Ramping Up For Rev 3 And Watching Rugrats Run

I had a really great build week last week thanks to the fine art of torture planning Coach Mary laid out for me. I had a great six hour ride on Saturday through some hills followed by a nice 30 minute run. All said and done, it was nearly 4800 feet of climbing. Now, I know it is not nearly as much as I would do if I lived, say, in Colorado, but it is pretty darn good for western New York.

I learned a couple of things around mile 90 of my 110 mile bike ride:

1) My sense of humor severely diminishes after mile 90.

2) I want "real people" food after 90 miles, like pizza, or a cheeseburger.

3) TriSlide is an essential part of any 6 hour bike ride.

4) My nutrition plan going into this year's REV3 Cedar Point is far better than I experienced last year. I will be consuming copious amount (at least a bottle per hour) of grape EFS.

Hopefully this will all pay off with a FUN day at REV3 Cedar Point. I am really starting to look forward to the race, despite all the craziness of trying to prepare classes for the fall semester.

I had a swim a one hour swim the other day—with another one scheduled here shortly—that I completely rocked. I mean, check it out.... my top speed was 121 mph. Take THAT Michael Phelps! Not to mention, I did over 2600 feet of climbing on my swim. That is surely unprecedented. When forced to explain how this is even possible to wifey, I told her that I would start underneath the horizon and continually swim back into shore. A canoe would bring me back out and I would repeat. Wifey rolled her eyes and said something about being an idiot. I am not sure. I really was not listening.

Last Thursday wifey and I took the bambini out for a "fun run" that is sponsored by one of the local running clubs. They offered for events for the kiddies: the 100 meter, quarter mile, half mile, and mile. Everyone wanted to try running. Below is a picture of my girls just before the race and a picture of Stella showing of her race bib.

The "race" organizers had all the events back to back. The kids maybe got three to five minutes between races to rest and enjoy their delicious popsicles. Our one daughter, Janina, ran all of the races. She won 100 meter and did pretty well in the quarter—considering she is just five years old. She must have her mother's genetics. Everyone did awesome and had such a blast. Luca surprised wifey and I by going out super fast in the 800. We thought he was going to throw up, but he managed to stride out the middle 200 yards and sail easily past the finish line relatively upright. Tonight, he is going to attempt to run the mile. Luca is as competitive as his old man. He gets distraught when I beat him at chess. He said he wants to come in first. I reminded him that these runs are not timed—they are just about going out and having fun running—to which he replied, "...yeah, I know, but I want to win the fun run." I was proud and tearful for a moment.
The first video is of the 100 meter. This was hysterical. You can see my daughter in the right hand corner in purple pass quickly past the camera, but watching Stella run is absolutely wonderful.

Heading out this weekend for another six hour ride and 30 minute run. I would like to thank Recovery Pump for ensuring that I am still able to run, let alone walk, on Sunday!

More soon. Train Smart!

Aqua Mussel Race Report

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY. TO ME! Yes, tomorrow shall mark the anniversary of my very first blog post. Two years ago I did my first HIM at the Musselman Triathlon in beautiful Geneva, NY. Musselman will always be near and dear to me since it was my first HIM. The good news is I have definitely gotten faster since that first HIM just two short years ago. Musselman is a really unique race. The race director, Jeff Henderson puts together a fabulous eco and family-friendly race that was voted one of the top five family races in the country for four consecutive years by Triathlete Magazine. Jeff has a great sense of humor too. Last year, Jeff established the micromussel, a race consisting of a 100 yard (or so) swim, .6 mile (roughly) bike, and  a .02 mile (give or take) run. The athletes must either ride a tricycle or bigwheel for the ride portion of the microMussel.

My weekend was pretty crazy. You know, par for the course. I arrived in Geneva Friday afternoon. Kelly and I stayed at an apartment of a colleague of mine—thanks Izzster! Kelly and I were scheduled to work the Tri Slide Pit at the MiniMussel Saturday morning—which we totally rocked. I can not even begin to tell you how many athletes approached us to ask us where we could pick up TriSlide the morning of the race. Later that afternoon, Kelly and I had to be at the Smith Opera House for a rehearsal. We both were involved in the third ArtsTriathlon following the athletes meeting. This year was especially awesome since Kelly and I had an opportunity to play a piece together. We had not performed together since we were both students at the Ithaca Conservatory more than twelve years ago. How is this even possible?!

Following the Tri-Slide pit on Saturday, Kelly and I made our way to breakfast at a local restaurant where we ate our weight in pancakes. I ran out of the restaurant (literally) where I just got to my rehearsal time with moments to spare. Following the concert, I picked up my packet at the pickup, and Kelly and I returned to the apartment for some much needed Recovery Pump therapy. As you will soon find out, my legs certainly needed it last Sunday.



The Race: My knee started feeling better a couple of weeks ago, and I told Coach Mary that my run endurance was pretty good, and that I might be able to try giving the HIM a shot. I promised her that I would alternate running and walking, and that my ego would certainly not get in the way. Coach Mary's response was "... uh-huh. Let's talk on Thursday."

I then spoke to a couple of my friends—Kelly and Alexa—who also convinced me that my ego would get the better of me, and that I should not try to run. It came down to Coach Mary, who said "...you have two choices. Do you want to run this HIM, or run at Rev3 Cedar Point?" I chose the latter.

My swim was about 37-ish minutes. I never really felt great, but I did not feel bad in the water either. I think that I did not have enough to eat race morning. I drank a lot of my  First Endurance Grape, but I could only manage to throw down a bagel. I just could not stomach anything else. I wasn't nervous, just not hungry! The lack of nutrition in the morning turned out to be a critical mistake when I got to my bike. Gheez, you would think I would have this figured out by now!  I was hoping to ride in the high 20's, maybe even average 21 m.p.h. for the course. I had done the course a few times averaging around that, and thought that since I did not have to run, I could just leave everything out on the bike.

When I got to my bike, I had a little extra motivation waiting for me as I pulled my bike off the rack:

Despite my motivational mantra, the first ten miles on the bike were not fun. My legs were just never with me. Last season, I was able to do a lot more rides where the hills are. Unfortunately, this season, I have not been able to get out and do those rolling hills. I think I felt it on Sunday. There is no substitute for putting in the miles and finding some hills to climb. I averaged just over 19 m.p.h. for the course. I am pretty disappointed with my bike, but I learned something from the experience though, and that is progress: force the food down, no matter what! It was blazing hot on Sunday. The temperatures soared to 94 degrees. My bike split was 2:56. I have some work to do, but I will get it done, or I will suffer like crazy come September.

Off for an hour and a half spin. More soon. Train Smart!


From Urban Dictionary under the "Triathlon Widow" heading:

A triathlete is any person who was once human, but has now transformed into something super-human, and can no longer hang out with other mere mortals. They must spend all their spare time swimming, biking, running, and shaving themselves in order to keep their new-found sport god status. During this time, they are technically still married, but their wife/husband considers them dead due to their lack of normal human function.
Note: The spouse is only considered a triathlon widow during the time the triathlete is wasting all their spare time spent training, racing, shaving, or thinking about their multi-sport addiction in general.

I'm a triathlon widow this weekend. My husband is gone from our family for 3 days to do an Iron Man race 5 states away. Yes, he had to pay to be in it, and no he does not win anything.