Drum roll please...4th Again!

Well, the postings are up for the MN Tri Series results and I came in 4h place for my age group...once again (click on image above to see top 10...including Cindy!). I'm starting to feel a trend in this season's race finishes (although I am contesting the Chicago SuperSprint internally because the analyst in me found a mistake in the final results which put me into 3rd place). I digress. I am very happy with 4th place... I've made great strides this tri-season and I can't wait for next year's season to get even better.

Anyways, I've been keeping busy this week with work and school and running. The Twin Cities 10 mile is on Sunday, which will be fun. I'm hoping the weather is nice out for the event. I got my San Antonio capri pants and long sleeved Sugoi top today in the mail that I ordered off their website. They are very cute and comfy. I figured I needed some 'garb' for my first marathon that I'm doing with their logo etc. Not too much else going on except waiting for Jake to get home so we can go to the gym and get home to watch the Twins in their tie-breaker tonight. Crossing my fingers for that one! We shall see...

Crossing the Bridge

Today I picked up Noelle to go for a run down by the lakes. We started at Lake Harriet and wound around down there by Nokomis, Minnehaha Falls, etc for about 13.5 miles. There was an ALS walk going on and a race for Prostate Cancer - so was fun to spectate some of the participants while we were running and chatting. 

On our way home, Noelle was insistent we cross the 35-W bridge vs. taking the 94 route. Which was fine, as I had not yet gone over the bridge since it has opened a week or so ago. Old habits die hard, and it hasn't quite sunk in that I don't have to detour around that stupid bridge to get places anymore.

Crossing the bridge for the first time was a bit strange, as I was imagining what it would have been like to have that thing just collapse from underneath me. I am so glad I was at class the night that that event happened.

After the run, I ran home and quickly got ready for a bridal shower for Jake's cousin's bride-to-be. Was fun to see Carla (sister-in-law) and Carrie (mom-in-law) there, as I've been a bit MIA lately due to my hectic schedule. Now I'm waiting for Jake to exit the woods from his hunting to see what our options are for the evening. Ah yes, hunting season is upon us folks!

Go Twins and McDreamy!

Well, yesterday I took a day off from training...as Jake got tickets to the Twins / White Sox game. With the Twins in 2nd place in the division to the Sox...figured this would be a good one to watch.

We were right...great crowd and exciting game for the Twins to pull out a Win! Plus, I hadn't seen the hubby for a few days due to backward schedules, so was fun to hang out and relax for an evening. Beer & Dome dogs...can't beat that! Yum!

Now, the Twins just have to win tonight to take over 1st place...is coming down to the wire with it being the last week of the season. I may have to flip between that and Grey's Anatomy, which is a must! Dr. McDreamy is back! Woo hoo!!!

I think I'm just going to go lift weights tonight, as I'm feeling a bit of a cold festering this week and am doing my best to avoid it, if possible. Hard cardio is just not an option today...I'll keep that on the schedule for Saturday's long run.

Three Letters to Avoid...DNF

DNF. Well, had to happen sometime...luckily this just a race for fun (and to get a cool medal). For those who aren't familiar with the terminology, DNF = Did Not Finish. Kind of a thing you avoid in triathlon (and duathlon) races...but you can't avoid them forever. I learned that today! 

I got to the race transition right away when it opened up at 5:30 AM and got the best spot on my rack. I realized as the clock ticked towards 6:30 that IronGirl duathletes aren't as 'crazy' as triathletes that fill up the racks early. There was no competition for a good spot, needless to say. 

Jim and Heidi got there early (as all good triathletes do) and Jim got all our bikes in tip-top shape lubing them up...it was like a personal mechanic! Well, the race started off well - I was in wave 1 and towards the front of the chute going out. 

Heidi Christian ran with me out onto the course for a bit. My legs felt pretty good, for the workouts I've done this week. So, I just kept running the 2 mile leg and coming in I looked down at my watch to see a 15:26 split! Whoa! PR split for me! That's 7:43 miles...never really ventured down into that "7" area for a race - EVER! 

OK...so feeling good. I hop on Pink Lightning with her sweet wheels and I'm off. It took a bit to get past a few of the girls starting out and weave onto the main stretch - but once there I felt great. I was scooting right by some of the girls that were ahead of me and doing fine. I hadn't been passed by anyone....yet. 

At about mile 9.5 I was passing another girl in front of me and as I went out to pass her I hit a small bump (which, the roads were pretty crappy in this area) and as I rolled over it I heard a "Psssstttt!" sound. Crap! Was that my (Jim's) fancy wheel? I stopped and felt the front tire and it felt fine...but then again I had no idea what a flat tubular tire felt like. So I reached behind me to feel the back tire. THAT's what it felt like! Crap, Crap, Crap! (granted maybe I used some different choice words). 

Needless to say....I then started getting passed. By everyone. Well, I knew going into this that if I got a flat on these wheels - I'm out. I don't know how to change tubular tires and thus didn't pack Jim's 'kit'. I wouldn't have known what to do anyways. So...I just started walking. I had about a 1.5 mile hike until the bike route looped by the transition area (2 loop course). I was hoping a sag wagon would be coming by - as the Penn Cycle van was behind me on the course. Nope...got all the way there about a half hour later - I did get to see all the other girls go whizzing by that I knew; Jen, the 2 Heidis, and Noelle. 

When I got to transition, I decided I'd go park the bike and finish up the run (need to put in some miles for the marathon coming up, right?). So, I got to transition, turned in my timing chip, threw on my shoes, and finished up the 2 mile run leg. That leg didn't feel too bad either (granted, I had just spent the last 1/2 hour walking vs. riding my bike hard). So that split was about 16:25 by my watch. Not bad. 

I did get my medal, which was important. After the race we all had some grub and hung out for a while. Heidi C. finished WELL under the time she was aiming for and Noelle did superb too! 

All-in-all a good day! I took off a little early to get home and work on homework that was waiting for me. After I got home, I calculated from my Garmin what my bike mph was for the 9.5 miles I actually rode and was happy to see that it was 20.4 mph. Didn't quite make 21 mph...but that is OK - I think it was close enough. 

So, parting thoughts for the day:

• Isn't it strange that my first race on clincher tires (3 yrs ago) I got a flat and my first race on tubular tires (today) I got a flat? Coincidence? I think not.
• I do like the Zipp wheels - the question is "clincher" or "tubular" when I buy my own set eventually?
• How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?....the world may never know.

Hmmm....Tough Decision...

So yesterday around the water cooler at work (OK, by the Hammer-schloggin), Jim and I were talking shop about racing and training like usual. We got to talking about race wheels, which is on my list of equipment to buy this year before Ironman. The complete saint he is, Jim offers to let me race tomorrow on his fancy Zipp race wheels to see if I like them before I go dropping the big bucks. Am so glad I have this guy helping me out this year!

We had a good 7.5 mile run with run club this morning (my Garmin clocked 7...is so off and I need to reset the darn thing) and then I ran down to get my packet at the race site. Am happy I'm in wave 1 - since it gets a bit crowded on the bike course with women who don't know what drafting, blocking, and passing on the left is all about. I met up with Jim on the way home and I got his wheels to try out.

So looking at the two...I think you all know which ones I'm slightly partial to here. What blows my mind is that Pink Lightning on Zipps (bottom image) probably cost over 10 times what my first car was (oh the trusty Reliant....sniff sniff)!

  

After getting the wheels installed at the bike shop, Noelle and I went down to a cheer station for the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk to cheer on Cindy. She was doing great...but you could tell she just wanted to bust out and do a run amongst the walkers. Then I headed back home to take a quick spin on the new wheels before tomorrow. Um.... Jim might not get these back. ha ha. Wow those wheels are fabulous!

Now, time for some grub and relaxing on the couch until bedtime! Morning comes early on race days.... oh yes they do.

Gotta get my fix...or something like that

So, taking the advice from my fearless Ironman, Jim, I ordered up a bunch of Hammer Nutrition supplements that should aid in my daily workouts as well as races. The golden rule for racing is that you NEVER try this stuff on your big race day. You need to practice with it during training and 'not so important' races first to make sure that your body likes the stuff and responds favorably. 

So... I will be testing these products out during my training for the marathon, as well as that race and see how it goes. It does kinda look like I'm in cahoots with a drug dealer, though, doesn't it? (Hammer actually sent a whole boat load of 'sample' products and goodies with my order....was like Christmas!)

Last night I had Jonny's spin class - weren't too many spinners compared to last week. Jonny was nice to us and we did a lot of high-cadence work and I got a bit of a break on our 'stair sets' (yes, we run stairs between sets) since I'm racing this weekend and I didn't want to kill my legs. 

Jim & Heidi stopped in and we got to watch the Ironman Wisconsin racer/volunteer video that they got in the mail. Was fun to see and there were quite a few people in there that we knew. Was a nice distraction from wattage and cadence for about 15 minutes. :) 

Tonight Jake and I are going to a wedding/reception for his boss's daughter. Tomorrow is running down at the lakes with run club and picking up my race packet for Sunday. I hope we get some good stuff in our packets again this year! Jonny wants me to go 21 mph on the course on Sunday - a pretty high goal since the distance is 22 miles with some really good hills. But... I will try my best to get 'er up around there. Stay tuned for the race report....

Moving on up!

Well, I decided this week to bite the bullet and upgrade my 1/2 marathon distance at San Antonio's Rock N Roll race to the full marathon distance. Figured since I'm already booked to fly out there I may as well get the practice in - since I've never run a full marathon before! We shall see how this one goes. Now I have to bump that mileage up - so much fun!

I got my other workouts set up with Nicole this morning, which was a bit harsh since I had class late last night and had to get up early for our training session. I need to get used to morning workouts again, I'm afraid. 

After work I got to go check out Heidi's new crib and critique her paint swatch selections. I think Andrea and I bullied her into a few colors (Toast!) so we'll see if she follows through or not. And finally, I may become a pseudo-college-friend-auntie tonight! Angie is in the hospital in the throws of contractions... Her little angel is coming soon! Can't wait to meet her!

It's Official - I'm Ironman-bound!

Well, just shelled out my entrance fee (and applicable handling charges) for Ironman Wisconsin. I'm in! No turning back now...

Runnin' in the Rain

Well, today got up at 5 AM to get down to the capital for our run with run club - we had 3 buses hauling runners from clubs all over the metro to Mpls to run back into St. Paul for everyone training for the Twin Cities marathon. Most everyone was running the 20 mile, but there were a handful of us doing around half that distance. I think I ended up running around 11 miles - in the drizzly rain. Wasn't too bad.

Then I headed home to take a nap before going over to my brother's to celebrate Mom's b-day. Was fun to hang out with my nephew, Laike, who is getting so big (picture below in the onesie I got him)! He was giving his dad a run for his money by not wanting to sleep this weekend, which this evening was no different. Which was fine with me - as then I could play with him more!

Now it's time for a little "lite" reading for class, which I'm sure will put me to sleep in no time flat. Unlike Laike, I think I'll be out like a light in no time. I was thinking of getting up early to ride the IronGirl route tomorrow - but that just seems like too much effort to get out of bed that early and get down to the south metro for a ride. I think maybe a little ride around here tomorrow afternoon sounds MUCH better.

Last item to ponder....should I up the ante in San Antonio and go the full marathon distance? Or keep 'er at the half. I think I need to decide next week - cuz my mileage needs to increase appropriately depending on this decision. Hmmmm....I think sleep sounds more fun to ponder right now.

Training Begins...

Well, this morning I met with my trainer Nicole. I've been training with Nicole off-and-on for probably 5-6 years. She's set me up for a fabulous wedding-physique (too bad that was over 3 yrs ago - ha ha!) and the training we've been doing for the past 6 months has really helped this season's races. Now, our next task....Ironman. We ran through my plan, goals for next few months, and got one workout setup. Gonna meet with her again next week to setup a few more weight training sessions for the month.

I grilled Jim yesterday at work on his thoughts on Fall training (the Ironman master) and will be sure to pick everyone's brains on this that I run into. I think my plan for now is to hit the weights, running (for my 1/2 and future full marathons) and spinning. Swimming can go to the way-side for a few months.

I did drop my Thursday night class for an independent study - so at least I don't have to go to that tonight. Whew!

Ironman Madison 2009 - Here we come!!!

Just a quick post... Cindy, Noelle and I got in to Ironman Madison for 2009! The race sold out yesterday (not sure how long it went online) but we are SUPER happy that we got all set and ready to go. I'll post up some info on the weekend and more pictures soon.... I need more hours in the day already!

Ironman Madison Race - Complete...Sign up - Almost there...

At finish line down by the capital

Us at 3:30 AM waiting in line...what beauties!

Well, we made it to Madison and had a great time volunteering yesterday. Currently, Noelle Cindy and myself are sitting in line to sign up for next year's race outside the convention center. We got here at 3:30 AM! (Yes, we are nuts...I've accepted that fact. We're signing up for Ironman - need I say more?). We are supposed to get a special line to sign up in, since we volunteered - but there were over 4500 volunteers...so we wanted to make sure we were safe. I think we'll be OK.... we are 9th, 10th, and 11th in line. hee hee.

Yesterday was fun. We got to the race early to watch the swim start and get our volunteer T-Shirt and wristband. That was a fiasco...they only had XXL T-shirts so we got "dresses" that we had to wear all day. So cute. We had a good spot watching the bikers going out of transition down a parking ramp helix - gotta be careful of that thing next year! 

We then shopped in the Ironman store a little and got ready for our shift in transition. We were "bike takers"...we were busy all day catching bikes from the athletes when they came in. We got a great workout running bikes back and forth all day! After that, we headed to the finish line to watch Jim, Michelle and Heidi come across. They all had PRs and did an awesome job!

I'm so excited for next year already - this race was fabulous and will be an amazing accomplishment once I get across that finish line. 364 days to go!!! The journey begins...

Heading to Madison

Well, we leave this morning for Madison! I ran with run club this morning for 9 miles, hit the grocery store and now am finishing up my packing to head down to get the girls. Should be a fun weekend. Last night Noelle and I went to get her M-dot tattoo. It looks awesome and I told Lucky that he'll be seeing me next year. ha ha!

School's Back in Session

Well, first night of Fall semester has started. It even feels like fall out with the crisp cool air that has been apparent the last few days. Class was interesting and mid-way through was debating if I should drop the class for another or not. This was a required class for my degree up to last year, then they yanked it and said we could take an elective instead. I just signed up anyways, as none of the other electives for this Fall looked interesting. Am not quite sure yet, but need to decide soon. Not sure what New Venture Marketing will do for me and my career...not terribly applicable, but whatever. At least the prof. has a cool Irish accent to listen to for 3 hrs on Thursday nights.

Tomorrow I'm going to go with Noelle to get her M-dot tattoo at Lucky's. She'll get to sport her new "tag" out in Madison this weekend. We're leaving Saturday (Noelle, Cindy and I) to get over there for volunteering on Sunday's Ironman race. Then on Monday...we plan to sign up for 2009. Should be fun to cheer on Jim, Heidi, and Michelle over there - maybe we'll get to take their bikes (our job in transition). I'll be looking for them!

Well, off to make my list of things to do before we leave, things to pack, and things that Jake needs to remember to do this weekend while I'm gone (honey-do list!).