me earlier, let’s do this together!” Girl in the black kit – thank you! I wish I knew her name. We ran together and off and on for the next several miles and she definitely kept me going while my quads got tighter and tighter. I started making promises to myself that if I just ran to x marker, I could walk, or have a cup of coke at the aid station. I had never been so happy to see a hill as I was to see the hill leading back to town. I was 2 miles from becoming an Ironman! There was a group of kids with SuperSoakers near the top of the hill and they went at it when I told them they could spray me! That felt amazing!!

Just.Trying.To.Make.It.Up.The.Hill!

On the way back out Mirror Lake drive for the last time I saw John (my AD) and his wife, plenty of friends and of course my whole family. I was hurting but I was so close. I started running and chatting with a guy who was only on his first loop, but it was nice to have company. I did feel bad when a spectator asked us if we were on our way to meet Mike Reilly and I yelled, “Yes, we are!” and then “Oops, I AM!” Thankfully he just laughed. At the turn around I knew I was less than a mile away and all the pain just went away. I tried not to rush it and just take it all in. Following the arrows to the “finish” instead of the “2^nd loop” felt so good, and the crowd was going nuts. When I entered the oval, I got super emotional, I couldn’t believe I had really done it, and felt so amazing all day.

Entering the Oval

But I didn’t want to be crying in my finish line pictures, so after checking to make sure there was no one too close behind me, I tried to slow down and take it all in. The finish chute was nothing short of amazing – my whole family was in the stands to hear Mike Reilly called me an Ironman, even if he did pronounce my name wrong!

So excited for me or glad to be done spectating?

Actual finish time: 12:24:36!

Eric was there to “catch” me.

It was nice to have a friend to steer me through all the post race crap – chip return, tshirt and hat, food, etc, before he took me right to my family who was waiting at the edge of the stands. I can’t express how awesome it felt to have all my hard work over the last 6 months come together so closely according to plan.

I waited in the finisher chute for Emily to come through, and even though I got yelled at a few times it was totally worth it. The first thing she said to me was "never again!" Followed by "I fell off my bike" (read her blog), which prompted this picture:

We got some food and I went to get a massage (the first time I'd been off my feet since 6am!), thinking I had plenty of time before Cid finished, but she crushed it and I was wrong...sorry Cid!

Back at the house, showered and feeling slightly more human (except for the wicked chaffing and screaming quads) we got a ride back to town to watch the final finishers. Lake Placid has a reputation for being one of the best finish line parties and this year did not disappoint!

Watching the final finishers was so much more meaningful having been through it myself and not being able to imagine being out there for one minute longer than I had been. Enjoying it with a well deserved bowl of ice cream didn't hurt either!

It's been 10 days now and I still can't wrap my head around so many aspects of this day/week/year. I keep getting stuck at "I ran my first marathon!" since I didn't even notice those running miles ticking by and it was the only distance I didn't do in training. There are so many people for whom "Thanks" will never be enough. My family for coming from Detroit, New Jersey, NYC, Syracuse and Saratoga to support me on this crazy endeavor. Kelly for making sure that I was happy, healthy and well trained for this awesome day. Emily for signing up first and always giving me someone to swim with at 6 am or vent about the crazy training to. Steve, Eric, Annie and anyone else who accompanied me on a long ride. Matt for letting me crash his training camp. Karyn for peer pressuring me into doing this thing in the first place! Plus, everyone who was out there cheering at LP and all the volunteers. You made this day what it was for me and I wouldn't change a thing.

Now what's next?

Ironman Lake Placid - Pre-Race Days

Pre-Race Wednesday and Thursday

By race week I had gotten over my nerves and was starting to feel better after a week of being sick. I was at this point strangely calm leading up to IMLP. All the work was done and I knew I was well prepared. There was nothing left to do but race my race. Picked up Cid from the airport, grabbed some last minute goodies from the store and had lunch with Kelly. It was so nice to sit and get some last minute tips from her – although the only question I could think to ask was what does it feel like after you finish?!? For some reason that, and not the race itself, was my biggest fear.

Thursday morning came and I could not wait to pack up the car and hit the road for my favorite vacation spot in NY. Lake Placid has always been a special place but over the last few years it has definitely occupied a bigger space in my heart as we watched friends become Ironmen there and made some really special memories in a house full of like minded people. After an uneventful drive (except for nearly running into Mark and Emily and then missing them completely!) we finally arrived at the place we would call home for the next 7 days. It was no Taj Mahal (our LP house from the years prior) but the price was right and it had plenty of bathrooms!

Cid and I getting ready to hit the road

We quickly unpacked the car and walked into town to officially check-in and get our race swag! The process was pretty quick and easy, signed our lives away to the WTC, got weighed, race bands on (the guy who did mine said it mace us engaged and meant I had to race!) and picked up our gear bags. We then headed down to the merch tent to get our backpacks (nice work, WTC) where of course I had to buy the name t-shirt. Unfortunately by then it had started to rain so we grabbed some food for Cid and headed back to the house. Back at the house we unpacked some more and made a quick dinner. I went for a quick shakeout run around the lake and spent some time at the beach with Emily. It was just a small core group of us for the first night and it was so nice!

Friday

Friday morning we relaxed before heading out for a quick ride to make sure the bikes were working.  With everything in order (after having Mark double check it for me!), we headed down to check out the expo. I got to meet Mike Reilly and tell him it was all his fault that I was racing and get a quick picture with him.

With the voice of Ironman!

After that the expo quickly went downhill for me. Too much nervous energy and people selling things I didn’t want to think I needed for the race! I grabbed a bagel and headed down to the beach to sit in the shade and relax by looking out over beautiful Mirror Lake. Eventually Emily met me down there and we donned our wetsuits for a final swim. We swam stroke for stroke for a loop of the swim course. Then it was time to relax and pack all the bags! Our house had started to fill up and my parents were on their way to town, so after a dinner of lasagna, I joined my parents and sister for a walk into town to get a breather from the craziness. Friday night it was early to bed after my dad and sister played a quick game of flip cup with my friends!

Post swim with Emily

Saturday – T-1 Day!

Saturday morning I was up without an alarm a little earlier than I would have liked, but oh well. At this point Rachel and Michael had arrived so I met my mom and sisters in town for a big breakfast at the Creperie of eggs, toast and a crepe (plus the pancake that Eric had made me in the am!).

Biting the head off of the M-dot pancake! 

I quickly made my way to the Oval and dropped my bags and bike off, and was able to get a tour of transition from an awesome volunteer. After everything was set, I sat in on an athlete meeting before heading back to the house to get out of the sun and away from all the nervous energy down at the oval. I spent the rest of the day parked on the couch in the living room with my feet up reading a book!

Heading to bike check in!

Before I knew it it was time to get ready for dinner. I figured I would want to eat at home but when I realized my whole family was finally going to be together for the first time since Thanksgiving I threw pre-race superstition to the wind and decided a nice family dinner was the best way to spend the night before the race. Plus, I figured that since I’d eaten out the night before plenty of successful races that this one would be no different. We managed to get a table at the Boathouse, and had the whole bottom deck to ourselves! We felt like we were sitting right on top of the water, and had a perfect view of the swim start!

Unfortunately, while we were waiting for our food, my brother noticed a small fire starting in one of the apartments above main street across the lake. We couldn’t take out eyes off of it as the fire quickly spread to the entire top floor and started to threaten the building next door. At that point, I was no longer thinking about my race at all, and pretty much lost my appetite thinking about someone losing their home/business and all of their possessions. It was terrible, but it also served as a really good reminder to put things into perspective.

Our view of the fire from dinner

After we finished up dinner and snapped a few family pics, we met up with my aunt and cousin who had also come up to LP to volunteer and cheer. (Did I mention my family is the best?). We headed back to the house and I quickly said goodnight to everyone and was in bed by 9, with my alarm set for 3:30! 

Race Day...Continue reading here!

 

Detoxed

2011 was a great year—no doubt. Lots of PRs, new experiences and hard work. But in the last month or so I’ve noticed my life has become super cluttered. My car is cluttered, my room is cluttered, and there’s still stuff in the garage waiting to be unpacked from when I moved back to my parents house. It’s all left me feeling pretty unsettled. Not to mention all the junk I’ve been putting in my body, thanks to the surplus of cookies, cakes and other goodies I’ve been churning out in the kitchen.

Now, I’m not usually one for New Year’s Resolutions, but a fresh new year seems like a good time for a fresh start. So I’m putting it out there for all to read (all 4 of you!) and making a commitment. I’m spending this weekend getting caught up on 2+ weeks of laundry, cleaning out my car, organizing my room and ridding my life of excess clutter. I’m also taking the lead of some of the favorite bloggers and going on a cookie detox. No crazy lemon juice cleanses or cayenne pepper drinks for me. Just a solid two weeks of healthy, natural and clean eating to start this year out by treating my body right. I mean, it does a lot for me. Carries me through speed workouts, let’s me beat it up at boot camp and helps me finish triathlons and road races. I've got to treat it better this year (particularly with the Musselman 70.3 on the horizon). As much as I loved the line is Once a Runner, by John L. Parker, "if the furnace is hot enough, anything will burn," I don't think that's a healthy way to treat yourself.

So here’s to kale smoothies*, keeping up with the laundry and a happy, healthy 2012. Would it be inappropriate to wish you all a l’shana tovah?

*Don’t knock it before you’ve tried it—it’s delish!

A really big reason for a post!

So I know, I know. It's been a really long time since I've posted here. What have I been up to? Coaching, racing, working, training, training and more training.

My Rammets went undefeated yet again and took home a 9th straight sectional championship. My level 4s took home a trophy bigger than (most of) them at the biggest meet of the year.

I PR'd at two races.

Amish Country 1/2

Reindeer Run 5k

Ran a Marathon Relay.

Visited Philly.

Turned 24.

Celebrated my youngest cousin's Bat Mitzvah.

 
And oh yea, signed up for my first 1/2 ironman distance triathlon.

Oh! I also baked/cooked a bunch of stuff you should try!
Pumpkin Bread (loosely based on my banana bread, I added choc. chips and pecans)
Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Pumpkin Cheesecake (sensing a theme?)
Pumpkin Curry Soup
Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup
Cocoa Thumbrints (I used Candy Cane Kisses in the center)
Carrot Cake Cupcakes (this one's mine. I'll share it soon)
Carrot Ginger Bisque
Tomato Basil Soup w/ Orzo

I'm thinking now that I have my Big Goal squared away and paid for I'll actually be blogging more. Maybe I'll make it my New Year's resolution ;) I'm going to need a training plan, too!

So yea, I've been busy. How have you been?

Goals, Commitment and a Super Awesome Un-Recipe

I didn't do any writing this week, but I did do a ton of thinking.

And I'm feeling like I can say I have a rough idea of what my goals are for this coming year. I really have to look at a calendar and see if it is at all feasible, but this going to be the year of go big or go home. Either that or I just have no patience and a need to do it all.

In the past, I've never given the marathon much thought at all. If someone mentioned it, I'd say, "no way!" as fast as I could. But the hype around Boston Marathon registration week was enough to get me curious. I know they are dropping the qualifying standards by a lot for next year, but I was curious. I guess you could say I got bit by the BQ bug. So I plugged my most recent 5k time into the Runner's World SmartCoach app, added my weekly mileage and requested a moderate training plan. (I'm not planning on using it, it's just a neat app that will give you a fairly accurate estimate of how fast you can expect to finish based on prior race times). It spit out a 3:33:00. So I looked up Boston's age-graded qualification chart for the 2013 race, and sure enough, for 18-34-year-old females, you need to run a 3:35:00 to qualify.

That was all the motivation I needed. Just to know that I could be close, was enough to push me to try. I also have no doubt that thanks to Kevin's training, I'll be faster before I even start to seriously train. So barring any thing weird, my goal for my first marathon is going to be to qualify for Boston. Go big or go home, right? Kevin is pointing me towards an April/May race, specifically two over Memorial Day weekend. Vermont City or Ottawa. I'm heard good things from people who have done Vermont City, but Ottawa sounds great as well.

So a May marathon is on the calendar. But I'm going big this year so I think a half Ironman is going on as well. I'm leaning towards the Timberman in New Hampshire. It's late August, so it's enough time that I can still do Iron Girl and maybe one other, even after taking some time to recover from the marathon. I don't know. I also want to do Israman in 2013, and thought that having that be my first 1/2 Iron would be really symbolic and meaningful. Who knows? That one is still a ways away and there are a ton of logistics that go into that one. Including getting my bike to Israel and the small problem of training through the fall and beginning of winter.

Ok so those are my big rocks for this year. What's on your list?

Oh! And that Un-Recipe I promised? I'm currently obsessed and it's super healthy to boot.
Baked Tofu!
Drain and rinse a block of extra firm tofu.
Lay a towel on a rimmed dinner plate, set the tofu on top, then cover with another plate and something heavy on top (a can of pumpkin is perfect). Leave it for 30 minutes.
Mix up a marinade. I started with about a 1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce, some Garlic Expressions Dressing and Peanut Sauce. (It was delish, especially with the sesame seeds we added before baking, but a little to salty for my taste.) There's a batch with Dino BBQ sauce marinating in the fridge right now.
You can use anything you like. Olive oil, salt and pepper would be good, too.
Let the tofu soak up the marinade for a least 30 minutes. (Overnight works, too)
Cover a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Lay the tofu out on your baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake, flipping every 10 minutes (I'm not sure this is necessary but the recipe I reference said to do it), for anywhere between 20-45 minutes. It gets chewier and denser the longer you cook it. That's it!

It is great for snacking on (my sister and I finished a whole brick today), salads and I imagine it would be great in a stir-fry, too. We didn't have any left for that! I'm going to make a sandwich out of the BBQ version that's marinating now. Let me know if you try it and what you marinated it in!

Pressing Restart

With my tri season over and nothing specific to train for, this week felt like a reboot. And it was exactly what I needed. The timing couldn’t have worked out better. I finished the Skinnyman on Saturday morning with a run that felt suspiciously like a tempo. Exactly the workout I’d missed during my taper. I filled in that last spot on my training log with a successful race and turned it in for a new one.

So I’m starting fresh with a new group of runners (um, hello, Thursday night group? Where were you yesterday?), a new training plan and some time to slowly build my mileage while staying healthy. Then it’ll be time to pick my new goal race. I’m torn. Half-Ironman? Marathon? 1:45 Half-marathon?

But it can wait. I’m running the ARC 5K tomorrow morning. Just for fun. No time goal this time. It’s supposed to be a perfect morning for a race. Then next week I have my volunteer spot for the Syracuse Ironman 70.3. I can’t wait. I wonder if I’ll get re-bit by the tri bug? If it’ll make me want to do that race next year? We’ll see. I’m just going to experience the environment and cheer on my crazy friends who made the commitment for this year. Win-Win. :)

A Bittersweet Ending - Skinnyman Race Report!

My tri season is officially over. And while it seemed to be heading downhill faster than a speeding bullet post Iron Girl, it ended on a really positive note with the Skaneateles Skinny Man triathlon. I went into the race well rested and not planning on racing too hard. I just wanted to have fun so I could end the year on a tri high. It worked! I was so much more relaxed than I was for Iron Girl. I can’t wait for next year and I’m already getting re-energized to plan out my training for the off season.

So Saturday morning Laura and I woke up bright and early (4 am!) and headed off to Skaneateles for the Skinnyman triathlon. A really nice volunteer we had talked to the night before said we should be there by 4:45 to get a good parking spot and a prime bike spot. Well needless to say we were the first ones there and they wouldn’t let us into transition right away. We waited around for a couple of minutes before we saw a few other people walk into transition, so we followed them in and got GREAT bike spots, right on the end of two different rows. Then we got checked in, body marked and went to spend some time relaxing in the car. 

After a few minutes my nerves got the best of me and I couldn’t sit still any longer, so we went to set up our transition areas and stretch. The time leading up to the race went pretty quickly after that. Luckily our new friend the volunteer had let us in on a little secret—the hotel across the street from the transition area has a back door that they leave open. It leads right to a very, very clean bathroom that never had more than two people waiting in line. Score one for the Sherwood! It may have been my first ever race experience where I didn’t have to use a porta-potty (or wait in line to pee in the woods. Yes. You should ask me about that some day.). Hallelujah!

So if clean bathrooms are a part of the equation, then point to Skinnyman. Getting the race started on time? Not so much. They started funneling everyone into the water at about 7:25, and the first wave was supposed to go off at 7:30. I think it was closer to 7:45 before they got us started. So my wave didn't go off until about 7:55. And the water was cold! Cold and really, really choppy. No white caps, but close. I was nervous, but the prospect of a current to help propel me forward on the way in was nice. So yea, the swim was tough, but nothing terrible. I just kept reminding myself that this was fun and to just keep swimming. Skanraces.com did a great job on the swim. It was a well organized race overall, but the swim was above and beyond anything I’ve ever done. There were tons of buoys, so you never really lost sight of where you were heading next. They also had plenty of kayaks and even divers under the surface to make sure nothing went wrong. It made you feel very safe. I was much more aggressive on this swim than in the Iron Girl. I didn’t let anyone take advantage of me and I used my legs a lot more (which really helped keep people off of me!). Before I knew it I was back on solid ground, thanks to the super helpful volunteers who were there to give you hand so you didn’t slip coming up the stairs out of the water. Time: 14:53

The swim to bike transition was my fastest ever: 1:30! The fact that the transition area was smaller and the distances were shorter definitely helped, but I was definitely quicker in drying off and getting my shoes on. Race

Heading out for the bike I had a hard time getting clipped in, but it didn’t really matter since there was a long no passing zone from transition until we made the turn onto 41A. I was stuck behind a woman who was pretty slow and it was hard to stay behind her once I got clipped in. I flew past her as soon as we made the turn and started pushing to build up some speed. I felt really, really winded. Not swimming for the last two weeks before the race had really done a number on my fitness. And that bike course is steep! There were definitely a few places (like right smack in the middle of some of the steepest hills) where I all but gave up. Smallest gear, MPH at about 7 or 8 and cadence at practically nothing, but it never lasted long. There was a guy I kept trading back and forth with, which kept me from completely giving up. That and seeing my computer register 39 MPH on a downhill. That was pretty cool. Soon enough we were making the last turn back on the West Lake Road and heading for home. Time: 45:10. A full 4 minutes faster than I ever did the course on our Saturday morning rides! The only problem was that I almost forgot to slip my feet out of my shoes before I got the dismount line. Luckily I managed to do it pretty quickly and even heard someone call out how cool it was that I was barefoot! I guess that’s what I get for not practicing transition at all since the Iron Girl. Whoops!

I knew going into this race that I really wanted to run strong. I practically sprinted out of transition, before remembering that the first mile was uphill and I should probably save something for it. My first mile was a little slower than I would have liked (8:28), but I made up for it on the second (7:30). There were some weird things going through my head on the run. Things like running hard enough to puke at the finish line (thank G-d that didn’t happen, I HATE throwing up!). I passed a few coworkers and even my 8^th grade English teacher on the run. She told me to go ahead when I passed her for the third time and that she was proud of me. So cute! As we came down the last hill about a quarter mile from the finish I started to pick up speed. I had found another gear and all the sudden felt really great. I noticed a guy up in front of me and decided I was going to out kick him to the finish. Kevin, you’d be proud! He heard me coming and started pushing, but I was able catch him. We were locked in a dead heat coming up to the finish but I pulled ahead of him just before we crossed the line. I was sprinting so fast I was afraid I was going to fall flat on my face. It felt like my feet were barely touching the ground. The spectators loved it and the photographer from Brightroom was laughing as he clicked away. I can’t wait to see those pictures! My run time was 24:50. I was a little disappointed but super excited to find out I had finished in under an hour and a half! 1:27:13 to be exact.

I wound placing 3^rd in my age group! I was super happy with that, especially since I had really fallen off the training wagon for the two weeks leading up to the race. I even got a glass. It was pretty cool to see Lisa and her relay crew take first of all the relay teams. Way to go girls! Then I headed back up to the finish line to watch Laura finish her first tri! Despite the mountain bike and never having done the open water swim she did it and surprise! She’s still talking to me and we’re still friends. Our parents were making me think that might not be the case. She just might not listen to me so quickly the next time I come up with some crazy idea for us to do.

Ok. Holy wow that got long. I'm gonna have to finish adding pictures tomorrow. I’ve got a 5k this weekend, but them I’ve got to sit down and figure out my off-season training. I want to go to age-group nationals next year. Anyone know how you get into that? 

Aero Bars and Motivation

I have one and I'm lacking the other.

I got the aero bars the day after the Iron Girl triathlon. (Great timing, I know.) I took 'em out for a spin that day and promptly fell in love. The pain in my back that had been getting worse while riding was virtually eliminated. Plus, I felt really fast and professional. Then...I got busy and didn't ride again until Saturday.

We rode the Skinnyman course bright and early Saturday morning, which meant leaving my house at 6:30 am, after getting home from camp at midnight (and doing a rare Friday morning boot camp). Needless to say I was tired. Riding those hills was crazy hard, and I lost site of the lead rider, which meant I had to keep stopping to check my cue sheet. Despite that, the other eight people didn't catch me until the last turn. So I felt slow, but I guess I couldn't have been doing too badly for my first try if everyone else was struggling.

I'm hoping that when I ride the course again this week I'll feel a little faster. I don't have big aspirations for Skaneateles. I think having a race after my A race wasn't the best idea. There was so much build up to the Iron Girl, I was so focused on doing well there, that when it was over I was left with a little bit of a, "what now?" kind of feeling. Oh yea, another race.

But this week has been better, I think I have my focus back. I'm working on the motivation. Right now it's more obligation than motivation, but at least I'm getting all the workouts in. Two weeks from Saturday! Which means only one week till I get to taper. (I never thought I'd ever type the words get to taper.)

And with this race falling Labor Day weekend, I feel like my life is racing in to the Fall. I start coaching varsity gymnastics next week, then it's Labor Day and soon enough the weather will start to change. I'm not wishing summer away, but I do love Fall. Cooler weather for running, apple picking, leaves changing, even the Jewish Holidays and of course, my birthday :). I'm also ready to focus on running again, see how much better I can be when I'm just focusing on one sport. I think taking a break from focusing on running was good for me this summer. But now I'm ready to get back to giving it my all.

Iron Girl: Race Report

Another Iron Girl in the books! 

Swim start!

So I didn’t make my time goal. But given that this year’s Iron Girl was longer than last year and there was my complete and utter lack of sleep over the last three days that had me begging for sips of coffee from my parents right before the start? I’m ok with it.

Marilyn and me @the start!

And yea, you read that right. The race was longer than last year, even though it was supposed to be the same course. This year’s swim was a full 600 meters (verses last year’s ~500—apparently the buoys blew in.) Then, because there were so many more people, they moved transition really far back from the beach. So, despite all that, I came in at 1:38. Not too far off my time goal. But, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that because of the changes, you really can’t compare this year and last year, so that makes my goals kinda moot. 

Case in point: the winning time was 5 minutes slower than last year (and it was the same girl). So I’m pretty darn happy to have gotten 8 minutes faster when the winner slowed down by a pretty good amount.

The swim was rough. I spent 13 minutes in the water, fighting waves, seaweed and the girl next to me who decided to cling to my side for. The. Entire. Swim. I would move forward, she’d follow. I’d slow down, she’d slow down. I went left, she’d go left. You get the idea. She even had a wetsuit on (I don’t wear one). At one point she was literally on top of me. We also got caught up behind some slower swimmers from the wave in front of us. That was hard, and I felt pretty sick getting out of the water. I think I’m going to try earplugs (someone told me they help with the sick/dizzy feeling when you get out of the water).

By the time on got on the bike I was feeling a lot better. The first 17 miles of the ride were fantastic. I was passing people (and never got passed!) and felt really strong. A huge shout out to the guys at Bike Loft East for taking the time to make my bike fit right—it made a huge difference! It started to rain right before I got to the iron bridge, so I pedaled as hard as I could so I could get over it before it got really soaked. Mission accomplished, I didn’t fall! Really, the only bad part was right before the last turn back to transition. A car came up on my left, and slowed to a stop, blocking the intersection, right as I was trying to turn left. I had to come to almost a complete stop, go past the turn and turn all the way around. It slowed me up a little but I’m just really glad I didn’t get hit!

The run was the run. It’s definitely my strongest segment, but unfortunately it’s last! Well, maybe not unfortunately. I’m not sure I could swim last, lol! I was just trying to run consistently. Lately in races I’ve been going out too fast and I wanted to avoid that. I think I ran pretty steadily. About a mile in I saw another 20-24 year old for the first time as she ran past me. Oh well. I guess it means I was in first place until then! I let her go. She was running too fast for me and I wanted to be able to finish strong without having to walk.

So close!

It all worked out in the end though. That last goal? The one I was aware was completely out of my control? Achieved! I came in second in my age group and have a really pretty new necklace to show for it. It was so fun to hear my name called and all the people from the Y cheering for me. Definitely a flashback to gymnastics meets. I guess we never get over that little thrill. Oh, and I was 31 overall (out of 1,047). Here are the official results.

I spent the rest of the day trying to decide which was more comfortable, the couch or the bed (my parents couch won out!). But tomorrow I’m back up and at ‘em. Skinnyman is less than a month away!

T-minus 2 Days!

i.e. taper week. Yikes! Tapering is making me crazy! I’ve been second guessing all the hard work I put in and using every last ounce of willpower not to try and a squeeze in just one more run. But I’ve been good. I’ve been taking it easy, drinking lots of water and watching videos on how to change a flat tire.

But still, I’m freaking out a little bit. I’ve been saying all along that I have a couple of goals for this race. The ones I can control? Finishing the swim in 10 minutes, making smooth transitions, doing the bike course in sub-55 minutes and running a sub-25 minute 5k. My overall time goal is 1:35:00. But I’d like to be closer to 1:30:00. That’s all fine. I’m trying to be confident in the time and work I’ve been putting in the bank all summer. But there’s a nagging goal in the back of my head that just won’t leave me alone. I’d like to place in my age group because eventually (not this year) I’d like to qualify for an age group spot at the short course nationals.

It’s my competitive side coming out, but I know that I can’t control what anyone else does out there. So I know I just need to go out there and do my best, but I’ve been wasting energy worrying about the what ifs. I’ve been eating, sleeping and breathing triathlons for the past 5 weeks, but I worry I started too late. I’ve been worrying about getting a flat, my shins cramping, rain, swimming off course, and just plain bonking. The worst one though is that I’ve been worrying about letting people down.

Not that there is anyone in the world who would be disappointed in me, unless I quit. And that would be hella lame. And not happening. But as much as I love hearing from people who think I’m gonna kick this thing’s butt, it still makes me a little nervous. But on the other hand it fires me up, so I’m hoping that once that starting gun goes off, all that will stop mattering and I’ll be able to just focus on doing what I know how to do and doing it well.

I’ve been bringing back the old visualization trick. It used to calm pre-gymnastics meet jitters, so I’m hoping it works here.

I’ve been looking forward to this for so long. I can’t believe it’s here already. Despite the nagging voice in my head (it’s the taper talking), when it goes quiet for a minute I’m actually feeling pretty darn confident. I can’t wait to get up at 4 am on Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed for dry weather!

One Week!

Can someone tell me where the whole month of July went? And while you’re at it, what happened to June? Somehow the triathlon is only a week away. It’s not like it really snuck up on me…I’ve seen it get closer on the calendar every time I filled in another day’s workouts. But somehow I’m shocked that it’s only a week away. And yet, I’m hoping this next week just flies by. Luckily it’s busy and I have something almost every night after work to keep me from going stir crazy during the taper.

It feels good to know I’ve put in as much work as I have towards this race. But it also makes me anxious for race day. There are a lot of what ifs floating around in my head. But there’s nothing left to do now but rest my body and get ready mentally. (Oh, and practice transitions. My neighbors probably think I'm nuts, riding circles around the street with my feet out of the shoes)

So my goal for this race is to come in under 1:35. But I have a reach goal, too. I’m just gonna put it out there for everyone to see: 1:30. I think if I’m feeling good on Sunday morning it’s seriously doable. But I won’t be disappointed with 1:35 either.

I'm just getting super excited and jittery even thinking about how close it is :)  

Dress Rehearsal

Holy crap the triathlon is coming up faster that I ever expected. Can we hit the pause button on summer for like .02 seconds? Today was my last CNY Triathlon practice before the IronGirl. Let’s just say it made me hope that the saying, “bad dress rehearsal, good show,” holds as true for triathlons and races as it did for dance recitals.

For starters, I almost didn’t even make it to Jamesville Beach today. All day at work I’d been feeling like someone was sitting on my chest, which if you’ve never experienced that, let me tell you it makes it pretty hard to breath. I considered not going but I didn’t want to miss my last chance at a full brick workout. Once I got out in the fresh air I actually felt o.k. It makes me wonder if the super cold, dry AC air at work might be the culprit.

The swim was fine, uneventful, thought I really should have started closer to the front. I felt like I did a better job sighting the buoys today. It makes me feel more confident about going out in the front of my wave at the IronGirl like Kelly wants me to. (Um, can we take one second to note how ridiculous it is that transition closes at 6:30 am, but my wave doesn’t start until 7:40 am…that’s a lot of standing around and nerve build-up time!) So yea, I felt strong on the swim, which is why I really don’t understand how it took me 12 minutes. But anyway…

The bike got off to a rough start. I forgot to put my bike in a low gear and couldn’t make it up the hill so I had to turn around, lower the gear, then restart the bike portion. The ride was fine, fairly uneventful until I reached the turnaround and almost rode into a ditch. I managed to stay out of it though! The weird thing about the bike is that although everyone said biking would be the one thing that made my back feel better, it’s the one thing that bothers it more than anything. So in the interest of not making my back any worse, I tried not to push too hard on the bike. Time: 33 minutes.

As I came down the hill into transition, I didn’t get my left foot out of the clips in time and I crashed into a nice patch of gravel, which ground itself generously into my hand. Welp, it had to happen sometime, right? I just love that it happened right in front of so many people. Oy. Well at least someone was nice enough to pull my bike off of me and help me up. So instead of a quick transition, I ran down to the bathroom and washed my hand off. Once I got the dirt and gravel out it really didn’t look that bad and wasn’t bleeding too badly so I went back, changed my shoes and headed out for the run.

I wasn’t interested in how fast I could do a 5k, so I jogged the course, then kept running to get my time in for Kevin. I felt pretty decent by the end so I actually ran a little further. I think my total time ended up right around 33 minutes.

So yea, if this bad dress rehearsal, good race theory holds true, I should be golden, right? But I’m not holding my breath. No way. In fact, I’m gonna knock on wood and throw some salt over my shoulder, just in case by saying it I’m jinxing myself. Lol, I'm getting loopy. Good night!

Play Like It's The Last Time

Our gymnastics team had a quote that got passed around a lot, then took on new meaning after we were cut. Who could have ever known how meaning full that third sentence would be to us all?

Believe in you. Trust in us. Play like it’s the last time. Enjoy the ride.

I have no idea where it came from. To be honest, since I graduated from JMU it’s not something I think about very often. But after an amazing reunion this weekend, I was reminded of it and some of the other quotes we loved so much.

“I don't remember how we happened to meet each other. I don't remember who got along with whom first. All I can remember is all of us together...always.”

“From the outside looking in you could never understand, and from the inside looking out we could never explain.”

Forever a Duke.

But it’s that first one that’s been stuck in my head all day. Play like it’s the last time. Enjoy the ride. It has always carried a ton of meaning for me, but now it might have even more significance. It’s not a quote we came up with after we were cut. It’s one we always tried to live by, since as a gymnast, you never knew when your last chance would be, so we always did our best to leave it all on the floor. It’s how at our last ever gymnastics meet, we were able to hit 23 for 24 of our routines that day. Ask any gymnast, 6 stuck beam routines as a team doesn’t happen often in a meet situation.

So with two weeks left until the triathlon, I’m going to play every training session like it’s the last one and I’m definitely going to enjoy the ride. And then? On race day? It’s only fitting for the race plan to be leave it all out on the course. I need to set a time goal. Realistically, I’m confident I can go under 1:35:00. I’m tempted to make my goal 1:30:00.

Leave it to a weekend full of good friends, good memories and way to much food and wine to bring me back to my training with a renewed focus. I guess it makes sense though and the timing was right. The end of my gymnastics career was when I chose to start running. The weekend came at the end of my easy week, right before the start of my last hard week. A week from today I start to taper. I’m already going crazy thinking about the taper. I’m not going to know what to do with myself. Anyone have any suggestions? How do you deal with all the free time and excess energy during a taper? This will be the first time in a while I’m truly tapered. For the last couple of road races I just took it easy the day before. Help!