Taking 'er easy

Hi all,
I know that I need to get a race report out, but I must confess I have been taking it easy this week (oh, and I'm working three nights this week also). I will get a nice detailed race report up this weekend. For now, I am catching up on my zzzzzzs....`

Some quick photos

So excited and ready for this race!






Zooming in off the bike after an hour 31 min


Hi folks - After trying three times to upload photos I just cannot pry my eyes open any longer.
Enjoy these tantalizing few and come back soon for the Big Report!

Done.

Three hours and 08 minutes.
Swim was my best ever, bike was consistent but long (hilly), run was H-A-R-D. Had a crew of seniors cheering me at the end of the bike and through the run, and that helped me a lot during the run.
I finished. I finished and I did it.

Longer (probably much much longer) post coming later with pics. For now I am going to pour myself onto the couch and sip my protein drink.

YEAY ME!

Race night ramblings

A few things running through my mind tonight, in completely nonsensical order:

1. My 'wave' starts at 9:20 tomorrow, so if you were planning on coming, you could count on delaying your planned departure by 20 minutes and still see me.

2. Just found out that the swim start is a 'water start', which means all the racers are treading water in the water when the bell goes off. Having all those bodies suddenly go from vertical to horizontal should be interesting.

3. I didn't get to do any yoga or stretching today.

4. Donations continue to come in! Wow. Thank you.

5. I am profoundly ready for this race and experience tomorrow.

And finally, this, from a local senior center volunteer and fellow triathlete, Robyn:

"You will do awesome and have a wonderful time! You can dedicate each mile to one of your Seniors to help you through. "This one is for Mary, she would be so proud of me." "Bill would expect me to pick it up right here!" It's amazing how the thoughts of the people who have supported you and who you are supporting will get you through."

Thanks, all, for being part of this journey with me. You'll be with me tomorrow.

Wow. Oh, wow.

You guys, I just counted the donations...

.
Together, we've raised OVER $5,000 for the seniors of the Snoqualmie Valley. That is just phenomenal. The donations came in from 90 people! and tallied a whopping total of $4,064. Add to that the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital's generous sponsorship of $1,000, and we have ourselves quite a substantial amount.
I am so honored and thankful to each of you for supporting this effort. Talk about putting some wind in my sails for the race on Sunday!
Wow. Thank you.

Last workout

Last workout before my triathlon tonight. A nice easy swim.

After babbling to my swim buddy nonstop on the way there about every neurosis and anxiety I'm experiencing - I haven't trained enough, I started the taper too soon, my legs won't carry me that far, I didn't do enough training on hills, I didn't stretch enough and now my hips will be too tight, I think I felt a little tweak in my knee yesterday, on and on...

It was lovely to slip into the cold water and into silence. With the rhythmic easy stroking, rolling to my side to breathe, the words came to me.

Yes. I am ready.

I MADE MY GOAL!!!!!

The donations have come streaming in in the past couple of days, definitely putting me over the top of my goal!!!! I will count them up and let you know what my total is when I have a chance to add it up. But I wanted to let you know as soon as I did.

Thank you, thank you, to all who have donated and supported me in this effort, both financially and with enthusiasm. I am a bit flustered and overwhelmed that we've done this. $3500, plus the $1000 from the Hospital, will mean an incredible amount to the Senior Center this year, and to the Seniors we serve.

I am so grateful.

So...Close...

$265 LEFT!

Taper week

My bike standing in for the both of us. What a view. What a place I live! (looking across Lake Washington to Seattle)

My gosh I am...well, I have so much free time! And so much undoing-ness during which to get anxious about the race!

Tapering is when you lay off the heavy hard training and just keep your body 'tuned up'. For big races like Ironman I think they start tapering maybe a full month before the race! For the sprints I just would lay off the training for the 3 days or so beforehand. For this one, about a week or so.

Tapering doesn't mean not doing anything. When I mentioned to my mom that I had gone on a 14 mile bike ride on Sunday - for my taper - she laughed, startled. I guess the 3 mile run the day before would have surprised her too. But with the intensity and length I've been training for, that is a taper.

(wheee, biking without the trailer! such a treat. caught the lovely sun on Saturday as I rode the circumference of Mercer Island).

Tonight I went out for a quick easy spin on the bike, squeezing it in as dusk arrived. It was real work to hold back on the pace!! My legs are used to pushing harder and going faster. It felt great to have that latent energy there, ready to spring on Sunday.

Tomorrow I hope to get an easy run in, then Thursday an easy slow swim. Then nothing. Nothing. For two days.

Then race day.

weather for Sunday

Finally saw the 5 day forecast and it looks hopeful that it will not pour on us (and more importantly the spectators) for the race on Sunday!

Sunday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71.

Hopeful...hopeful indeed.

Countdown: 6 days and $565

Well, folks. I'm in the final chute.

I've got butterflies as I sit here and type.

6 days. In 6 short days I'll be getting up at 5am, lucky if I slept at all the night before, choking down some breakfast on my stomach twisted in a knot from nerves.

In 6 days I hope to celebrate that I have raised my goal for and in honor of the senior volunteers of this great place.

If you've been meaning to make a donation - now would be a good time :-). You can click to the left there, and it will take you to a secure site.

Thank you.

Options for getting there

Option One: Hitch a cheap and fun ride with the Sno-Valley Seniors!

A cheering crew from the Senior Center will be taking a van down. It's an hour travel to get to the race site. I would highly recommend this option, as its the simplest detail-wise, the cheapest, and might be fun to chat on the way down. The timing is designed to catch me coming in from the bike leg, cheer me off on the run leg, maybe catch me halfway on the run leg, and cheer for me at the BIG FINISH. While you're driving in comfort I'll be doing the swim and the bike portion.

If you want to ride in the big blue van, be sure to sign up so they know you're coming. Call at 425-333-4152, or you can tell me. They can accommodate car seats.

Departure: 9am from the Sno-Valley Senior Center.
Return: NOT PRECISE but estimate return anywhere from 12:45 - 1:45pm.
Cost: $3
Bring: a sack lunch, your cheering enthusiasm, signs and pom-poms if ya wanna get fancy.
Expect: a lot of standing, some walking, an electrifying crowd experience.

Option Two: Come on your own

This gives you flexibility as to when you come and for long, but you have to drive yourself an hour each way and deal with the shuttle.
Here is Nolte State Park location, the site of the race. Here is the travel info the race provides.

When you arrive you'll need to park in the lot 1.5 miles away from the park. They close the parking lot of the Park for athlete safety, and any shoulders within miles are reserved for bicyclists and runners.
If you are trying to time your arrival to get to see me, your best bet is to plan to be IN the Park during the range of time I expect to come in/go out between sports. You'll want to add approx a half hour onto your travel time to make sure you get to the spectating area in time.

Here's what the race site says: "There WILL BE BUSES on Sunday morning transporting participants and spectators from Cumberland Fire Department (parking area designated with Event Parking signs), which is 1.5 miles north of Nolte State Park. "

So you think you might wanna come watch, huh?

I have a had a few people inquire about what it might be like to come spectate at the race next Sunday. I so love that you are considering it. And, I know that it will take up your entire Sunday morning, and then a smidge more, so I will have no hurt feelings if you decide not to. If you want to read a hilarious account of what it is like to spectate, check out this blog post another blogger/triathlete wrote up. WARNING: do not click if you do not like swearing words. The author very much does.

I will say that the race experiences I've had were really interesting, and the energy is electric and friendly. You'll get to see a sea of racked bikes, or athletes zipping in and out both on bikes and on foot, and grandkids cheering on their grandpa with sweet homemade signs, and overweight beginner athletes proudly crossing the finish line. It's pretty neat.

My total shot-in-the-dark ESTIMATED times:

Swim Start: 9am
Swim Finish, Bike Start: 9:30 - 9:40
Bike Finish, Run Start: 10:45 - 11:09
Run and FINAL Finish: 11:35 - 12:15

The fastest times I came up with by adding the fastest times I have recorded, the later times the slowest. I don't how much time to add on for the fatigue of the distance, nor how much time to subtract for the adrenaline and excitement of actually racing. Basically, plan to be at the transition area by the early time, then expect to wait for a while.

An Ode to Spectators - especially my sweet husband.

You get up early.
You drive long distances.
You schlep our gear.
You fuel us up.
You stand rooted at one spot and wait. And wait. And hold off using the restroom. And ignore the rain. And cheer on strangers. And cheer madly and wildly for the 5 seconds that your athlete whizzes by.
You put up with us when we are jittery and cranky pre-race.
You bring extra clothes because you know we might need them later.
You bring extra bananas in case of...well, bananas are always good to have in case.
You listen and listen to the complete and detailed and babbled and not-always-non-sequiter reporting of every second of the race.
You manage to mostly be interested.
You take picture after picture after picture.
You spur us on, knowing you are there, knowing you are waiting, knowing you are pulling for us, hearing your cheers and encouragement.

Thank you.

(there is a video of said waiting that I would LOVE to upload and have had no success with. If you are familiar with blogger and could tech-spot me I would really like to include it with this post. Leave me a comment or shoot me an email. thanks)

Yup, it rained. Yup, I ran.

Well, it was raining when I got home today, all fired up to go for a run. Not any misty, moist air - type rain. Raining. As in you are going to be wet if you stand out here for 3 minutes rain.

So I put on the running shoes, got the kid in the stroller in a rain jacket, and off we went. If I'm going to be sweating anyways, what's a little rain, right? I only saw one other person out there, another runner.

And you know what else? It didn't really rain for 2/3's of the run. Or, maybe I was wet enough at that point I couldn't really tell. In any case I was glad I went.

These next two photos have nothing to do with a triathlon or seniors. It's a gratuitous mom shot. This is my son's favorite trail game. He begs to play it whenever we set out on a jog, and whenever we approach this barrier the plea starts up again. "Mom, can we play Coffee Stand?"


"What would like sir?"
"Here you go sir. Would you like something for your boy?"

Talk about an utter Northwest kid. Thinks nothing of whipping up a foamy latte in the drizzle.

I had the delight of hearing from two friends that they read and enjoyed this blog, and a blushingly proud email from my mama sharing with her friends this blog link (welcome Taiji-ers from Illinois!). It was fun, since most of the time writing this blog feels like a strange combo of private journal and jettisoning my words out into outer space and hoping they land...somewhere! Thanks for reading, and sharing this journey with me.

The article is up!

Thanks to Bill Falcon over at Emerald Falcon Printing, you blog readers now get to read the article for free. Thanks Bill and Laura! If you don't know them, they really are a great couple that put a terrific service on for our small community through their publication River Current News. They also have a full service print shop.

If you are a local, please consider subscribing to help continue this local coverage. As a bonus, if you subscribe and let 'em know I sent you, they'll donate $5 back to the race!

Enough bally-who, here's the link.

So much great news I had to make a list!

I am not even sure where to begin!

One.
I now have a sponsor for my race! The Snoqualmie Valley Hospital District, a wonderful small rural hospital that serves our Valley, has offered a very generous sponsorship for my efforts. THANK YOU Snoqualmie Valley Hospital!


Two.
The article in the River Current News is finally online! Unfortunately a) tomorrow the new paper comes out, so it may be replaced, and b) you have to be a subscriber to see it. I will check with the publishers to see if they'll allow me to share it here. In the meantime, at least you can peek at the picture, and if you decide to subscribe, they'll pitch in $5 per subscription toward this race. Here's the pic featured in the article:


Three.
My goal is getting closer....and closer....and closer....I have $695 left to raise. Yup. $695. You all have been so incredibly generous. You have donated $2,805 toward supporting the health and wellbeing of seniors in the Snoqualmie Valley. Thank you thank you. I am humbled.

Four.
I am finally Finally FINALLY tapering. That means all my heavy lifting for training is over. I still need to get out there and keep it up, but at this point, as LunaChix Janet so aptly put it: all you'd do at this point is tire your body out and potentially injure yourself'. And she's doing a 1/2 iron this weekend, so I'm inclined to believe she knows what I'm talking about.

It is a bit unnerving to realize that whatever fitness tracks I've laid down before now, that's it. That's what I'll have in my pocket come race time. That, and the support of innumerable friends, supporters and donors at my back.

Calories. They matter.

Yesterday I went to check out the race site.
Here's what it takes to bring all my gear plus hubbie and kid in tow....


We didn't have time to do the bike all together (probably because it took so long to load up all that gear!), so my husband and I switched off swimming and running around the lake (which is small part of the run course) pushing the jog stroller.

My swim went fine, other than some annoying goggle issues. BUT. Get this: the lake was lovely. Smooth as glass, small, protected, trees all around (ie no pesticide run-off fouling the water). After the crazy wave debacle in my ChelanMan sprint, and the freezing early June water of Lake Sammamish from my first Issaquah Tri sprint, I am ready for some smooth easy swimming. Here's a pic from the website:


When I started my run, I felt so sluggish. I took an enormous amount of energy to move my body through space. And pushing the jog stroller, OI!

The negative voices started up, a cacophony in my head. "How will you ever do this race if you can't even swim then run a tiny portion? This race is in 2 weeks - you haven't trained enough! Who were you kidding that you could pull this off? Your body is just too tired, maybe you should just rest for today.' Man, when those voices start up, they really put up a fight.

Then - THANKFULLY - I thought...wait a minute...I calculated how long it had been since I had eaten breakfast. Ah. It was now 5 hours later. Ah. Thankfully I had stuck an energy gel in a pocket, so I sucked on that while I tried to be more patient with my chatterbox son. In a few moments, I didn't have to work quite so hard to be patient...what he was saying was amusing and distracting. And, in a few minutes, my legs suddenly felt like they were running through regular oxygen instead of goo. OOohhhhhh. I had been hungry. My muscles weren't working right. It's not that I am under-prepared for the race, or incapable of doing this much activity, or need to quit. It's that my body just needed calories.

(with apologies to the great Dinah Washington)
"What a difference a GU made,
twenty-four sips of glucose...
Brought the sun and flowers
where there used to be rain!!"

Still, after running the first 1.5 mile loop, I left the stroller with the husband and ran a 2nd lap just to be sure.

2 weeks and $1,365 to go

Alright folks...it's officially countdown time.
14 days till race day.
Just under $1400 to raise.

That's just $100 a day...right? Just 100 dollar bills every single day. No worries.

And, that's just 14 days left to prepare for a mile long swim. Then a 26 mile bike ride. Then, oh why not, a 6 mile run. No worries there either, right?

hmmm, I'm having one of those anxious days again today.

I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!

Things I had never done before

Tonight my swimming was in fine form. I was relaxed, I rotated on my axis to breathe instead of lifting my head up, I sighted well. Did I mention I was relaxed? It got me thinking about how far my swimming has come since I started training for my first Sprint this Spring. Which got me thinking about all the new things that I have done this summer all prompted by my decision to do a triathlon. The list grew in my head.

It is pretty impressive if I do say so myself. It is so funny how quickly I move on to the next thing forgetting to take stock of how far I've come. This list completely gives me perspective and energy for the last push of training.

I had never swum freestyle comfortably.
I had never used bike shoes or clips before.
I had never gone on a trail run.
I had never biked with a group of people before.
I had never considered my pace, my cadence, or my turnover before. Nor did I know what any of those meant.
I had never done a track workout before, or a tempo run.
I didn't know that bikes came in different sizes, and that it was important to ride the right size for you.
I had never run for an hour before.
I had never run a 10K before.
I had never swum in a wetsuit.
I didn't know what road bike etiquette was.
I had never read an athletic woman's magazine.
I had never eaten an energy gel before.
I did not consider my self an athlete.
I had never written a blog.
I had never raised funds for a personal cause.
I could not swim for 40 minutes without stopping . (especially not freestyle! - more like 2 laps at a time for freestyle)
I had no idea I was so capable.
I had never been so fit that I could find out about a 10k on a Tuesday and race it that Saturday.
I thought that a brick was only something that my old hometown of Chicago used for buildings.
I had never owned a road bike (thanks, Aunt Chris!)
I didn't know that I would love road bicycling so much.
I had never been 'body-marked' before.
I didn't know what it felt like to cry with pride and so much feeling both at the start line and the finish line.

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
John Bingham, aka The Penguin Runner

Over $2,000 raised!!!

You put me over $2,000 today! Yes! THANKS SO MUCH.

Now only $1500 to go...starting to seem like I might just get there, with your help.

Tonight I'm off on a swim, then tomorrow I'll go to the actual race site to ride the course, and check out the swim and bike area, generally to get a feel for how it will be race morning.

I'm starting to get very. tired. of training. I am telling myself, only 2 more weeks than time to taper baby! Your donations and support make a great difference to me, since I know I am training for all of us. Thanks again.

Fitting it all in

I was interviewed for an article for the River Current News about my triathlon, and she asked me with some astonishment, 'How do you fit it all in?' It's a question I get not infrequently, and I wish I had a good answer for her in that moment.

But I've been thinking it about it since then, and here's my answer.

Our family has decided that caring for our health is a non-negotiable. That is, it's great if we are able to do other things, but time for exercise, and for preparing and eating wholesome foods comes first.
And that's how we fit it in.
First.

Practically speaking:
Yesterday I got home from work, threw the kid in the stroller, and raced off on a tempo run. (Tempo is a run faster than you would like. Another word for it might be a torture run). I got back, changed clothes, grabbed a bite for my son and I, and headed off to a meeting for church. When we got home, I put him to bed, relaxed for a while then followed suit.

Tonight I'm all set up for popping him in the bike stroller and jetting out on a bike ride. Then I'll bring something for him to eat while he comes to a City Council meeting with me for a work presentation. When we get home, he'll go to bed. I'd like to say I'll clean the house then go to bed too, but likely I'll relax for a little instead.

And that's how it works. Not every evening is like this, but some are. It does take a decision to do it, and it does take some pre-planning. But my body is still ALL DAY LONG. Sitting. I figure the least I can do is wedge a quick 30 minute workout in there. Bodies are not designed to be sedentary, and they work better when you move.

How do you fit it all in?

What does the next 35 years hold?

I haven't talked as much as I would have liked about this Senior Center, and why I am so passionate about running this race in their honor and for their benefit. While long, I thought I would post the speech I gave at the 35th Anniversary Party we had two weeks ago. It may give you a glimpse into what this place is about.

"35 years ago, this community institution was begun by a volunteer, Ethel Gould, whose daughters honor her today by sponsoring this event. We are honored to be joined tonight by Debbie Anderson, who was a young social worker at the time who worked with Mrs. Gould to get Sno-Valley started, and also by two charter members of Sno-Valley Seniors, Norma Pearson and Essie Sarver – both, who I would mention, have children who are now seniors and serving on our board.

The volunteer roots that are at the heart of this Center began that day. This organization is unique in the caliber, and capacity, and commitment of our volunteers. It is those very volunteers who are keeping us not only open in this brutal economy, in which we’ve taken $100,000 of funding cuts in the last 3 years, but incredibly, EXPANDING our service offerings to the community.

This event is a perfect example of that. It has been entirely conceived, planned, and executed by volunteers.

It's my job tonight to share with you a bit about this place.

I could tell you about our 24,634 programs we offer in a year. But I’d rather tell you about Mike who uses a scooter, and after faithful attendance to our Enhance Fitness class is now able to rise out of his chair to do squats with the class.

I could tell you about the 1300 we serve annually, but I’d rather tell you about the one, who, though in poor health, moved independently to the mobile home park and attended our Center daily. When she died last year, her family made a point of telling us that we had given her 5 good years, years spent as her own free agent in her home, as opposed to her other option which was substandard assisted living.

I could report to you the amazing difference in outcomes that are connected to senior isolation versus seniors who are connected into and integrated with their society. I’d rather tell you about a love story between two lonely individuals, who met in our exercise class, and who now share a beautiful life together.

I could report our astounding statistic of 263 volunteers, but I’d rather ask you if you knew that Fran Carlson, senior volunteer and board member, hatched the plan to turn our little rental house into a community Thrift Store, and now spends 20-40 hours a week running it with the help of other volunteers.

There is something magical about this place. There is some sense of grace that emerges from the community here. It is truly a gift.

I am privileged to stand in this role at this time in this organization’s history. We are on the cusp of some incredible changes.

The ‘silver tsunami’ is beginning to trickle in our doors, changing the way we think about and care for our aging population.

The diversity in this Valley will begin to change as well, creating opportunity for us to throw wide open our doors of this place we love and share.

The public funding for this Center, while always small, will move to almost zero next year, providing incentive for us to come to you, our community, for your individual support of this Center, and forcing us to take a look at our financial and fee structure.

We are preparing for it.

We are launching new ways of being connected. Facebook, email, online registrations…

We are actively recruiting boomers on our board, so they can help guide us toward continued relevance for the younger seniors.

We are launching a 5 phase building campaign, which will create a renovated facility in which we can support these new endeavors.

I ask for your help. Spread the word, let people know we are here. Visit us again, for one of our many events, or for Zumba or our homemade lunch. Connect someone who is caring for an aging parent to the support we have to offer them. Sign up online for our newsletter and stay connected.

This is all done on behalf of you, and because of you. I truly thank each of you for the role, whether small or large, in helping this incredible place arrive at its 35^th anniversary. And, I ask for your help in carrying us forward toward the next 35. Thank you."

I'm halfway to my fundraising goal!!

Whoot! You all just bumped me over halfway to my total fundraising goal. We've now raised $1,761 in honor of the senior volunteers here. THANK YOU!!!

And thanks too for all your supportive comments and cheers. I am at the point in training where it just seems like a LOT and my body is a wee bit tired as I push it toward higher strength and power. What a difference it makes when I read your encouraging words, or when you mention you've read my blog and it inspired you to do your PT. We are all on this adventure toward health and well-being together.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

(Only $1,740 to go!)

Labor Day fun

"What'd you do for Labor Day?"

"Eh, not much. Just swam a mile. Then biked eleven. Then threw in a run of 2 miles. In the pouring rain. Just for kicks."


Also, what is with the burgers?! I am not a burger eatin' woman. I mean every once in a while is fine and good and all, but we are more a pinto beans and chicken kind of family. However, in the last week I have gone out of my way to consume not just one, but four cheeseburgers. Or was that five? It all started after the Aquathon, when I insisted that Leif drive me to find a cheeseburger after the race, even though he had packed a perfectly reasonable and healthy dinner. And it seems to have unleashed the beast in me.

I'm whooped after my training-workout-that-was-practically-a-sprint-triathlon, so I'm tuckin in early. Hope you were pleased with your Labor Day fun too.

I have caught the sickness

I think it is a strange and sick thing that when I realized I had a three day holiday weekend coming up, my first thought was SWEET! 3 whole days to get tons of training in! Yup, I have caught the sickness indeed.

Today was great with a nice long swim with some friends, and then later a fast shorter run pushing the kiddo. I also had some giddy shopping at the REI clearance, where I found an official tri suit on sale in my size. I bought it, not because I couldn't race in something else, but it makes me feel fast and sleek and official, and that counts for something.

I think that the Aquathon really helped me turn a corner on my confidence level. Now instead of quaking in fear when I think of race day approaching, I actually am starting to look forward to it. I also sent out a somewhat SOS appeal to some more experienced triathletes imploring them for advice, and their words of support and encouragement also really helped. I am so grateful for the great people I have met through this sport.

Now off to tend to that 4th oft-neglected pillar of training: rest.

Wheeeee!!! We topped $1500 today!

Thanks to all you donors, I am currently up to $1,552 in my fundraising efforts toward the Senior Center. THANKS! You donors are a fun mix of work colleagues, seniors and board members, and family and friends, and triathlon buddies. I appreciate every single gift. Thank you.

Only $198 to go and I'm at the halfway mark!

Race Report: Islander Aquathon

One of the things that goes along with this sport are the race reports - the blow by blow accounting of exactly how your race went, what ran through your head, how you felt, etc. It's great athletic navel gazing.

So in that great tradition I'm going to post my race report from Islander Aquathon, which I took part in tonight. Be prepared. It is very detailed. Scan away!

The course: 1k swim followed by 8k run. So, an almost Oly distance, minus the bike, basically.

I was really nervous about this race, because, well, I always get really nervous before races. But also because the last swim I did - both for race and training - was ChelanMan. And, a) that was a long time ago, and b) boy, those were some waves. They really freaked me out - everytime I came up for a breath I got gobsmacked in the face. Grabbed hold of a boat 3 times. But I did finally haul myself up on that shore. Oh, and c) longest swim distance I had done in a race.

It was an evening race, kind of unusual and kind of fun. My family was able to come with me to cheer me on, which was a sweet bonus.


Pre-race I am not very nice to be around. I am a total case of nerves getting there. I am able to relax only once I am in transition (the spot where you leave all your stuff for all the legs), with my wetsuit on, and everything set up. Even if I have lots of extra time before the race. I just become incredibly mono-focused. This race was no different. Happily I was ready to go and even dunked in the water for a few strokes for the race meeting.



The race meeting is right before the race begins. The race director gives you important information like which buoys you are supposed to go around, which side to go around them, how many loops the run course you should do. This is sort of helpful information. I wish I had listened more carefully....

This race, like many, had multiple distances. I was competing in the long distance. Long swimmers - men - started first, then long swimmers - women - followed three minutes behind. This is called a wave, and is much appreciated since it cuts down on the thrashing from everyone starting out all at once. The shorter course swimmers started behind us.

I felt good starting out. I felt relaxed, and I tried to keep it that way. It doesn't bother me too much to get bumped and touched by the other swimmers. I caught the first buoy of 3 very quickly! Rounding that buoy each time (we had to do the loop 2 times) was when the waves hit. Not big waves tonight. Just enough to catch a mouthful every once and a while. It brought up the panic of the last swim. I relaxed, I flipped to my back, I relaxed, I did breaststroke. It worked, both times around. I still felt that panic rising, but I was able to calm myself. Success!

You had to run up on to the beach and back down again for the 2nd loop. Leif caught some pics - VERY hard to do when everyone is in wetsuits, googles, and swim caps. Thanks, honey.

I noticed on the 2nd loop around that there weren't many swimmers left out there. I thought, really? I felt like I was swimming pretty standard for me, which is not really fast but not super slow. And I reminded myself to focus on my own race.

The other thing you have to do in a triathlon/open water swim race is 'sight' - that is, you have to keep looking up to check you are still swimming in a straight line toward the buoy. You can very quickly waste a lot of energy zigzagging the course if you don't. And tonight, everytime I started to get a rhythm and start to feel good and strong, I would think, nah, I'm sure I'm swimming pretty straight, I'm going to ride this rhythm and wait for a while longer to sight. (you know where this is going don't you?) I didn't veer completely off course, but I was frustrated at having to choose h between getting a good swim rhythm going with my head down, and then having to interrupt that to sight.

There is something about swimming in a race that just sucks it out of me. Something about the combination of nerves, being in essentially a pitch-black, soundless medium in which you are racing, and the limited oxygen all makes for a very tough mental experience.

Racing up to transition, I was pleased. Wow! I can do 1k and not collapse! My swim time was 25:03. Interestingly, the ChelanMan, which was 1/2 the distance but SO. HARD., my time was 23:53. Conditions matter a lot.

Switched out to my running gear and took off. It was nice not to have the dead-legs from a bike to run transition.

The course was 3 loops long. This is where it would have been really helpful to have listened to the course directions. I had no clue, nor had I walked the course before. It's mostly mental, to have a sense of how much longer, but mental matters alot. So I felt like I was running 'blind' until the very end, when I heard 'final loop to the finish'.

The run went great, other than that mental blip.

I ran it my recent, first 10k very conservatively. Now I knew I could do that distance, so I decided to move at a faster clip. Again, I felt like was at the complete back of the pack. Strange, since I have mostly been in the middle in races. I finally decided that since it was an evening race, it probably attracted mostly more elite athletes. It is really inspirational to see those folks whiz by you. In triathlons, they mark your age group on your calf, so you can play with 'racing' others in your age group, or be wowed by someone in the 60year old age group.

I felt great coming into the finish line. My run time was 46:43, which I am very pleased with. I shaved a minute from my 10kpace time (ie tonight I ran an average of 9:24 a mile, whereas in my 10k I ran an average of 10:25 a mile).

My total race time was 1:13:43. I came in 10 out of 10 in my age division, and 110 out of 125. It wasn't my imagination that I was at the back!

However, tonight's race I will remember the heavy older woman, who was the last out of the water, and heading out on her final, slow loop as I was celebrating with my family at the finish line. The race had a pretty tight timeline for ending, since it got dark. She didn't make the cut-off, and as I was leaving after the awards were given out and the race clock had been taken down, there she was, in the growing dark, lumbering her way toward the finish. Good for you, woman in the yellow jersey. Your grit and determination and focus inspired me tonight. I hope you felt as in awe of yourself as I and the fellow racers who saw you did. Good for you.