Brick house...
May. 5th, 2008 01:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
threadwalkerThe race was a blast. I'm already planning my next foray!
(my lj-cuts didn't work very well at home. I promise to clean this up later)
Small Edit: Victory moment
pre-race stuff
The DJ/Announcer at the race was hysterical. He gleefully informed us over the PA that 60% of the race was women. He immediately spun up "Brickhouse". There was a lot of athletic eye-candy there, too. Vic overheard me mention that to Catherine and he was quick to agree! hahahaha! The winner of the race was a 41 year old man. Woot Woot for the 40+ age group.
What? We want to talk about the actual race? The best race ever despite a terrible run and my worst nightmare come to life.
The swim aka
The bike aka
The 4 mile run: "Training to fail proves itself"
On Racing the Boss:
The shower afterwards... total heaven! And I got a shiney medal! Our victory meal was at Denny's in Cordelia. And I had the brownie Sunday.. nom nom nom.. well earned.
Monday I'm registering for the Tri at Pacific Grove and sending in my membership for USATriathlon. And I'm going to look for 1-2 smaller ones between now and then. I'm hooked.
Post Race Pondering:
(my lj-cuts didn't work very well at home. I promise to clean this up later)
Small Edit: Victory moment
After my bike was repaired, I actually caught up w/ the boss's son, the 16 year old leggy athlete. I caught him on an uphill, we recognized each other, said "hi", I joked about my flat, he said he was doing fine, and, when we got to the top, he said, "Race ya!"
But of course, that's what we were doing, right? I shifted into down-hill mode and left him in my dust. For down hill, I get very low on my handle bars (try to make myself low profile), cranked it up to my highest gear (or is that lowest?) and keep my cadence up. When I found him and his family afterwards, he was in the midst of telling his dad about it and about how I took off and no matter how hard he pedaled, he couldn't catch me. That felt good; I got passed by so many youthful athletes, it was kind of neat to do some passing of my own.
And since I'm fair and compulsively honest, I pointed out that he sprinted past me right at the finish line of the run (dang those long gazelle legs!), which he hadn't realized. So I got to bring a smile to his face, too.
But of course, that's what we were doing, right? I shifted into down-hill mode and left him in my dust. For down hill, I get very low on my handle bars (try to make myself low profile), cranked it up to my highest gear (or is that lowest?) and keep my cadence up. When I found him and his family afterwards, he was in the midst of telling his dad about it and about how I took off and no matter how hard he pedaled, he couldn't catch me. That felt good; I got passed by so many youthful athletes, it was kind of neat to do some passing of my own.
And since I'm fair and compulsively honest, I pointed out that he sprinted past me right at the finish line of the run (dang those long gazelle legs!), which he hadn't realized. So I got to bring a smile to his face, too.
pre-race stuff
I had the best cheering section evah! My husband, Andrew, Catherine, Victor and (later) Jeff. Other than my mom and my sister, I think that these people have been in my life longer than anyone else. How freaking lucky is that!?!
Dinner the night before... "A three hour tour, a three hour tour"... the little Italian restaurant was not prepared for race-weekend even though this is the 10th one AND the group we shoe-horned in with (and shared table with) said it was exactly the same last year. The restaurant.. totally cute, a one-chef kitchen, good rib-eye.
We stayed at Rancho Monticello Resort, in a cabin. OMG! Awesome... no tent, a real bed, packing was easy... this is what I want for SCA events!!! The camping gang stayed at Spanish Flats in tents. No idea if it was noisy or not. Our Saturday table dinner companions stayed at the resort where the race was (Putah Creek) last year and said that despite the 11pm curfew, the Cantina was blasting music past midnight. So all-in-all, I think I made some good choices despite limited information. yay me!
We got to the race around 6:30 am on the nose Sunday morning and there was a line of cars out the gate. And (IMO) all the prime rack spots that I wanted were already taken. I got a pretty good spot despite that.. I was aiming to find a spot on the tarmak and not the gravel. I was thinking, "running on bare feet to bike + gravel = owie!" But I was just past the tarmak and got myself racked next to someone fast, so I knew he'd be out of the way by the time I needed to transition. yay!
Dinner the night before... "A three hour tour, a three hour tour"... the little Italian restaurant was not prepared for race-weekend even though this is the 10th one AND the group we shoe-horned in with (and shared table with) said it was exactly the same last year. The restaurant.. totally cute, a one-chef kitchen, good rib-eye.
We stayed at Rancho Monticello Resort, in a cabin. OMG! Awesome... no tent, a real bed, packing was easy... this is what I want for SCA events!!! The camping gang stayed at Spanish Flats in tents. No idea if it was noisy or not. Our Saturday table dinner companions stayed at the resort where the race was (Putah Creek) last year and said that despite the 11pm curfew, the Cantina was blasting music past midnight. So all-in-all, I think I made some good choices despite limited information. yay me!
We got to the race around 6:30 am on the nose Sunday morning and there was a line of cars out the gate. And (IMO) all the prime rack spots that I wanted were already taken. I got a pretty good spot despite that.. I was aiming to find a spot on the tarmak and not the gravel. I was thinking, "running on bare feet to bike + gravel = owie!" But I was just past the tarmak and got myself racked next to someone fast, so I knew he'd be out of the way by the time I needed to transition. yay!
The DJ/Announcer at the race was hysterical. He gleefully informed us over the PA that 60% of the race was women. He immediately spun up "Brickhouse". There was a lot of athletic eye-candy there, too. Vic overheard me mention that to Catherine and he was quick to agree! hahahaha! The winner of the race was a 41 year old man. Woot Woot for the 40+ age group.
What? We want to talk about the actual race? The best race ever despite a terrible run and my worst nightmare come to life.
The swim aka
"paddle, Lassie, padde!"
I was chilling w/ the cheering crew when the first wave started. My boss and his family were right next to us (coincidentally!). I jerked up, "What? have they started? Oh shit, I need to get down there!"
And I did. My swim leg sucked time-wise. I got into a mob of people and ended up in the water before I was mentally ready to "race". I paddled out, totally unsure that I was doing the right thing. We waited, treading water, at the start point for the race marshall to yell "go", and then we swam.
The hard parts were at the buoys - everyone compresses in and I got bumped around a lot. I almost swam on the wrong side of one and on the last one, I litterly slid along the side of it and popped out in my little mob. The worse was the second buoy because when I tried to sight it, I was blinded by the sun (just aim for the wave of yellow caps ahead, my brain assured me).
On the plus side, I did not panic, I did not drink too much water and I never got cold or fatigued. And splashing around in a wetsuit is kind of fun. I think the novelty of the wet suit really distracted me from being in a pack of swimmers.
On the "not so awesome side", neither did I swim a steady pace or maintain any sort of decent form. I did free style, but wasn't breathing right. I felt like I had a vice on my chest... oh, right! that's the wet suit. LOL. I was breathing on every other stroke and couldn't get myself into any sort of zen rhythm. I could not get myself to breath out under water, either. So it was stroke, stroke, breathe out, breath in, stroke, stroke, breathe out, breath in... lather, rinse, repeat.
I subsequently did back stroke, side stroke, dog paddle, and breast stroke. (Catherine heard someone on the radio describing all the crazy strokes he was seeing, including side stroke, so we wondered if it was me. lol) The driver in my brain just wanted me to keep moving, regardless of the stroke: No stopping. Other than that I was totally mentally detached, almost swam up the wrong side of one buoy, a race official asked me if I was okay and I was fine, and I made small chat with the other doggie paddlers out there. I actually did free style from the last buoy to shore. By then the last wave of swimmers had caught up with me (well, the leaders of the last wave) so it thinned out quite a bit. I followed a pair of feet in, got my zen, and then touched the boat ramp.
Oh well, not a stellar performance. I am thrilled I did not panic. I survived the swim leg without mental anguish. That should have been one of my goals because honestly, no matter how sucktastic my time is, my comfort in the water was never a sure thing and the feeling trapped by the wet-suit was a risk.
I was chilling w/ the cheering crew when the first wave started. My boss and his family were right next to us (coincidentally!). I jerked up, "What? have they started? Oh shit, I need to get down there!"
And I did. My swim leg sucked time-wise. I got into a mob of people and ended up in the water before I was mentally ready to "race". I paddled out, totally unsure that I was doing the right thing. We waited, treading water, at the start point for the race marshall to yell "go", and then we swam.
The hard parts were at the buoys - everyone compresses in and I got bumped around a lot. I almost swam on the wrong side of one and on the last one, I litterly slid along the side of it and popped out in my little mob. The worse was the second buoy because when I tried to sight it, I was blinded by the sun (just aim for the wave of yellow caps ahead, my brain assured me).
On the plus side, I did not panic, I did not drink too much water and I never got cold or fatigued. And splashing around in a wetsuit is kind of fun. I think the novelty of the wet suit really distracted me from being in a pack of swimmers.
On the "not so awesome side", neither did I swim a steady pace or maintain any sort of decent form. I did free style, but wasn't breathing right. I felt like I had a vice on my chest... oh, right! that's the wet suit. LOL. I was breathing on every other stroke and couldn't get myself into any sort of zen rhythm. I could not get myself to breath out under water, either. So it was stroke, stroke, breathe out, breath in, stroke, stroke, breathe out, breath in... lather, rinse, repeat.
I subsequently did back stroke, side stroke, dog paddle, and breast stroke. (Catherine heard someone on the radio describing all the crazy strokes he was seeing, including side stroke, so we wondered if it was me. lol) The driver in my brain just wanted me to keep moving, regardless of the stroke: No stopping. Other than that I was totally mentally detached, almost swam up the wrong side of one buoy, a race official asked me if I was okay and I was fine, and I made small chat with the other doggie paddlers out there. I actually did free style from the last buoy to shore. By then the last wave of swimmers had caught up with me (well, the leaders of the last wave) so it thinned out quite a bit. I followed a pair of feet in, got my zen, and then touched the boat ramp.
Oh well, not a stellar performance. I am thrilled I did not panic. I survived the swim leg without mental anguish. That should have been one of my goals because honestly, no matter how sucktastic my time is, my comfort in the water was never a sure thing and the feeling trapped by the wet-suit was a risk.
The bike aka
"ride like the wind, Bulls Eye!"
I was shaking the whole time, but my transition from wetsuit to bike was very smooth. Yay for Team Mommy and N doing their practice runs in the kitchen.
Bike course: 15 miles.
Before I reached mile 0.10, my rear tire blew. Yup, hit a pot-hole in the drive way, blew my rear tube. This is something that has been haunting my nightmares for weeks. Sigh. Guess who's never changed a tire?
It took me about 1/4 mi to decide it was really blown. At that point I decided to 'gut it out' because quitting was NOT an option. My driver was telling me I could do this on a flat. Eventually, after I passed the aid station at mile 1 and people were whipping past me while I slowly chugged along, I reconsidered this plan. Riding on a flat is a LOT of work. I could feel my pulse in my earlobes.
At mile 2, the turn around for the run, there was another aid station. The young guys there changed my tire; I had all the tools and a tube and a tire pump on me, so it was a matter of someone having know-how. And then I was back in the race. Yay! It took 10-15 minutes, which I thought was pretty fast, but they were apologizing. Heck, if I'd had money, I'd have tipped them.
The ride was spectacular. I expected to "do okay" and I think I exceeded my expectations. I don't know what my time was. However, despite the blow-out the hills would have slowed me down so I'm not sure I would have made my time-goal. Regardless, I felt like I was pushing the whole time and working the entire stroke. I spent the whole bike ride passing people, including some of the people who had passed me. My brain kept chanting, "cadence, just keep your cadence at 80". And I did. This was a highlight of the race for me.
I was shaking the whole time, but my transition from wetsuit to bike was very smooth. Yay for Team Mommy and N doing their practice runs in the kitchen.
Bike course: 15 miles.
Before I reached mile 0.10, my rear tire blew. Yup, hit a pot-hole in the drive way, blew my rear tube. This is something that has been haunting my nightmares for weeks. Sigh. Guess who's never changed a tire?
It took me about 1/4 mi to decide it was really blown. At that point I decided to 'gut it out' because quitting was NOT an option. My driver was telling me I could do this on a flat. Eventually, after I passed the aid station at mile 1 and people were whipping past me while I slowly chugged along, I reconsidered this plan. Riding on a flat is a LOT of work. I could feel my pulse in my earlobes.
At mile 2, the turn around for the run, there was another aid station. The young guys there changed my tire; I had all the tools and a tube and a tire pump on me, so it was a matter of someone having know-how. And then I was back in the race. Yay! It took 10-15 minutes, which I thought was pretty fast, but they were apologizing. Heck, if I'd had money, I'd have tipped them.
The ride was spectacular. I expected to "do okay" and I think I exceeded my expectations. I don't know what my time was. However, despite the blow-out the hills would have slowed me down so I'm not sure I would have made my time-goal. Regardless, I felt like I was pushing the whole time and working the entire stroke. I spent the whole bike ride passing people, including some of the people who had passed me. My brain kept chanting, "cadence, just keep your cadence at 80". And I did. This was a highlight of the race for me.
The 4 mile run: "Training to fail proves itself"
The most grueling leg of the race!
I've been training the race pace I figured I'd be able to muster after the bike INSTEAD of the race pace I wanted to do. So when I hit the run, my tired body shifted into default mode. sigh.
The sun was up and beating down, but I was well hydrated, had my hat/shades, and had Gu flowing through me. I transitioned from bike to run quickly and took off. It starts up hill and stays that way more or less for 2 miles. If you don't run, keep in mind that when you're running, even a slight incline is "up hill". I pretty much shifted into low gear for uphill climbing and never shifted out.
Not much to say about the run except it was hard, I had a cramp in my side the entire time so I had to push past the pain the whole time(1), and I gave everything I had. I did spend quite a bit of the run creeping up on people and passing them, which was cool, but I never felt swift. I have no injuries, although my quadriceps were burning by the time I was done, proving to me that I wasn't slacking. The cheering section said I looked like I had a strong finish; my "sprint" was not much of a sprint, but it was all I had and it was at least faster than my race pace.
Thank god Catherine came and found me; the stupid Gatoraide bottles were so frigging wrapped and sealed, I'd ahve passed out before I got it open. She deconstructed the bottle for me, though. yay - electrolytes.
(1) when I doubled over in my post-race shower from excruciating intestinal pain, I realized the cause was probably the rib-eye the night before.. this will be included in my lessons learned post later on. On the other hand, I have new respect for my ability to push past the pain and soldier on.
I've been training the race pace I figured I'd be able to muster after the bike INSTEAD of the race pace I wanted to do. So when I hit the run, my tired body shifted into default mode. sigh.
The sun was up and beating down, but I was well hydrated, had my hat/shades, and had Gu flowing through me. I transitioned from bike to run quickly and took off. It starts up hill and stays that way more or less for 2 miles. If you don't run, keep in mind that when you're running, even a slight incline is "up hill". I pretty much shifted into low gear for uphill climbing and never shifted out.
Not much to say about the run except it was hard, I had a cramp in my side the entire time so I had to push past the pain the whole time(1), and I gave everything I had. I did spend quite a bit of the run creeping up on people and passing them, which was cool, but I never felt swift. I have no injuries, although my quadriceps were burning by the time I was done, proving to me that I wasn't slacking. The cheering section said I looked like I had a strong finish; my "sprint" was not much of a sprint, but it was all I had and it was at least faster than my race pace.
Thank god Catherine came and found me; the stupid Gatoraide bottles were so frigging wrapped and sealed, I'd ahve passed out before I got it open. She deconstructed the bottle for me, though. yay - electrolytes.
(1) when I doubled over in my post-race shower from excruciating intestinal pain, I realized the cause was probably the rib-eye the night before.. this will be included in my lessons learned post later on. On the other hand, I have new respect for my ability to push past the pain and soldier on.
On Racing the Boss:
I did not beat the boss...
I think the boss beat me. He was about 10 minutes ahead of me on the run and we waved as he passed me going in the opposite direction. After talking to Andrew, it was kind of crazy for me to think I could beat a man of equivalent age and fitness level. The chemistry is against me. But it's really cool that he and his family came out and did it. Catherine joked that the health insurance companies should give me a kick back for getting so many people inspired to live healthier.
I think the boss beat me. He was about 10 minutes ahead of me on the run and we waved as he passed me going in the opposite direction. After talking to Andrew, it was kind of crazy for me to think I could beat a man of equivalent age and fitness level. The chemistry is against me. But it's really cool that he and his family came out and did it. Catherine joked that the health insurance companies should give me a kick back for getting so many people inspired to live healthier.
The shower afterwards... total heaven! And I got a shiney medal! Our victory meal was at Denny's in Cordelia. And I had the brownie Sunday.. nom nom nom.. well earned.
Monday I'm registering for the Tri at Pacific Grove and sending in my membership for USATriathlon. And I'm going to look for 1-2 smaller ones between now and then. I'm hooked.
Post Race Pondering:
I was feeling great about some parts of the race and disappointed about other bits (the run, my lack of race-brain during swim) and thinking it through. The hubby had a little reality check with me: today I did something that a lot of other people can't do. Instead of getting down on myself, I need to celebrate. I agree with him, but there is a part of me that is deconstructing what I did and how I could do it better.
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 12:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 03:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 03:52 pm (UTC)On the swim thing -- keep in mind that no amount of theoretical rehersal actually prepares you for a new activity. "New" in the sense of actually working through the race context and the transitions. Next time it'll be familiar and you can focus on style.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 04:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 04:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 04:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 04:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-06 11:43 pm (UTC)But I'm in!
Wow!
Date: 2008-05-05 05:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 06:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 06:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-06 07:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 07:49 pm (UTC)So while you analyze your performance, remember how great an achievement you've already accomplished.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-06 11:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 08:36 pm (UTC)You did something I'd like to aspire to do one day. :-)
no subject
Date: 2008-05-06 03:43 am (UTC)Lessons learned can happen later.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-06 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-07 05:26 am (UTC)