Race Recap – Sleepy Hollow Halloween 10k

Welcome to Sleepy Hollow!

Where is the best place to visit for Halloween? Aside from the obvious Salem, MA, I would rank Sleepy Hollow, NY a close second. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, written by Washington Irving, is one of the most famous American short stories and the source of the famous Headless Horseman tale.

The Headless Horseman

Around Halloween time, the town of Sleepy Hollow, NY embraces this history and offers many fun Halloween themed events, including the Sleepy Hollow Halloween 10k, which is put on by the Rivertown Runners.

Hanging around

As you may recall, I previously ran the Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon. That race was very well run and so I knew I had to come back for the Halloween race. The last half of the 10K course was identical to the final three miles of the Half Marathon course, so I knew just what to expect. This race did not disappoint me and I would say it was by far the most fun road race I have done.

Costumed Volunteer

The course starts and ends at the Morse School parking lot. This is where they set up the food, check-in and kid’s activities. Prior to the 10K there was a 1 mile kid’s run and during the race there were crafts, face painting, games and a fun bus for the kids to play on. There is also a playground there for the kids to play on.

Sleepy Hollow is a very hilly town and the course was both scenic and challenging. What really made it special was the care the race organizers and volunteers put into it. The course was well marked, well staffed and had minimal traffic. As with the Half Marathon, there were signs of encouragement and decorations throughout the course. This time, they were all Halloween themed and I slowed down to take lots of pictures, as I had no goal time in mind and I really wanted to enjoy myself.

I just needed to rest.

Along with the signs, many of the race volunteers were in costume. There was a local band (of very cute and talented kids) playing around the halfway point and two water stops. Another band played at the start area. Being a Halloween race, many of the racers were in costume as well. In addition, a real headless horseman was riding around. That was real highlight.

After the race, they offered beer, water, gatorade, granola bars and donuts. The race shirt is a very cute cotton baseball style one with the Headless Horseman. I really appreciated this, because I’m not a fan of tech shirts and have plenty of plain t-shirts. It was nice to receive something a little different.

My sentiments exactly!

Immediately after the race, the street where the race started remained closed for a street fair. Down the block, the town’s farmer's market and the library’s book sale were also going on. In addition, many local residents and churches were having rummage sales. There was no shortage of things to do in Sleepy Hollow that day.

Encouragement sign

After walking around the street fair for a bit, my family and I headed to the historic Old Dutch Church and the nearby cemetery to visit the graves of the real Van Tassels who served as inspiration for the story and to visit the grave of Washington Irving himself. There are paid tours you can take, but we just walked on our own, since my husband knew where to go.



Overall, it was just a really fun day and a fun race. I would highly recommend this race.

Washington Irving's Family Plot

Race Recap – Iron Girl Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook

Iron Girl Sandy Hook was my second triathlon ever and it was a great race. After a number of races this summer that were not so great, for various reasons, like my health and the organization, it was fun to participate in a race where everything came together.  It was a 1/3 mile swim, 15 mile bike ride and 5k run. My overall time was 1:56:08. I was 68/125 in my age group and 412/836 overall.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and sunny, without being too hot or humid and the layout of the course was great. It was a very straightforward and flat course and it was well staffed and organized. I would highly recommend this event to other women, whether new or seasoned triathletes. It was simply a very fun race.

Point Pleasant

Because this race was a bit further from home than usual, and because bike check in was permitted the day before, my race weekend actually started on Saturday afternoon. My husband and I drove down to Sandy Hook and stayed at a local hotel for the night, leaving my son with his Nana for the day. It was a nice little mini-vacation for us and we had dinner at a restaurant on the beach and then went for a dip in the (very small) hotel pool.

The race started very early on Sunday morning, with transition closing at 6:30am. This was a bit of a pain, since we were only permitted to park in the lots that the Park Rangers directed you to and there was a long walk from the parking lot to the transition area. I was very nervous we would not make it in time, but fortunately, they kept the transition area open past the cutoff. Once I got to the transition area and set up, there was about an hour before I raced and so I had plenty of time to get settled.

Swim: 17:33

Prepared to Swim

The entire course was conducted with chip times, rather than gun times, and the swim waves were sent off into the water by age and last name. As an older woman with a name at the end of the alphabet, I was in a later wave and started racing at 7:35am. Before starting, we are permitted to wade into the water to warm up. It was nice to have the chance to get used to the water immediately before swimming. It really makes a big difference, in my opinion.

The swim course was a straight line in the bay side of Sandy Hook from one end to the other, with buoys set up every 100 yards. The water was a bit choppy, but without a strong current. It was not too difficult a swim. I was surprised at the number of sheer beginners and was alarmed to hear one women telling another that she hadn't been swimming in years and didn't really swim. I appreciate bravery, but I do think it's a little crazy to attempt open water swimming without some preparation.

Swim Course

Unlike my first triathlon, instead of pushing to the front, I hung out in the back and tried to enter last. However, I regretted this decision at the start because I immediately got caught behind some beginning swimmers who were barely moving. It was too clustered together to push past them and I had to keep stopping and waiting for them to move forward before I could go again. Eventually, the crowd broke up and I was able to pull ahead of them and gain some speed. I ended up finishing in the top 1/3 of my wave of swimmers (36/125). I think I could have done slightly better had I been able to get past the beginners and into a rhythm sooner.  If I had to do it again, I still think I would stay at the back, since it was a chip time race after all, but I would have stayed to the perimeter more.

Bike: 1:00:50

The transition out of the swim was a straight line into the bike racks and went fairly smoothly. The only slow down was that the bike racks were very close together and I had to keep stopping removing my wetsuit to let other racers past.

Bike Course

The bike leg was two loops of a straight course. It was a great ride and I really had a lot of fun with it. Because the field of racers were both new and experienced I ended up both passing people and being passed. There were racers on bikes with aero bars and water tubes and racers on comfort bikes with baskets. I really enjoyed not being the slowest racer out there and it really gave me some confidence. At one point a very fast racer passed me and yelled out “You go girl, you’re a bad ass!” and this really inspired me. I thought to myself “Yes, yes, I am.”, then I made a game of trying to catch up with her and pass her. I never did, but I enjoyed trying!

I had grabbed a few gels at transition and ate some on the bike and was left holding the package for a mile or so before I realized I could shove it in my back pocket. That was a bit of a “duh” moment. Also, every time I wanted to drink I had to slow down. I have such terrible balance putting the water bottle back in the cage that I weave like a drunk when I do. I became really jealous of the people with water tubes and now I want one.

Riding in the direction of the entrance gate was fast, but turning around to head back, we rode into a mad headwind. I had forgotten about that from my prior runs at Sandy Hook, so it was a surprise the first loop. It was nice and cooling and fun to fight against it. On the second loop, I made a point of trying to ride fast against it and pass people. I finished near the middle of my age group. (73/125)

At the transition, I tried to do a flying dismount and caught my leg, because it was more jello-y than expected. It was a disaster of a dismount and I almost crashed into the poor woman next to me.  I laughed a bit when the volunteer quipped “Very graceful!” But, after that I was fine. I racked my bike, removed my helmet and set off on the run.

Run:  32:24

Run Course

My whole mantra on the run was “have fun” and “push it”. I tried really hard to walk as little as possible. At the start, however, I had a really bad pain my back from leaning over the bike and had to stop a few times to stretch it out. Once I got the pain to ease up, I had a fairly good run. I do feel I can improve quite a bit on the run, if I can just put my mind to it. I seem to have energy left at the end, which means I am not pushing as hard as I can. I plan to work primarily on running over the winter. Given that I have been running for several years now, I think I should be faster than I am and have not been training smart enough. I finished 90/125 in my age group, which shows there is a lot of room for improvement.

At the finish line they announced my name as I crossed and “You are an Iron Girl!” I found this a tad cheesy, but was happy they pronounced my name right. After this, I wandered around for about a half hour trying to find my husband. We really should have planned out where to meet a little better. I was proud of my race and, most of all, how much fun I had. I have had a tough time staying positive lately and for me it was just a great and joyful day. I enjoyed every minute of it and can’t wait to do it again next year.

Finisher Medal

This was my last triathlon for the season, so the next few months coming up it will be pool swimming and running mostly as well as more trips to the gym as the weather gets colder. I miss summer already.

Race Recap – Stars & Stripes Aquathlon

I <3 2 SWIM NYC

Let me start out by saying this race was extremely well organized, and if not for the fact that NYC SWIM has decided not to offer their short course races next year, I would probably do this one again. Unlike, the Coney Island Aquathlon, which I wrote about previously, it was extremely well staffed and planned. I counted 7 boats on the water and a few kayaks. In fact, there was a boat at each of the 6 buoys. They  also held 2 pre-race webinars which covered all the race details including the antcipated tidal changes.

Setting up buoys

The race started out just off the grassy area near the path on Randall’s Island facing 109th Street in Manhattan. Each swimmer was sent into the water individually by their seeded time (based on qualifying submissions). The run transition was set up neatly in the grassy area, with a flag and space for each participant and the run was held on the paved running path and comprised a loop with two turnarounds. It was a nice course, with not too much difficulty, generally speaking. I expected to have an awesome day and to use my time to qualify for the Statue of Liberty Swim, which will also be their last one.

Entry to Swim

Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. This turned out to be my worst race to date and a really bad day. I do not have my times yet, but I’m pretty sure I came in last or darn near close to it. As a result, I will not be able to do the Statue of Liberty Swim.

During the swim, I was doing okay until about a quarter of a mile in, when my goggles started fogging up. I had not spit on them as I usually do, due to the delayed entry and the fact that there was no way to really access the water immediately beforehand. Usually, I spit, rinse them and put them on. This time I just put them on dry. I didn’t think this would make much difference, but it was a huge mistake. They kept fogging up every few strokes and each time I stopped to clean them I fell more and more behind. At about half way through, I just ended up breast-stroking with my head up so I could see and not have to stop. In addition, the water that got into my goggles really irritated my eyes. I think I must have had an allergic reaction, because my husband said when he saw me part of the way into the run, that my eyes looked so swollen I looked like I “had been petting cats”. I am highly allergic to cats. He later joked that there was a cat washing factory upstream. I don’t know about that, but there was definitely something upstream as I swam through two spots during the race that tasted exactly like tobacco juice. Maybe they were washing off smoking cats? I don’t know. But, during the run my eyes hurt so badly I thought they must have severe corneal abrasions. However, after washing my eyes out several times afterward with eye-wash they felt much better. Although, my eyelids still have an odd ache to them.

My Transition

I also must have swallowed some of the tobacco cat water, because when I got out to run, I nearly vomited about 5 times. I just couldn’t stop dry heaving. I ended up walking for at least half of the run. I was just miserable the whole time and kept trying to push past it and not give up.

Lately in my races, I have been developing a weird headache across my forehead whenever I run. It feels like I am going to have a stroke and my head feels all hot and I feel disconnected and confused. It scares me a little. But, thinking about it today, I think the cause may be something as stupid as caffeine withdrawal. I normally drink about 3 cups of coffee in the morning when I wake up. But when I have a super early race and wake at 5 a.m., as I have done for my past few races, my stomach gets too upset from waking up early that I can’t really handle coffee and I skip it. I need to test this theory. Or maybe I need to see a doctor before I pass out dead? Either way, it is not a fun feeling and I hope it is temporary. This also effected my run quite heavily.

Finally, I think I was slightly undertrained for this race. Although I have been doing these distances all summer, last week I went on vacation and did not work out at all and did not eat very healthfully. It definitely had an impact and I don’t plan to repeat that mistake again.

All in all, I was very disappointed in my performance and wish it had gone better. It am sad that I won't be able to swim around the Statue of Liberty, but perhaps it is for the best, since I'm not sure my bank account could afford the $145 entry fee anyhow.

Race Recap – Coney Island Aquathlon

Finisher Medal

This was my second year doing the Coney Island Aquathlon. Last year, I completed the Sprint Distance (half mile swim, 3 mile run) and this year I completed the Olympic Distance (1 mile swim, 3 mile run).

My finish time was 1:36:05.79 and I placed 2/4 in F40-44, 43/51 overall and 14/28 women. It was a very difficult race and I am proud of my placement. I am also proud of simply finishing. I had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before and was feeling really sick to my stomach before the race.

In the swim, I choose to start more toward the back this time, and it worked out well. I was never kicked or hit the entire time. I was also able to get into a rhythm a lot earlier. This, however, did not stop me from having a few moments of panic during the race.

Exiting the water

The first was when I saw jellyfish swimming by at about a quarter mile in. They were about muffin sized and I wasn’t sure if they were going to sting me or what. I had to calm myself down and remind myself that it was actually kind of cool to be out there swimming with sea life. They left me alone and I didn’t see any more after that point.

The next moment of panic came between the half mile buoy and the ¾ mile one. I was sighting off the shore and just didn’t seem to be moving at all. This reminded me of my race last year when I DNF'd and I started to panic that it was going to happen again and that I was stuck in a current I couldn’t overcome. I really wanted to give up at that point. I was overcome with sadness and fear and exhaustion. However, I took some deep breathes, put my head down and reminded myself  that “slow and steady wins the race”, “don’t quit” and "just keep swimming".  After a short amount of time, I looked back at the half mile buoy I was surprised to see I had moved quite a bit of distance from it. This gave me some confidence because it meant that I must be moving forward. From that point on, I just focused on the buoy ahead of me and getting closer to it. When I finally reached the buoy at ¾ mile, I knew I was almost done and was relieved.

From there, it was a quick swim into the beach and off on the run. My run did not go so well. Because of how sick I had been that morning, I just hadn’t eaten or drank anything. I had a few sips of Powerade at the transition, but couldn’t really stomach it. I even skipped the first water station, because I just didn’t feel like it. Well, I must have been really dehydrated at that point, because about halfway through the run, I felt like I was going to pass out. At the turnaround, I grabbed two cups of water and felt slightly better. But I made it to the end on sheer willpower and just focusing on getting to the timing mat. I was in a daze at the finish. Once I was through the gate, I sort of didn’t know where to go or what to do. Mark sat me down and gave me some Powerade and I started to feel mildly better. Exhaustion overcame me and I just wanted to go home and sleep. This was unusual for me, since after a race I am usually wide awake, full of adrenaline and ready to go some more. Not this time. When we got home, I slept for about 4 hours.

I will not be doing this race again next year and I cannot recommend it to others. As this was my second year, I feel I have given this race a fair shot. This was the most disorganized and unsafe race I have ever done. Last year, it was mildly disorganized, for instance, they had forgotten the finisher medals and the run was poorly marked. But, they had insisted that since it was “new” race they would be working out the bugs.

It was worse this year. It started with my registration not making it to the race directors, so that I never received any pre-race emails. Both of e-mails regarding this went answered. So, I wasn't even sure they would have my registration when I got there. When I arrived, my name was written on a separate paper from the rest of the entries, and when they looked for my bib, they had accidentally given it to another racer and had to give me a new number. The transition area was chaos and no one was telling people where to go or what to do. They had way too few volunteers and none of them seemed to have a clue. They forgot to body mark people at registration and were running around frantically trying to write numbers on people’s hands, because at that point most everyone had their wetsuits on. When it came time for the pre-race briefing (which usually takes place on the beach) they called everyone back to the boardwalk and half the people were still in the water warming up. During the briefing, they misspoke the distance of our race telling people it was a 1 mile swim, 6 mile run. The directions were incomplete and unclear and when people asked a question, they never stated the answer over the microphone so that ALL of the race participants could hear.

But bigger than all of these issues and why I will not be doing this race again, is that is was completely understaffed and unsafe for the swim. I only saw one kayak out on the water. When we started out, it was slightly foggy and you could not see the buoys. Already, that is an unsafe situation. They had one individual standing on the jetty blowing a whistle and waving his arms randomly. I could barely see him and I had no idea what the heck he was doing. USAT rules state that you can use any stroke and that you can even hang on boats and buoys (unlike traditional OWS rules.) He seemed to blow the whistle every couple of seconds when someone stopped or switched to breaststroke. I think he blew the whistle at me once when I stopped and treaded water to fix my goggles once after they had fogged up. But, I could be wrong. Who knows? I really have no idea what his purpose was. By the number of times he blew the whistle it could not have been to call for help. There is no way that if something went sideways, like it did at my prior race where the current was so strong and many people were pulled from the water, that one kayaker and a guy blowing a whistle would be enough. If there were others out there, I didn't see them. At the point when I had panicked, the kayaker was nowhere to be seen. If I had seriously wanted to exit the water, my only way to do so would have been to swim in to the beach. If there was a strong change of current, we would all have been screwed. The lack of safety measures in the water was just unacceptable to me. There are a million things that can go wrong in the ocean and it cannot be taken so lightly, IMHO. I will stick to races where they are prepared for contingencies, like the ones run by CIBBOWS. To compare, the Grimmaldo's Mile  at the same beach had 10 kayakers, jet skis, EMTs, swim buddies, rescue boats and police on hand.

On the run, the only staff people on the course were at the start line and at the turn around at the far end of the beach. Once again, we had to dodge the weekend beachgoers on the run. Since this was only pedestrian traffic and the course was a straight line, this was ok. But near the exit of the race, the second water station ran out of water before the race was over and the location of the post-race food was totally unclear. As I had mentioned, I was in a daze at the end and someone should have pointed me to the food or at least noticed that I looked unwell. It took me wandering around to locate some water and some bagels. Ridiculous.

The overall disorganization of the race coupled with the total lack of concern for safety was just awful. Cross this one off the list.

Race Recap – NYCRUNS Firecracker 5K

On the Ferry

This past 4^th of July, my family competed in the NYC Runs Firecracker 5K on Governor’s Island. We were very excited to sign up for this race, since it was a unique venue and would be my 4 year old son Teddy’s very first timed 5K.

We had to pick up the packets the day before in the city at the New York Running Company. Since we live in NJ and have to pay to go into the city, we made a day of it, and went to the AMNH to see the Pterosaur exhibit a second time. Then, Teddy and I walked across Central Park to the running store. It was really fun day and we even saw the Go Ruck people in the park.

A hurricane was predicted for the day of the race, so we were a bit nervous about the weather. But, as luck would have it, the rain missed us and it was a nice day for a race.

Pre-race

We woke up at 5am to drive in, since you had to be at the ferry terminal by 7am and the trains don’t run that early. Teddy was exhausted from so much walking the day before, and from getting up early, but was still in a good mood and made a lot of friends.

I considered this “Teddy’s race”, so I let him set the pace and kept him on track when he got tired or distracted.

The course was over paths and nice and flat. It was two loops and he kept a nice pace for the first mile, running a good portion of it. By the second loop, however, he was a little tired and for the first time ever, I experienced the “back of the pack” feeling.

Running around the castle

Teddy felt it too, sadly. He kept saying how “terrible” he was and I almost wanted to cry, because it was just not true. He was doing so well and trying so hard. On the second loop, they were breaking the course down behind us. There were runners walking in front of us, as if we weren’t there and at times we were unsure of which direction to go because the course was no longer clear. Because this was a race, however, I made sure that Teddy never deviated from the course and never stopped.

Near the end, we motivated him by reminding him of the bagels that awaited him at the finish line. Teddy loves bagels. At the finish line they had already disconnected the timer and had to manually write down our times. Prior to this, my husband said they were calling out the names of each individual as they crossed the finish line. They didn’t do that for us, but thankfully, Teddy had made a lot of friends on the course and a group of the volunteers cheered him across the finish line.

 

The Big Finish

I was, and am, so proud of him. It was a lot of work for him. His little legs are so much smaller than an adults and it must have seemed like twice as far to him, but he never quit and he finished with a time of 1:02:43. I hugged him tight and we went to get some post-race sustenance. When we got there, there was no cream cheese or spreads left, which really really disappointed him.

Nevertheless, we were looking forward to picking up his medal, since I knew there could not have been many under 10s at the race. What a nice souvenir it would be of his first race and his hard work! We watched the entire ceremony and my heart sunk when I realized that they had grouped the 1-19 into one age group. I just couldn’t believe it. After all was said and done, he was competing against adults! Three people in his “age group” were 19 years old. The second place winner overall of the race was 15 and in his “age group” as well.

I explained to Teddy what they had done and he seemed to take it ok. He was, however, still mad about the cream cheese and made a point to tell one of the volunteers that. I love that kid. So, we went and got some ice cream at the Mister Softee truck and headed to the ferry and home for the day.

When I got home, I reviewed the rules again. Maybe I had misunderstood or misread them? Nope. They stated:

Awards: Awards will be given to the top 3 male and female runners overall and the top 3 in each ten-year age group approximately one hour after the race begins.

My friends assured me that if I wrote the race director that surely they would give him his medal. So, I did.

Their response was as follows:

“While your son’s performance in the Firecracker 5K was more than worthy of recognition, it is our current policy to have a 1-19 age group. We do appreciate your feedback and will certainly take it into consideration the next time we revisit that policy. Thanks so much and a big congratulations to Teddy!”

I’m not sure where this “policy” is written. I, personally, think they just made it up. I looked at site and at their prior races, including the same race last year, and they did have a 1-9 year old age group. I have to say, I am very disappointed in the NYCRUNS organization. I would have no problem with this result, if it was clearly stated in the rules beforehand, but it just wasn’t and it seems really unfair to me. But, I guess that is life and Teddy is going to learn this lesson sooner rather than later.

As for this race overall, we won’t be doing it again next year. While it was a good course and well organized, it was huge PITA for us to pick up the packets and to get there in time and in total, between the parking, trains, registration, and disappointment healing ice cream, this race ended up costing us $156.00. Next year, I think we will just do the local 5k and visit Governor’s Island another day.

Race recap – Lincoln Park Triathlon

Awake, but exhausted. Allons-y!

So, I did it! I completed my first triathlon, the Lincoln Park Triathlon. It was a Sprint Triathlon with a 500 meter lake swim, 10 mile bike ride and 5k run. My overall time was 1:39:05. This was about what I expected, based on my training, so I am not too surprised. I was last in my age group (12/12), to which I stick out my tongue, but not last overall (209/242). It’s only up from here!

I'm ready.

It was a beautiful sunny day and the weather could not have been more perfect. We had to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn (5:00am to be exact), which I loathe, to get there in time. My husband and son came along to cheer me on and by the end they were more tired than I was. We are not morning people. When we arrived, the first parking lot was full, so we had to park in the second, which was a decent distance away and required us to walk about 10 minutes to the check-in.

Checking in was very easy and smooth, since I had picked up my packet on Friday. I only had to get my timing chip, get body-marked (my number 299 written on me in Sharpie), and set up my transition area.  Then, it was off to the porta-potty for the 8^th time. Haha.

Swim: 9:58.8

Swim!

I was in the orange wave of swimmers: 44 and younger. Thank you race director, for not making me feel too old. I was hoping to be one of the faster swimmers in my wave and I might have been, except for a few miscalculations on my part. The first mistake was that my over-confidence got the best of me and I put myself in the front at the start. In my prior open water swims, I had followed the advice to hangout near the back and then catch up, in order to avoid the chaos, since after a bit, people spread out. I really should have stuck with that strategy. Once I was in the water, everyone was so close together I ended up getting pummeled repeatedly, just as I have read about, and it really threw me off, much more than I expected. I switched to a breast-stroke to see my way out of the crowd and, in doing so, lost a bunch of time. As a result of getting kicked and hit, my heart started racing too and I had difficulty calming back down. In addition, I had pulled my groin muscle on my last 5k and when I did a frog kick at that point, the pain flared up again. (Thankfully, I just avoided doing it again, so it was not a problem for the rest of the swim.)

I was finally starting to find my rhythm when I got to the middle buoy.  During my earlier practice at the lake, we were allowed to swim in an enclosed area, but during the race we went further out into the middle and I was surprised by the amount of seaweed at that point. With each stroke I was pulling chunks of it, like hair from a drain, and it was it front of my eyes and in my mouth. Yuck.  Also, at this point, my goggles started leaking badly and I had to stop and fix them. I had known before this race that it was time for new ones, but had put it off. I should have known better.

I know I could have gone a lot faster in this section, so I was disappointed by my time.  I was hoping at least to gain a few minutes from the swim, but that didn’t happen.  Then, it was time to move onto the transition to the bike.

Bike: 48:47.3

Bike!

From the lake, we had to run barefoot to the transition area over concrete and my delicate feet could not take it, so I walked. It took me a while to clear off the sand and get my socks on, which made me realize I probably should have brought a water bottle to rinse my feet off. I think I may have done that for my prior Aquathlon. I can't recall. That would have saved me some time, which I badly needed, because what came next was not pretty.

As expected, this was my worst section. I’m fairly certain I was the slowest biker out there. “On your left” was all I heard as people flew by me, again and again, for nearly an hour. I felt really alone on the bike course, as I was by myself for a good portion it (aside from when I was being passed). Since the course was not closed to traffic, I had a few moments of fear as well. One driver forced me onto the sandy shoulder at one point to avoid him. and near the end the cops were so bored that they were talking to each other and not paying too much attention to directing bikers or traffic. I had to yell to get their attention about which way to go a couple of times. That was slightly annoying.

Because this was literally only my sixth time ever really riding on my bike since I got it,  I don’t feel too badly about my time. I am still just a beginner and I need to ride more frequently and on the roads, even though they scare me. It’s as simple as that. Thankfully, my upcoming race is an Aquathlon and I won’t have another triathlon until the end of the summer, so there is plenty of time to train.

Run: 34:15.4

Run!

The transition here was easy, because I don’t have clipless pedals yet. I already had my sneakers on, so all I needed to do was hop off my bike, rack it and take of my helmet. No problem. I dawdled a bit and ate a gel and drank some Gatorade too. I have read that this is a "newbie mistake", but after that slow bike ride, a few seconds wasn’t going to matter. When I first started to run, that groin pull kicked in big time and I thought "damn, I might need to walk this course." Thankfully, it went away after a little bit. But, oh my god, did my legs feel like jello after I got off the bike! I expected this feeling to disappear after a little bit, but the entire run I felt like a turtle running through molasses. I seriously thought I was clocking a 16 minute mile. It turns out, however, I was actually going my normal speed and I finished the 5K portion in my usual time. In fact, my time was 25 seconds FASTER than the regular old 5K I had done the week before where I had so much more energy. I was very happy with my run time.

I still haven’t figured out the sunblock thing. I had applied waterproof sunblock before the swim with plenty of time for it to sink in, but definitely could have used a reapplication before the run. I now have a slight sunburn. I’m going to have to read up on how to manage that in future triathlons. Maybe use the spray kind and just mist myself at transition?  It was also very fun seeing my Gold Coast Triathlon Club teammate, Diane, out on the course and her “good jobs” on the bike and high five on the run were a nice pick me up when I was feeling tired.

Overall, I am proud of myself and I look forward to working hard and getting faster for the next one. My husband asked me how this compared to other races I have done and, honestly, I think it was easier than both my half marathon and Spartan Race. Unlike the half marathon, the different sports really broke up the monotony and unlike the Spartan Race, it wasn’t a full body workout. Plus, zero burpees makes everything easier! After both of those races, I needed a few days to recover. Right now, I feel like I could workout again tomorrow.

I would definitely recommend this course to other beginners. It really was pretty flat and the lake was very calm and warm (80 degrees, which was not wetsuit legal, but for a person like me, who gets cold easily, a welcome thing.) There were also delicious box meals at the end courtesy of Applebee’s and a very pretty finisher medal and t-shirt. It was well organized and well staffed and everyone was super nice. I really had a fun time.

Now it’s time to take a nap!

One step, two step, getting closer

My first triathlon is a little over two weeks away, and I have to admit I have been getting a little nervous.

For one thing, I don’t know how I will do when each event is combined together. The distance is a Sprint, with a 500 meter swim, 10 mile bike and a 5k run. My last swim was 1.2 miles, my last bike ride was 16 miles and my runs are generally around 4 miles, so I know I can do them each individually. However, I have yet to complete a brick workout and am worried about how I will feel when all of them are stacked together, particularly the run after the swim. My legs usually feel a bit like jello when I get off the bike. I have a brick workout scheduled for Monday, so hopefully it will go well.

The other thing which was making me nervous was finding a tri suit to wear. The stores around here did not carry any in my size, and judging from their selections, you would think female triathletes only come in two sizes: Athena and waif. As a short but curvy girl, I had to resort to shopping online. It took three tries to find a tri suit that fit me.

The first one I ordered was an 2XUComp Trisuit. It was nearly perfect - except I'm not 5'10". It was great in the bust and hips, but had 2 inches of extra fabric in the middle.

The second one I ordered was a TYR Sport Competitor Trisuit. Apparently, Tyr thinks women don’t have hips and are pretty much straight up and down. I couldn’t even get it over my hips at all, despite the measurements online saying it was my size.

My third, and thankfully final, attempt was the Louis Garneau Pro Suit. And, luckily, it fits. So, now I have one less thing to worry about. The material is really thin and light, and quite stretchy, despite it supposedly being a compression garment. I have yet to test it out in an actual workout, but hopefully it will be good and won’t chafe or anything.

The only thing else I am still worried about is getting up so early! I am so not a morning person and I really hate that every race starts at an ungodly hour. Unlike many triathletes, I usually workout in the evenings and rarely wake before 8:30am. The whole getting up at 5:00am thing does a number on me and fills me with dread. I need to start altering my sleep schedule soon so I can deal with this and I am not looking forward to this aspect at all!

A Day Of Healthy Eating

Every day you hear people talk about “eating healthy” and, like many things, this means different things to different people. As a person who loves nutrition science and tends to read a lot, over time I have come to the following understanding of what it means to “eat healthy”:

First, I try to eat a diet which is as close to this pyramid as possible:

IMHO, this is a pretty good representation of the diet I think science supports for a long and healthy life. In relation to food, by “healthy life”, I mean one which minimizes your risk of chronic food-based diseases (like diabetes, heart disease, liver disease and certain cancers) and which provides you with enough energy to live productively. I think you can avoid diseases and still be unhealthy, if you don’t have energy and feel unwell all the time. It is important to have both qualities.

Second, I try to eat very little packaged/processed food. Mainly, because packaged foods tend to have too much salt, too much sugar, fewer nutrients and lots of chemical ingredients which, as far as I can tell, haven’t been tested enough to know their long term effects on the body.

 

Third, I try to eat foods primarily for fuel and not to feed negative emotions. This means being conscious of when I am not really hungry, but instead upset. When this happens, I try to workout instead. I do eat food for pleasure, since I can’t imagine a life without wine, cheese or bread!

That’s really it. Sometimes, I drink more alcohol than I should or go on vacation and eat a lot of Anderson’s Roast Beef. It’s part of being human. But, I don’t do that every day.

I think many of the articles about nutrition overly complicate the matter and can leave people with a sense of confusion about what they should be eating. In the past, I have Googled “a day of healthy food” in search of examples and nothing useful ever came up. So, I thought I’d show you what a healthy day looks like to me. This is what I ate yesterday.

Breakfast:

1/2 c. whole grain oats, cooked with 1 diced apple, 1 tsp. brown sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Coffee

Calories: 256

Lunch:

Salad made up of 2.5 c. spring mix, ¼ cucumber, 1 c. grape tomatoes, ¼ c. walnut halves, 1 tbsp. light ranch dressing
Water

Calories: 308

Snack:

1 Orange

Whole grain toast with 1 tbsp. maple almond butter

Calories: 255

Dinner:

Wheat Berry Chili* with ¼ avocado and 1 oz. Greek yogurt, 1 corn muffin

Calories: 764

* I substitute one of the cans of black beans for kidney beans and add carrots.

This is not a “perfect” day by any means, nor would I eat this every day. In fact, I'm not sure such a thing exists. Some days, I have more meat and some days I have sweets. In fact, I think this day was a little light on calories. But, it was a rest day and since most of these foods were very filling, I really wasn’t hungry. Today, I ate a bit more.  I try to eat a wide variety of foods and so, for example, today, I ate a total different breakfast.

Breakfast:

1 c. Greek yogurt, 1 c. blueberries, ¼ c. granola

Calories: 358

While I am not a chef, I do like to cook and I think it is essential to have at least some basic cooking skills, if you would like to eat healthfully. Most of the foods I had were really simple and didn't take much time or skills to prepare. I think that is important, since I'm a pretty busy gal. Also, most of these meals were not costly, since I don't have a ton of money. I buy many of the items in bulk from Costco and they last for several (if not, many, in the case of the oatmeal!) meals.

I am always open to tips and new recipes, so if you have a favorite you'd like to share, leave the link in the comments!

Hit the Road Jack

My new ride

I finally got a new bike and am very excited to begin building up my mileage. It is a Specialized Allez Carbon 2, which I acquired from a fellow member of my tri club.

It is very different riding on a road bike than it is riding on a stationary bike at the gym and there are still some aspects I need to get used to. Yesterday, I took it out for a ride down and back on my block and it was a little scary, since, as I mentioned, I live on the side of a mountain. But, I managed to survive. It took me a few seconds to figure out how to get my feet in the pedals while moving, how to handle the brakes and how not to go so fast I thought I was going to die. I still have to master the whole changing gears thing and properly turning around corners.

Freshly re-tapped bars

Thankfully, the bike was in good working condition when I got it and I only had to do a little bit of basic maintenance to get it on the road. I replaced the back brake pads, re-taped the handlebars and put some pedals on it. I also adjusted the seat. I plan on eventually getting some clipless pedals and cycling shoes, but for now, I just opted for cheap pedals with straps, so I could get going.

However, the whole situation did get me thinking about the fears which hold me back. Bicycles are really not all that complicated, but some people manage to make them seem really intimidating. It is in my nature to read all that I can about a subject before diving in and there is a lot of information available on bikes online, very little of which pertains to actually riding them. I am trying hard (though not entirely succeeding) to not get sucked into reading all about bicycles, rather than just riding. Reading can definitely assuage some of my fears, but it can also raise new ones I never knew I had.

I really want to take the bike out again, but I am still very fearful of riding on the street and getting hit by a car. I just don’t have enough skill yet. It helps to remind myself that I rode everywhere as a kid and that I also rode a bike through traffic in Denmark and wasn’t scared at all. So, I think some paths and group rides are my next step in building up mileage and experience. Allons-y!