Three, it's the magic number!

So Sunday was it. The TREK Women's Triathlon. The tri I've been training for since MAY, and my third and final race of the season.

It was the biggest, the longest, and by far the best run of my events. The big national sponsor probably helps with that, but it also had a terrific atmosphere. And the fact that I got to do it with so many of my ladies didn't hurt either.

So race day started bright and freaking early. Race started at 7:15a, and I had to park, rack my bike, get body marked (grosses me out to do the day before), get set up, get into my wetsuit, and oh yeah, I live 30 min away.

I got no sleep the night before (can't sleep, won't wake up, can't sleep, need to sleep, so I don't bonk, can't sleep, need to sleep too much- kind of night) so I was a little cranky when I got up. Thank GOODNESS I had everything packed & ready to go.

I get into Seattle, and know that I'm blocks away from the park when I see people walking their bikes... uh, oh. I follow a stream of traffic to park in a field a block and a half away from the MASSIVE Genesse Park. The good thing I see- roads are closed until 1pm. I KNOW I can finish 5 hours...

Fast forward, transition set up, event zero (the wetsuit wiggle) complete. I find some of my amazing tri friends, and we go get into the water to wait for our wave. I meet even more of my friends, and a few more who are not friends yet. I don't really swim as much as get acclimated, and ready for the water. I'm in wave 8, so I've got some time to relax.

Out and back into the water for our pep talk from Sally Edwards. If we see another woman in trouble the way to give her energy, "You Go Girlfriend!" And the word for today, terrific! We are terrific swimmers, terrific cyclists, terrific runners, terrific triathletes.

10... 9... 8... 7... 6... All I can think- DAMN that second buoy looks FAR away. 5... 4... 3... 2... Holy crap, whose idea was this again? 1... and we're off.

This is the first race I've been in where we've got so much water support. I'm keeping it slow and steady. Around the first buoy, still no panic attacks, no flipping on my back. Snow and steady. It's OK to rest a little. Don't need help, just breathe a little, and stroke, stroke, slow & steady. Random musing while I swim along- I wonder- how much time I will cut down when I lose all of the weight I want to and get the breast reduction down from ridiculous to just big? Seems like my K cups would cause a lot of drag.

"You are not alone," kind of cheesy Michael Jackson song, but keeps me on tempo. Around that second buoy, it's not so far away. And now I can see the end of the swim. Stroke, stroke, slow & steady. Still no panic attacks, and no flipping over. At the end, over the icky milfoil. Stroke until I touch 3 times, people to help us stand, and I'm headed up the hill for transition. 29:37 for my first ever 1/2 mile swim.

My spot was the far side of the transition area. The major advantage to being slow, it's much easier to find my bike with so many others from my rack already gone. Headed out, big crowd to cheer us on, and I'm feeling good. Out flat on our way to I-90, but then we climb to get to the Express Lanes. Getting passed, which is OK, but the actual trail to get onto the bridge is a walking trail, split for bikes going both ways. With an "s" curve. Straight uphill. Lost momentum, and for the first time in a tri, I'm off my bike and walking. Seemed safer than a crash.

The bridge was chilly, but not too windy. Steep high rise to get up onto Mercer Island, and into the tunnel. Lots of shouting for encouragement, cool echo. I get to turn around soon right? Nope. Never noticed there are hills in the Express Lanes on Mercer Island before. WTF? Going, going, and at the bottom of a hill, the turn around. Losing all of my lovely downhill momentum. Crap.

The way back is easier, because I know I'm more than half way. Push, push, hips starting to hurt. Hands falling asleep. Up the Seattle side high rise, and then it's almost all down hill. Second Chocolate gel- drink some water- CRAP- don't crash into that wall. Blow a kiss to the photographer, and back into transition. 1:00:08. (Yes, this is almost 20 min faster than Lk Samm)

Second transition is my fastest ever. Drop the bike crap, grab one more drink, my visor, and for once my heart rate monitor (HRM) to keep my honest, and in just over 2 min, I was off again.

Started out walking (my heart rate monitor said I could- but if I got under 140, it was time to run a little) but walking fast. I felt like the biggest mistake I made in the 5k was to start out running too fast. It's easier to set your own pace after the swim start in a tri- there's no crowd mentality. Saw a walker up ahead and jogged a bit to catch up and walk with her for a while. She was in a relay, but it turns out that she also did the Breast Cancer 3 day in 2001. We chatted about the importance of training, and drinking things like Gatorade even if they taste nasty, and then I checked my handy dandy HRM and was off & running.

My couch to 5k coach wrote a blog several weeks ago about races she likes, and says that she thinks out & back races are boring. I respectfully disagree. I like seeing others and shouting words of encouragement on the bike course. I couldn't tell you how many people I high-fived on the wun. We're all in it together, and it helps to see more people IMHO.

Anyhow, I was fairly true to my HRM, and picked up when I could/needed to. I already knew when to slow down. :)

Big hill, walked, no big deal. I met up with some ladies who were in my tri coach's new group. We wan together a mile or so. It was nice, although I think I let myself off of the running hook a little too much. We lost one person slightly, with a little run downhill. More and more down hill, and then we were in the park. Robin says to me- "I'm running at the orange."

So I was planning to run, as well, and I did. But then I saw my son, hubby & mom. And my son says, "You finished mom, I'm so proud of you!" in his shrieky little 6 year old voice, and I ran a little harder. Next thing I knew, I was sprinting. Like, OMG-someone-is-going-to-grab-my-child sprinting. And grinning. They called my name and said, "Wow, look at her go!"

And then it was over. I was hugging my boys, and my mom was crying. It was the best I've ever felt at the end of an athletic thing. I know how people get hooked.

My original purpose for this blog was just to share my training journey, and hope that by showing other people what I have gone through, they would believe that they could do it too. I still contend, if I can do a triathlon, ANYONE can. And as I've done this, I've made at least three people I know of decide they could, and not only sign up, but complete triathlons. I know of a couple more who are still in the planning stages, and at least one who went through with plans when it would have been easier to give up. I think that makes every single one of us a success.

My time for the wun was 50:40, my best for a tri, and only 3 min slower when I did just a 5k the weekend before. My total time? 2:28:15. Two min better than my stretch goal. I told a friend yesterday that my time may not have been a great time in GENERAL, but it was a great time for ME. And I'm the only one of me who was in it, right?

So this COULD be my last blog, but I think that this is just the beginning. I'm seriously looking at at least 5 races next year, starting with one where I learned to swim in Corvallis, OR in May. I'm hoping to lose some weight this winter to make all of this less work. Still thinking about more 5ks, so I can improve my wun time. Maybe some spinning classes to help me in the bike. And I'm still working on that $2200 in the couch cushions.

Hi. My name is Ange. I'm a triathlete. Come tri with me, the best is yet to come!

We're all scared

I've been meaning to write (you know how that is) but the problem I have when I go TOO long without writing is that I have too many things rattling around in my head to say, and I have a hard time picking one out.

My hubby is sick, and when I came home from riding the bike at the gym (I really would rather be outside, but it's dark by the time my kid is asleep now and I want to spend time w/ him more than I want to ride outside) and DH was FINALLY watching the season finale of Grey's Anatomy.

There was this scene, this line, that just struck me, and reminded me why I've saved that show for like 4 months to make sure he watched it. Dr Bailey is talking about HER husband giving her an ultimatum & the chief says her husband is scared. Her response is such a GREAT line (I LOVE great writing):

"Well, we're all scared! I mean, if you're not scared you're not paying attention!"

When I started writing this blog, it was to share what I'm doing with my friends all at once, and I had a stretch goal, to see if I could get someone to try something new- maybe a triathlon, maybe something else.

I'm not sure if it's ALL about the blog, but as of this weekend, I have convinced at least 3 people that they could do tris, and have talked a couple of others in to 5ks. Pretty damn exciting.

People keep telling me that I'm inspiring, but I would say that each of those people is inspiring in their own right. My new friends who learn to swim so they can do triathlons. Ladies who have all sorts of obstacles like illnesses, family issues, whatever, but still get up in the morning and get on with their day.

Nothing in this life is easy. We all make a myriad of decisions every day that can be right, wrong, or even right now. But the fact is, we are all doing the best that we can.

OK- so on that cheesy note, my 5k race report. Did the Iron Girl 5k. If I do no other 5k, I think I will likely do this one again. It was well run, we got cool medals & had a nice breakfast, but the coolest part was the "Mommy/Daughter" aspect of the event. There were a BUNCH of little girls, many my son's age and younger, running with their mom. It was amazing to see so many little girls running.

When I was that age, I was a book worm. Hell, let's face it, I still am a book worm. But it was the 1970s, and girls were not always expected to be athletic. I was smart, and that was good enough. It's neat for me to see that girls are so much more empowered to be active now.

The wun part went well. I started out at a pretty good jog, but went to a walk after about 1/2 mile. I wore my heart rate monitor, and made sure that I wasn't pushing too hard, but also that I wasn't letting myself off the hook too much either.

My 5k for my two tris have been 55 & 53 min each. So my goals were 1) finish w/out stopping, 2) finish in 50 min, and my STRETCH goal, was to finish in 45 min.

My finish time, :47:05. But you know what, I'll take it! I know that 30 min is the typical goal, but I stuck with what was right for me. I made a joke to someone who I kept catching up with, sometimes passing, and then falling back behind when we got lapped by the 10k ladies, that when I'm feeling mean, I want to strap an extra 100 lbs to then and see how they do.

The final thing I did Saturday was likely the dumbest. There was a Specialized rep there with their Women Specific Design bikes to try, and I took out a Ruby Elite. It's a $2200 bike, and when I rode it, it was like the heavens opened up and angels sang. I wanted to hug it and never let it go... sorry 1994 TREK MountianTrack. You've been replaced in my heart.

So if anyone has $2200 lying around that they want to donate to a nice lady who wants a new bike let me know!

Next race report: after this weekend's TREK Women's Sprint Tri. EEP!

The things I'm trying to remember: 1) Run my own race. It's me against the me, not anyone upon whom I would like to strap my extra 100 lbs. 2) Slow down in the water, and take long strokes. I'm a good swimmer, and with all of the stuff around me and wearing my wetsuit, I will not drown. 3) None of this means I can be lazy. If I want to do MY best, I can't just walk. I have to TRY.

I'll let you know how that goes.

I lothe running

Yep, I said it. I didn't mean to type a 'v' I LOTHE RUNNING.


It makes my knees hurt, my hips hurt and makes it feel like my skin is too tight. My face gets hot, and my hands feel all sausage-y. I'm reminded of all of my extra bouncy parts, since, you know, running makes them bounce.


Tonight I didn't have to wun, I got to walk, but it was a hill workout, so it was still tough.


My husband did similar and was so focused on "running" that when I asked if he saw the deer in two different places that I did, he wasn't sure.


I however, had a deer watch me for a good half mile, down a hill, and up again, and then saw a mom & her baby tentatively cross the street in front of me.


The moral is this. I'm slow, but I'm aware of what's around me. I'm trying to notice the air, the ground, the sky. Anything that will take my mind off of how much I f***ing HATE running.


Short post tonight- excited to see several of my tri girls for an open water swim tomorrow. Can't believe that the TREK is only 2 weeks away! More frightening, my 1st 5k, next Saturday.


Finally, I give you some pics by ImageArts Photography of my tri last weekend. There aren't any that are happy, so I will not highlight many, but if you've ever wondered what I look like... and in a wetsuit no less, see if you can pick my 5 pics out on this page.


Here's a hint, my finishing pic (also courtesy ImageArts)... it's kind of tempting to just do a little virtical squeeze & make me skinny, but that's not the point.

On to the next race. And here's hoping I'm crossing the finsh line smiling this time :)