Something happened yesterday...

and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

I went to get my race packet for tomorrow's race. It's an Olympic distance race in Portland, ME. I missed it last year because it was the same weekend as Timberman. This year, it's a month earlier. I grew up just outside of Portland so this is very cool. I guess the whole course is along the ocean.

All the big guns come out for this race. All the top girls in the state that I try so hard to beat in other races will be there. It's the race that I imagine while I'm out training. I picture myself overtaking them on the bike or closing in on the run. Whatever the scenerio, it gets me fired up. I have no idea how realistic it is or not but it's been a goal of mine. I am super competitive. I race myself and I race others. I don't know if that's a good trait of mine or not but it's who I am. I set goals for myself each year and this year, one of my goals was to race this race adn at least "scare" the top guns out there.

So back to yesterday. I picked up my packet and read the board with our waves listed. I noticed that several of my competitors were in a different wave even though they are in my age group. Next to their names: elite. What??? Since when do we have elite waves here in Maine? What does that mean? I had a lump of disappointment thinking that I wouldn't be able to go head to head with the fast girls.
I sought out a friend of mine who is in charge of the place and asked him quietly what that all meant. He wasn't sure but he left me and asked the race director. Next thing I knew, they moved me to that wave. WAIT A MINUTE!!! I simply wanted to know the scoop. I wasn't necessarily looking to Join them!!!!!
Here's the deal. We have some Pros racing tomorrow. Becky Lavelle is here to race amongst us the day before she heads to Bejiing!!! How cool is that. There are a few other pros too. I'm thinking they added this wave so it would be good for them. The criteria is that you have placed top 5 in one of tri-maine's races since last year. I have done that for each race so I feel good about that. But....elite is such a strooooong word. I just feel a little silly standing up there amongst those guys. It's men and women. I actually feel better about beating a few of the men in the water than the women. I imagine Becky is super fast all around and I Know at least 2 of the other women are blazing fast in the water. So....please please please don't let me be last out of the big blue sea. Please.
I am up for the challenge. I will get to race the race I've been dreaming of. Am I nuts?? Yup. I'm quite sure of it. It's going to hurt like hell. I'm going to feel like I'm dying. What I must do is get into the mindset that I am just as strong as they are and GO FOR IT!!! I can NOT let myself get psyched out by the 'idea of it all.' I've been good at that over the years. Psyching myself out that is. But now I'm older and wiser and need to Throw that OUT THE WINDOW!!!
Now that I've written all this I know how I feel about all this. I'm nervous, I'm excited, I'm scared and I'm flattered. I have to get out there and hold my own on this one. Prove myself. Put all these hard training hours to good use. This is it.
GAME ON!!!

Inspiration

I have so many stories from this past weekend in Lake Placid. I mean, we camped with 8 kids in the pouring rain! We had tons of fun and in our minds we became "Ironspectators" :-) but the thing that keeps going through my brain is a mere 15 minutes I spent from 11:45-12:00 a.m. on Ironman day.

Mary, Mike and I were on our way to the "line." Actually, the line didn't exist yet but we were Super prepared and got there hours and hours early. More on that later... right Mar?
We were able to get to the finish line to watch the final 15 minutes of the race. It is unlike any other finish line. It's almost midnight, the sky was quiet after a full day of torrential downpours, and there were hundreds of loud enthusiastic spectators cheering on the day's toughest. It gave me chills.
We watched athletes roll in that had been on that course since 7:00 a.m. Unreal. Every Ironman finisher went the distance and they all deserve every bit of accolades they can get. It's an unfathomable accomplishment.....I say that as I signed my name for next year!
But these folks finishing just barely on time, or not, were otu there for the past several hours in the dark. The roads were quiet. They were out there with their own footsteps just continuing on with their dream.
I was completely inspired to watch the faces of these people explode with pride as they staggered by us to the final chute.
Sometimes they had family members with them and sometimes they were alone. However, they weren't really alone. Every single person in that crowd was 100% devoted to each finisher. The energy was palpible. This is why I want to do the Ironman. I want that moment. I want to run down that chute and feel what must be the most amazing pride after achieving an incredible physical and mental challenge. I want that so bad.
When there was 1 1/2 minutes left to the cutoff, there was a nervous quiet in the crowd. Mike Reilly was announcing the time and watching for more finishers. He ran down the chute and met the man who was trying to get there on time. Other people were in there with him too. Htey ran and ran but it wasn't to be. He missed it by 5-10 seconds. Heartbreaking. But as Mike Reilly said, he is an Ironman at Heart. Absolutely.

More stories to come..

I'm In!!!!

Ironman Lake Placid 2009 Here I Come!!!

I spent an amazing weekend Full of mini-adventures with my family and two other awesome families camping in Lake Placid.
I can't wait to tell stories.
Unfortunately, I have ooodles of laundry and I'm sweaty from my morning run. After living without a shower for days I am going to take one every time I feel gross today! And that's now!
more to come..

Scarborough Sprint Triathlon Race Report...my favorite so far

The day started at 4:01 a.m. Mark and I crawled out of bed and began our pre-race routine. It was a blast to head off in the dark with my husband on this adventure. Usually it's just me. I loved sharing this with him.
We actually got to T2 Second!!!! What a riot. THe only other person there at 5:40 a.m. was my friend Ali. She is apparently as neurotic as I am and likes to get there early too. It's Always been a trait of mine. Mark just rolls his eyes. We drove over an hour to get there and we beat almost everyone.
This was a tricky race logisitically with two transition spots & a different finish area. So we drove to a parking lot to leave our car, collected just the things we'd need at T1 and rode our bikes to the start.
The race started at a beach I used to go to as a kid. This wasn't the beach I lifeguarded at. It was around the corner from there. The "big" kids went to this beach because there were Big waves. My beach was the flat water-boring beach. Well, Jordan's beach (as it was called when we were kids) didn't let us down today. You could hear the surf as we racked our bikes just a few hundred yards away. Word was out..it was goign to be a challenging swim. I was getting Psyched!!! I love that....it helps me tremendously against the less experienced swimmers.
Here's the weird-awesome----a little twilight zone thing----I went to put my bike at spot 65. Another bike was there. I asked 'the guy' if it had to be In Order...No, this was fine. Good. I looked at the stuff as I contemplated how to do mine. HEY!!! It was MARY's AGAIN!!! She and I are ALWAYS together. Our last names are not close, we don't live together, we registered way way apart, we just can't figure it out. It's so great, but really hard to figure out. The triathlon gods are looking out for us!
We headed to the beach for warm up. OMG!!! The waves were HUGE!!! It was a riot. We warmed up a big and just got tossed all around the beach. If you did it wrong, the waves would break on you and throw you right back where you started. I practed reaching down to the bottom and pushing up off it like a dolphin stroke. It was fun. I was SO so excited.

Finally we started. I admit that my start didn't feel terribly smooth but I did my butterfly trick and before I knew it I could start swimming. There were lots of pink caps near me and a few ahead. Hmmm, I was goign to have to change that! :-) After a week at the lake and swimming every day I felt strong and solid in the water. After a couple minutes, I took over the other girls and went ahead. The current was pushing us to the left so I ended up really hugging the buoys and just making the turn. I was rising and falling with each stroke. The swells were just enormous. I drank tons of salt water. Tons. I just continued to push hard and remind myself not to let up a second. There was no time to spare. No time to be distracted by the fun of the waves. Heading into the beach was a RIOT! I the huge waves forced you to body surf from time to time. I felt like I was 10! Finally I hit the sand but the waves sort of pulled you back and it was tough to get up. I was dizzy and a little out of it but I had just had the BEST swim ever. It was a total blast.
I ran uip the carpet and who was there? Mark. He was in the wave ahead of me and I caught him at the end. He had just said to my friends spectating, "Hey! I beat Ange!" When he heard, "GO ANGE!" He laughed so hard to turn around and see me. He was all chatty but I had to just smile a bit and motor on. He'd understand. I was in this for the big prize. (well, no prize but you know what I mean.)
I hit t1 and did ok. There was lots of sand and rocks but I forced myself not to care. I headed off on the bike and my girl didn't let me down. This bike comes Alive when I race!!!! Woohoo.
I rode around on flat familiar roads that I grew up driving around. It was a short ride (15 miles) with only a few small hills. I saw my Mom and Dad Twice on the route. That was great fun. Here's another funny moment. My little brother raced too. He really hates that I can beat him. Sorry bro. Mile 12 was a corner and my parents were standing there. I saw Jeff. I saw Mom and Dad. None of them saw me. After they yelled, "Go JEff GO!" I hollered to them, "Hey! Dont' forget me! :-) " They were psyched. Poor Jeff. I overtook him right in front of Mom and Dad! He was great and yelled for me to go for it. I did.
T2 was fine. I slipped with my bike Again when I got off. What is up with that??
I headed out and wasn't happy. My stomach HURt! WhY?? Too much water? I only sipped water on the bike? I just felt like darth vader breathing. I had to keep going. I knew this was my race to loose. I fought to the end. It was only 3 miles but I really felt bad for the first 2. The girl who was 2nd at Mooseman ( I was 3rd) was racing. She started in a wave 6 minutes behind me. I raced this whole race alone...well, with men. I was ahead of all the other women which was fun because people were yelling YOU GO GIRL FIRST WOMAN and stuff like that to me. I never get that and it was a real rush. Hey, they're talkign to me!! I soaked in my moment.
I ran and ran. I tried to really make it hurt and not leave anything behind. I run so well off the bike at home but in these races I'm suffering. I'd like to know why. I have a hip pain that is quite bad so that's on my mind. but I just was so out of zip! I passed a few girls going the other way and they looked strong. My friend Ali is a Tough tough runner and she looked so solid. I had to keep moving.
I hit the finish and got a great welcome from the announcer as the first woman finisher. He did howver, acknowledge that we had to wait 6 minutes to see if the next woman could beat me. yikes. I had so many men congratulating me at the finish. It was cool to be recognized like that. Even the surgeon who operated on my torn rotator cuff last year was there! That was great to show him how well I've recovered.
So....what happened????

38 seconds. I got her by 38 seconds. YEAH!!!! I knew it would be close and I knew I had to keep focused. It was my race to loose after the swim. I knew I had her there but our bike splits and run splits are close.

My first victory this year. I feel so happy. It's a real thrill for me.

My friend Mary did so well too. I'm so excited for her. I am going to let her write her race report though. :) Ok Mary?
Mark did well but had a strangely difficult bike. He's good on the bike but he had real troubles otu there. His run was fast though. Faster than mine and I think 25th overall.

Big weeks ahead in training as Timberman approaches. I hope I can hold it all together for that.

Time to Party again!!!

I just wrote an entry and it disappeared!! UGH!!

So, now I will write only a few sentences and be very boring!

We're back from a fun restful week at the lake & tomorrow WE race!! Yeah! My husband is joining me tomorrow and I can't wait. Lots of home town buddies too. My brother and friend Mary will be there too.

Promise to join in the fun of blog land soon!!
Cheers!

Summer Vacation!

I've been neglecting my blog and my blog friends. I'm so sorry!! I have been reading a few entries here and there and miss keeping up with you all. Summertime is here and we are never home!!
After returning home from Lake Placid, my training has gone well. I wasn't overly tired from the trip or extra miles and I was able to hammer out a few great workouts last week.
Yesterday we headed to Freeport, Maine for our annual Fourth of July cookout at our family's cottage at the coast and last night we camped out with the kids for the First time!!! We had tons of fun. The boys were so excited. We'll hit Lake Placid again in two weeks for 3 great nights of camping. But I'll be able to share that experience with my friend IronMatron Mary!!! :)
Now we're home and packing up again. Tomorrow we move to "the island" for our week long summer vacation. My husband's parent's have a camp on Sebago Lake in Southern Maine where we'll live for a week. Lots of fun in the water is what it amounts to. However, there's no power. So, no computer. I will surely miss keeping in touch with everyone and reading about your adventures.
One week from tomorrow I'll race another sprint Tri and will be back Monday to report on that. I'm excited for the race. There will be lots of friends, it's my hometown area, my husband will join me, and it's a relatively Low pressure event. Yah right....I Always find a way to put pressure on myself.
Enjoy early July everyone!!!
Talk to you again next week!!

Lake Placid Training Camp 2008

I had a blast!!! It was a great trip.
Day 1: We left on Wed a.m. at 8:00. I was very sad to leave my family. I have left my kids for a few days before but never without my husband by my side. I was told by many that it was "healthy" but I was still sad to go.
Upon arriving in Lake Placid 6 hrs later, we quickly got settled and headed UP (key word) the road to Mirror Lake. This was our easy day. However, mentally it was tough. We drove on part of the bike route to get to the lake. It was ALL UP HILL!! Several in our group had been there before. But Mike and I were new to the whole thing and we were getting a bit nervous. Was the entire 112 mile course Up hill???
We hit Mirror lake and I was in heaven. It is so clean and clear but that's not the best part! There is a wire buoy line to follow!! You don't have to sight! If you can position yourself well in the race, you can just swim like you swim in a pool and follow the line! I was a happy little fish out there that afternoon. I was still fresh from the easy day we'd had (just driving so far) and I was so excited to be able to swim my regular stroke. After the swim, we did a quick 3 mile run around the lake. That was day 1. Piece of cake. I was having fun with my new friends and feeling just fine.
Day 2: The epic ride. I would be lying if I didn't say I was scared. I had only ever ridden 75.5 miles, once. It was 4 days earlier. I have done some 50 milers this summer but that's a LOT different than 112 miles. Half our group has been training for IM Lake placid This summer. This was their 12th century ride!! It was Nothing for them.
After lots and lots of advice on fueling, I had my bottle all ready with 700 calories for the first 56 miles. That still seems like a Lot. I had Sustained Energy, Carbo pro and HEED mixed together. The weather was iffy. Thunderstorms were in the forecast. We just headed off and hoped for the best.
When we started I could Not wipe the smile off my face. What fun to ride with other people!! I have Always been alone on my rides. Never with one single soul. I was so happy . Our pace was very doable. I was feeling confident.
About 5 miles into the ride the sky opened up. It POURED!!!!!!!!!!! It poured hard and it poured long. We were freezing. The tires from my friends in front of me were spraying in my face. Ok, so that part of riding with others isn't so great.
Then, our coach got a flat. A Staple! Apparently some locals aren't happy with the triathletes that take over their town each year and they sabotage the course with glass and staples! How lame is that!! Ten minutes later, it was my turn! My first flat. I was bummed. Luckily, some of my group stopped and helped me out.
We hammered on. We were wet and cold and had about 80 miles to go! Oh man.
Meanwhile, the hills!! They weren't So bad. We climbed a lot but it wasn't too scary. There were sections that were quite nice to ride too.
After Papa Bear, (one of the big hills) our awesome supporter Nat, appeared with the car. He had piles of jackets, fuel, spare tubes, you name it. He was there and ready. He was on the ride with us at first but turned back during the storm b/c he knew we'd need someone around. He was everywhere out on that course! Thanks Nat. We owe you.
Mile 54.3....oh so close. We had a planned stop at 56 to get new bottles of fuel. But wait Ange. Not so fast! I had another flat! How depressing. We got it fixed and headed on to catch up. I was stuck at 54.3 forever....my computer died. That was a downer. I really wanted to watch my record miles tick away.
The rain stopped and we stopped to refuel. We headed off on lap 2 still soggy but refreshed at the same time. I was in the lead group with 2 men. I wasn't sure if that would last but I just rode on. It was a great lap. If you can call 56 miles a lap that is. We only stopped once. The rain subsided and the sun even popped out a bit. I felt awesome!! Mile 76...new record. Mile 99...100!!! Those poor men I was wiht had to deal with a yelping girl when I hit my first century! We started to discuss how to handle the last few miles of an Ironman Bike leg...that must mean we were near the end. Well let me tell you...we finished after 116.5 miles and I was so so ready! The last few miles were up HUGE hills and my legs were shaking at one point. My knee had started to bother me and I prayed it would be ok. Rolling into Whiteface Chalet after that was sheer bliss. I was SO Proud of myself. But wait, we're not done yet.
Into our running clothes and out for a quick 5 mile run. I actually felt just fine. I was certainly fatigued at the end but I was hanging on with the 2 men and felt strong.
From there, we headed back to Mirror Lake for a 30 minutes swim. I'll admit I was not as zippy as the night before! My arms apparently got used out there in aero for all those hours!
Day 3: My knee was Not good. It was stiff. If I bent down, I couldn't get back up. I wasn't sore othewise but I was concerned about my knee.
We headed out for an easy 20 mile ride to loosen up our legs before our run. I had to really use my left leg to compensate for my knee pain. I wasn't happy about this.
The run started shortly after this. I felt great on the run. The course isn't too bad but there is one loooong hills at mile 12-13 and therefore, at the end. Brutal. I pushed hard for our 13.1 mi run that day and was absolutely friend when I finished. Again, we dove in the lake for a 1.2 mile swim. That was it. All I had left.
I was starving and quite depleted until I got some lunch a while later. After that, I was great. I have not been sore or overly tired since any of it. I am so so excited to conquer Ironman 2009.
I learned so much from my experienced friends. They were all so giving with their knowledge. I loved it.
I was home by 12:00 on SAturday and that felt awesome. My boys were so loving and sweet and it's always wonderful to be in my husbands arms.
Speaking of husband, he just drove in. I completely lost track of time!!! Time to start dinner. Back to reality!!!