Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Just have to say....
Team USA Swimmers ROCK!!!! If you're not tuned in yet...I highly recommend it. They are inspiring!!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Training Hurdles....
Since it's taper week and my training at this point is quite minimal and boring, I thought I'd talk about something we all deal with. Hurdles. Those hoops we jump through to make things work.
My biggest hurdle is pool time. Time in general is a big thing for me but I've figured out a way to make that work.
Pool time is a different story. I'll try not to get too fired up here. I live in an area without a local pool. I almost makes me cringe just to write that. I've been a swimmer since I was 8. I was lucky enough to grow up in an area with a beautiful town pool.
Now, the closest pool is 35 minutes away. It drives me nuts.
For the past few years, I have driven there for their 6 am swim. I leave home at 5:03, arrive there a 5:40, and hop in the water at 5:50. You see, the man who has lifeguarded the "early bird swim" for the past 14 years is nice enough to let us in 10 minutes early. I swim until 6:22, jump out, dress while still wet and drive like a maniac to get home so my husband can get to work at 7:00. Lucky for me he works ~1 mile from home and can leave here at 6:58!! Phew. That's a whopping 2000 yds most days! A whole 4000 yards/week! Yeah. Way to get fit! Sorry for the sarcasm. It just bugs me.
Things are even more annoying right now though. Our devoted lifeguard is out for 5 weeks. His sub does not see things as he does. She opens the locker rooms for us at 5:58. Arrrgh!!! What a waste of time! It's driving me nuts.
I tried to very calmly and politely explain to her today how much every minute counts and if she'd be willing to open at even 5:55 it would help. I offered to swim the lane lines down the pool to help her. She was ok about it...seemed to understand...sort of.
Somehow I need to convince this town of ours that the area needs a town pool. And then I need to raise the mega bucks to build it!!! Any ideas??
We all have hurdles we deal with to train for this sport. That's mine.
My biggest hurdle is pool time. Time in general is a big thing for me but I've figured out a way to make that work.
Pool time is a different story. I'll try not to get too fired up here. I live in an area without a local pool. I almost makes me cringe just to write that. I've been a swimmer since I was 8. I was lucky enough to grow up in an area with a beautiful town pool.
Now, the closest pool is 35 minutes away. It drives me nuts.
For the past few years, I have driven there for their 6 am swim. I leave home at 5:03, arrive there a 5:40, and hop in the water at 5:50. You see, the man who has lifeguarded the "early bird swim" for the past 14 years is nice enough to let us in 10 minutes early. I swim until 6:22, jump out, dress while still wet and drive like a maniac to get home so my husband can get to work at 7:00. Lucky for me he works ~1 mile from home and can leave here at 6:58!! Phew. That's a whopping 2000 yds most days! A whole 4000 yards/week! Yeah. Way to get fit! Sorry for the sarcasm. It just bugs me.
Things are even more annoying right now though. Our devoted lifeguard is out for 5 weeks. His sub does not see things as he does. She opens the locker rooms for us at 5:58. Arrrgh!!! What a waste of time! It's driving me nuts.
I tried to very calmly and politely explain to her today how much every minute counts and if she'd be willing to open at even 5:55 it would help. I offered to swim the lane lines down the pool to help her. She was ok about it...seemed to understand...sort of.
Somehow I need to convince this town of ours that the area needs a town pool. And then I need to raise the mega bucks to build it!!! Any ideas??
We all have hurdles we deal with to train for this sport. That's mine.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
6 days
There are only 6 days left until my big A race of the season. The Timberman 70.3 will take place on Sunday.
I'm getting nervous.
And excited.
Will it all come together?
Can I pull some speed out of this body that is feeling sluggish and slow in the middle of this taper week?
I know that there's nothing more to do this week that will improve my level of fitness. But I also know that if I handle this week incorrectly, I could lose some ground.
I must eat right.
Sleep well.
Rest the body but not stop the body.
It's a tricky process I think.
My trust is in my coach. I am following the plan and hoping that when the gun sounds next Sunday, all the hard work will funnel into a rock solid 5 hrs...or less! :o) Let's hope.
Today was a rest day. This always Always leaves me feeling blah and lazy.
Tomorrow I will swim a little and run a little with some short bursts of speed.
When do I start to feel the pent up energy? I want to feel that caged animal inside me ready to break out of it's cage.
Let's see what happens this week.
Now I'm off to watch some faaaaaaaaast Olympic swimming to get myself psyched!
I'm getting nervous.
And excited.
Will it all come together?
Can I pull some speed out of this body that is feeling sluggish and slow in the middle of this taper week?
I know that there's nothing more to do this week that will improve my level of fitness. But I also know that if I handle this week incorrectly, I could lose some ground.
I must eat right.
Sleep well.
Rest the body but not stop the body.
It's a tricky process I think.
My trust is in my coach. I am following the plan and hoping that when the gun sounds next Sunday, all the hard work will funnel into a rock solid 5 hrs...or less! :o) Let's hope.
Today was a rest day. This always Always leaves me feeling blah and lazy.
Tomorrow I will swim a little and run a little with some short bursts of speed.
When do I start to feel the pent up energy? I want to feel that caged animal inside me ready to break out of it's cage.
Let's see what happens this week.
Now I'm off to watch some faaaaaaaaast Olympic swimming to get myself psyched!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Slug Dodge
That's all I could think of on today's run. Slugs. Everywhere. Dead slugs. Big slugs. Slugs squished into piles. Gross, I know. But so is the weather in Maine right now!!! It's wet wet wet and damp and cool and drizzly and gray!
AHHH!! I'm losing my mind.
You know, I'm ok with a good rainy day every now and then. It's a good excuse to stay inside, get things done, play quietly with the kids. Except I have 3 boys. Today I had a 4th here. Yesterday I had a 4th here for that matter. Ages 4, 6, 8, and 10. These little people need, I mean Really Need some good-hard-active outside time Every single day!! Trust me. Quiet inside time is very limited. And, it's August. There's only a few more weeks of summer vacation. And it's been raining and raining and raining!
On a good note, I did have a nice 6 mile run this evening. My husband came home and agreed to make dinner while I ran. Perfect. And it was just that. 45 minutes to myself PLUS a relaxing shower after!!! All while someone else made dinner!!! Heaven.
Except for the slugs. They really were everywhere.
That's about all I have to say about my run.
Except, I felt quite sluggish and slow. It's taper time. I know people feel odd during taper. I know it's not quite time to feel zippy and ready to race. But it's hard to feel off so close to a big race. Instead, I am going to focus on the wonderful afternoon alone time I had instead.
Mr. Sun...PLEASE come back!!!
There's my rant for the day.
AHHH!! I'm losing my mind.
You know, I'm ok with a good rainy day every now and then. It's a good excuse to stay inside, get things done, play quietly with the kids. Except I have 3 boys. Today I had a 4th here. Yesterday I had a 4th here for that matter. Ages 4, 6, 8, and 10. These little people need, I mean Really Need some good-hard-active outside time Every single day!! Trust me. Quiet inside time is very limited. And, it's August. There's only a few more weeks of summer vacation. And it's been raining and raining and raining!
On a good note, I did have a nice 6 mile run this evening. My husband came home and agreed to make dinner while I ran. Perfect. And it was just that. 45 minutes to myself PLUS a relaxing shower after!!! All while someone else made dinner!!! Heaven.
Except for the slugs. They really were everywhere.
That's about all I have to say about my run.
Except, I felt quite sluggish and slow. It's taper time. I know people feel odd during taper. I know it's not quite time to feel zippy and ready to race. But it's hard to feel off so close to a big race. Instead, I am going to focus on the wonderful afternoon alone time I had instead.
Mr. Sun...PLEASE come back!!!
There's my rant for the day.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Bethel Sprint Race Report...Yes, Another one!!
I have been racing a lot. I felt it at this last race. It's called the Maine State Triathlon and it takes place in Bethel, ME. I love this race. It's a small town race but it draws some great triathletes each year. It's close to my home and a bunch of family members usually show up to cheer us on.
My husband raced the B2B on Saturday. That's the Beach2Beacon 10K road race. This is an 11 yr old race in Maine. It's Maine's largest road race drawing about 5000 runners including some of the world's fastest. It was created and is now organized by Joanie Benoit Samuelson. I skipped it this year. It was a bit hard to watch the finish but I know I made the right decision. Mark kicked butt. He had a PR of 39:33. I'm so psyched for him.
We hurried home after the race (1+ hrs away), I did my pre-race workout, changed adn headed back to Portland after dropping the kids with my in-laws. It was the night of my 20th HS reunion! Never a dull moment. I wasn't too revved up for this event. However, we were having dinner before with my best friends and that was the whole reason I went. It was so nice. My friend Chris (Hi Chris! :o) ) lives in Chicago now so I never get to see her. Even though our visit was short, it made the whole double trip to Portland worth it. I just wish I had hrs more to sit at dinner with the girls.
Sunday am came so fast. We headed to Bethel and I tried to get into race mode. I was nervous. I had another shot at racing "fast girl" from last week. Last year at this race we got 1st and 2nd. What would happen this year?
We surveyed the transition areas. T2 had a Long grassy hill with mud at the bottom! We had to dismount and then head down this hill! Oh man, did I need this again? Another fall at T2? I am getting tired of this. It was my goal to make it down this hill without Falling!!! I was determined.
We rode over the the swim start. There were two Transition areas again. I racked my bike next to a big bike with a kickstand and a tin of water for rinsing feet! Man that person took up a LOT of room!
Finally it was time to start. I was scanning the crowd for my in-laws who had our kids. They are there each year with some of Mark's sisters cheering us on in the water. There was no sign of them but....MY MOM!!! Oh my gosh. My Mom and Dad showed up!!! They absolutely rock I have to say. They have travelled around this country since I was 8 yrs old to see me race. Here it is, 30 yrs later, and they're still doing it! They had asked a lot of questions the day before but I never thought. It's 1.5 hrs from their house and for a sprint tri! They would see me for all of 5 minutes! I just hope that I can be the kind of parents they are as my kids grown. They are just always there for me. It made my day. I waved like crazy and my Dad peered out of his hiding place and smiled. Very cool.
Ok, the men's wave was first. There were only 3 waves. Small race. Three minutes apart. Clearly not enough. We watched the back of the pack swim just a short distance before we took off from the beach.
First, I got trampled at the beach! I am not sure who it was but some seriously aggressive women were in that pack! Look out. Time for Ange to pour on the speed and get Away from that mess!! I kicked like mad and took off and got into clear water. Phew. close one. I was confident that I could at least draft off 'fast girl' since I stayed with her in the water at the Portland race. I got to the first buoy and was doing fine when whack!! Some guy doing breaststroke kicked me in the face. I was mad. My goggles flew off. I had to fix them and that was that. She was gone. Shoot. I just motored on and hoped I wasn't too far behind. The rest of the swim was spent dodging the men's wave. They were all over me. I got trampled a lot. Oh well. That's part of it I guess.
Here's the funny part. My husband likes to talk while he races. He just doesn't ever seem too tired to say a few words. I was swimming along and suddenly realized I was next to him! I could just tell it was him. Sure enough, he saw me, stopped and started mouthing words!!! I had to laugh. Of course I didn't even slow down but I did flash a smile while I breathed. We laughed about that later for sure.
Ok, out of the water. Where was she?? I hurried to T1. What a disaster. I did a bad bad job this time. My bike got stuck on kickstand bike!! Not good. I had to lift the rack up to get mine out from under it. Then I headed the wrong way! I was flustered. Ugh.
I started biking and that's when I felt the past few races. My glutes were aching. My legs were flat. I started to doubt myself. I started to make excuses. I thought about my hard 70 mi ride + 6 mi run from 3 days before. Blah blah blah. Not good thoughts.
I am not sure where my attitude changed but it did. I got back in the game. I felt decent and pushed hard. I kept imagining I could see her ahead and was gaining.
Ok, T2. Here's that grassy, muddy hill. Focus Ange Focus! I can get down this hill. I think I can I think I can. Woooahh!!! Nope! She stays on her feet! No fall to laugh at this time! Ha...time to get those sneakers.
I hit my rack and started this process. I was in there alone. I hear this calm and quiet "HI!" I turned my head to see my 3 little boys standing there about 10 ft from me smiling. What a riot! I managed to flash them a smile and wave and off I went.
Alright, this run is like no other on the Maine "circuit." It's great. It's TOUGH! But it is oh so fun. My sister in-law, an x-Olympic nordic skier, always head out on these trails to help us. You see, the run is a trail run through some XC ski trails. It's so cool. We headed out into a field and I kid you not, we had to run through knee deep water that was about 20 ft long. It was a riot. Leslie yelled to me as I came upon it and made a face, "Go ANGE!! Just GO! EVERYONE has to do it!!!" Ok I yelled back and in I went. After that it was all about mud, roots, rocks and hills. Up and over adn down and around and look out for that mud hole!!! 3 miles of it. It's a challenging course for sure. I felt strong and ran hard. It was the best leg of the day for sure.
Coming back across the field and into the knee deep water I could see my Mom, Dad, 3 boys, Father and Mother in-law, sister in law, her fiance, their 3 kids and 2 friends standing up on a hill yelling for me. Can't beat that!!! I pushed so hard.
It was not my day to beat her. Perhaps someday I will. But she is making me faster and keeping things interesting.
I was 2nd woman. I was 7th overall. 1st in my age group.
3rd fastest swim--men and women
My time was 1:23 which was 4 minutes faster than this race last year. Can't beat that!
I was about 1:30 behind the winner. Not too bad.
It was a fun day. Mark did great too after a hard 10k the day before.
The kids had fun playing with their cousins while they watched Mom and Dad...again!
My parents enjoyed the event and told me they were proud. My Dad won't stop talking about the different images he's gaining from this. They do enjoy watching us race. It makes me happy.
It was a fun family day.
Now, it's time to taper. I need it now. I have been mentally "on" for a while. I hope I can regroup this week and get excited next week.
10 days 'til the big one.
Timberman 70.3 here I come.
My husband raced the B2B on Saturday. That's the Beach2Beacon 10K road race. This is an 11 yr old race in Maine. It's Maine's largest road race drawing about 5000 runners including some of the world's fastest. It was created and is now organized by Joanie Benoit Samuelson. I skipped it this year. It was a bit hard to watch the finish but I know I made the right decision. Mark kicked butt. He had a PR of 39:33. I'm so psyched for him.
We hurried home after the race (1+ hrs away), I did my pre-race workout, changed adn headed back to Portland after dropping the kids with my in-laws. It was the night of my 20th HS reunion! Never a dull moment. I wasn't too revved up for this event. However, we were having dinner before with my best friends and that was the whole reason I went. It was so nice. My friend Chris (Hi Chris! :o) ) lives in Chicago now so I never get to see her. Even though our visit was short, it made the whole double trip to Portland worth it. I just wish I had hrs more to sit at dinner with the girls.
Sunday am came so fast. We headed to Bethel and I tried to get into race mode. I was nervous. I had another shot at racing "fast girl" from last week. Last year at this race we got 1st and 2nd. What would happen this year?
We surveyed the transition areas. T2 had a Long grassy hill with mud at the bottom! We had to dismount and then head down this hill! Oh man, did I need this again? Another fall at T2? I am getting tired of this. It was my goal to make it down this hill without Falling!!! I was determined.
We rode over the the swim start. There were two Transition areas again. I racked my bike next to a big bike with a kickstand and a tin of water for rinsing feet! Man that person took up a LOT of room!
Finally it was time to start. I was scanning the crowd for my in-laws who had our kids. They are there each year with some of Mark's sisters cheering us on in the water. There was no sign of them but....MY MOM!!! Oh my gosh. My Mom and Dad showed up!!! They absolutely rock I have to say. They have travelled around this country since I was 8 yrs old to see me race. Here it is, 30 yrs later, and they're still doing it! They had asked a lot of questions the day before but I never thought. It's 1.5 hrs from their house and for a sprint tri! They would see me for all of 5 minutes! I just hope that I can be the kind of parents they are as my kids grown. They are just always there for me. It made my day. I waved like crazy and my Dad peered out of his hiding place and smiled. Very cool.
Ok, the men's wave was first. There were only 3 waves. Small race. Three minutes apart. Clearly not enough. We watched the back of the pack swim just a short distance before we took off from the beach.
First, I got trampled at the beach! I am not sure who it was but some seriously aggressive women were in that pack! Look out. Time for Ange to pour on the speed and get Away from that mess!! I kicked like mad and took off and got into clear water. Phew. close one. I was confident that I could at least draft off 'fast girl' since I stayed with her in the water at the Portland race. I got to the first buoy and was doing fine when whack!! Some guy doing breaststroke kicked me in the face. I was mad. My goggles flew off. I had to fix them and that was that. She was gone. Shoot. I just motored on and hoped I wasn't too far behind. The rest of the swim was spent dodging the men's wave. They were all over me. I got trampled a lot. Oh well. That's part of it I guess.
Here's the funny part. My husband likes to talk while he races. He just doesn't ever seem too tired to say a few words. I was swimming along and suddenly realized I was next to him! I could just tell it was him. Sure enough, he saw me, stopped and started mouthing words!!! I had to laugh. Of course I didn't even slow down but I did flash a smile while I breathed. We laughed about that later for sure.
Ok, out of the water. Where was she?? I hurried to T1. What a disaster. I did a bad bad job this time. My bike got stuck on kickstand bike!! Not good. I had to lift the rack up to get mine out from under it. Then I headed the wrong way! I was flustered. Ugh.
I started biking and that's when I felt the past few races. My glutes were aching. My legs were flat. I started to doubt myself. I started to make excuses. I thought about my hard 70 mi ride + 6 mi run from 3 days before. Blah blah blah. Not good thoughts.
I am not sure where my attitude changed but it did. I got back in the game. I felt decent and pushed hard. I kept imagining I could see her ahead and was gaining.
Ok, T2. Here's that grassy, muddy hill. Focus Ange Focus! I can get down this hill. I think I can I think I can. Woooahh!!! Nope! She stays on her feet! No fall to laugh at this time! Ha...time to get those sneakers.
I hit my rack and started this process. I was in there alone. I hear this calm and quiet "HI!" I turned my head to see my 3 little boys standing there about 10 ft from me smiling. What a riot! I managed to flash them a smile and wave and off I went.
Alright, this run is like no other on the Maine "circuit." It's great. It's TOUGH! But it is oh so fun. My sister in-law, an x-Olympic nordic skier, always head out on these trails to help us. You see, the run is a trail run through some XC ski trails. It's so cool. We headed out into a field and I kid you not, we had to run through knee deep water that was about 20 ft long. It was a riot. Leslie yelled to me as I came upon it and made a face, "Go ANGE!! Just GO! EVERYONE has to do it!!!" Ok I yelled back and in I went. After that it was all about mud, roots, rocks and hills. Up and over adn down and around and look out for that mud hole!!! 3 miles of it. It's a challenging course for sure. I felt strong and ran hard. It was the best leg of the day for sure.
Coming back across the field and into the knee deep water I could see my Mom, Dad, 3 boys, Father and Mother in-law, sister in law, her fiance, their 3 kids and 2 friends standing up on a hill yelling for me. Can't beat that!!! I pushed so hard.
It was not my day to beat her. Perhaps someday I will. But she is making me faster and keeping things interesting.
I was 2nd woman. I was 7th overall. 1st in my age group.
3rd fastest swim--men and women
My time was 1:23 which was 4 minutes faster than this race last year. Can't beat that!
I was about 1:30 behind the winner. Not too bad.
It was a fun day. Mark did great too after a hard 10k the day before.
The kids had fun playing with their cousins while they watched Mom and Dad...again!
My parents enjoyed the event and told me they were proud. My Dad won't stop talking about the different images he's gaining from this. They do enjoy watching us race. It makes me happy.
It was a fun family day.
Now, it's time to taper. I need it now. I have been mentally "on" for a while. I hope I can regroup this week and get excited next week.
10 days 'til the big one.
Timberman 70.3 here I come.
Friday, August 1, 2008
ZUE Race photos
Here I am on the run at Zone Urban Epic Triathlon. This is right before the guy came upon me and said about the Pro woman 5 seconds ahead of me, "Are you going to catch her? You're not running around with all that blood for nothing are you?"
I couldn't make these pictures line up right. There I am moments after the big crash on the bike. My face says it all-click on images for close ups of my pain! :)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Portland Urban/Epic Race Report- (~1 mi swim, 25+mi bike, 5.7 mi run.) Too much drama for one race!
Saturday's race is one I will never forget. I experienced so many emotions and challenges--and I feel I conquered them all.
Here goes.
We arrived super early as usual. I was so nervous. This was a big day for me. I was going to start in the Elite wave. I wasn't 100% convinced I belonged there although I had amazing friends giving me so much support and words of assurance. It was suddenly time to hop on a shuttle for Mackworth Island. The swim began on a island and we swam across Casco Bay to a beach in Portland Harbor. Very nice in theory. Very tricky in reality. I got in to warm up on the island and just did a few minutes of gentle swimming. I picked my head up to see if the pre-race meeting was underway yet and saw No One on the beach!? Woah. The current has pulled me way way down around the other side of the island. I fought to get to the shore and walked back! Crazy. I searched for Mark, Mary, Alina, Mike and any of my other friends to warn them. "The current is real! Take it seriously!"
It was time. We were to swim straight out and go through some buoys and then through the rest of the sets all the way to the beach. Ok, got it.
THE SWIM: I felt this surge of confidence come through my body as my wave walked over the timing chip mats. There were 13 of us. I was calm and ready to rock. I positioned myself next to a girl I know well and desperately want to beat and planned to draft from her. Off we go. We were in a pack. But I was right there. I felt awesome. No need to draft...I was side by side this girl and it felt good. Suddenly though, our group dispersed. There were a few arms near me but the whole group was spread out. Ok...I figured I knew who went ahead. Keep going Ange. Here's where it got interesting. I came upon the first buoy and fought like MAD to make the turn. The current was pulling me so hard. It was like swimming in an endless pool. Upstream in a river. I got so I was nearly around it and whoosh-I was under the frickin orange thing. I the current kept me there. The thing bobbed and flopped all around. I was totally trapped. I have been a swimmer since I was 8 yrs old and I have never feared for my life in the water like I did at that moment. I started to panic as I turned on my back and pushed the buoy off my face over and over again. I screamed for help from the kayaker but just then I got loose. Shit. I was so so scared and it took me a few minutes to mentally recover from that one. I finally got my head back in the game. I did worry about all the remaining swimmers however. I was really worried. I was sure someone else would have that happen. Little did I know....they were all on shore watching us struggle to make that turn and the race director changed the course. He said, "Well, this clearly isn't goign to work. Skip that section and head for the next set." Mark was livid I guess. He knew that meant our times were going to be slower and he was just watching out for me.
The girl I had planned to draft off was right there. I saw her the whole swim. Yeah! I was psyched. The rest of the swim was great. I did get a nasty cramp in my calf towards the end though. It locked up. I worried about that for the rest of the race. Time will tell.
I came otu of the water side by side my main competitor. First time I've Ever done that with her. I was so so excited. Good day so far. I heard my Mom and DAd, my kids, my dear friend Lexi and lots of other enthusiastic voices. I love racing. It's such a rush.
Mini Transition: Time to strip wetsuits, put goggles etc in a bag, don sneakers and run to the real transition spot. Yikes. That half mile was Looooong and Fast girl was looking Stroooooooong. Go me go!
Real Transition: All was good. I zipped along and headed off about 10 seconds behind.
Bike: Here's where things get fun. For the readers that is. Not so fun for this Mom turned triathlete. It was a city ride. I didn't know the course. But that's not unusual! I started off and right from the get go realized I was unsure about where to go. The roads weren't marked well in my opinion and there weren't enough volunteers. I can't coutn how many time I had to yell, "which way???" to cops directing traffic. Not good.
It was around mile 4 or 5 and I was in a neighborhood. Because of the frequent turns, I could not see fast girl. There as Nobody near me. Not a spectator, not a volunteer, not a poor soul watchign us whiz by out their window. I decided I should take a gel. I had it out in my hand when at the last minute I saw a small arrow pointing right.
I braked and at that moment I knew it was over. The bike stoppped hard and fast but I kept going. Straight over the bars. I screamed in fear.I could feel it all happening. I slammed down on the top of my head and rolled to the left. I have No idea how I came unclipped, no idea what happned to the bike. I was in the middle of the road stunned. I was so hurt. I was in such shock. I just sat there or was I laying? I'm not sure. I wimpered and cried for help. Nothing. No one was anywhere near me. I jusst looked at the blood on my body and figured, "it's over. All this excitement and this is how it's going to end? I hit my head! I might be dead! I definately can't ride. Wait...I can see ok. It hurts but I'm not dizzy. No one is going by me yet. Get up!!! Let's go and see what happens." I picked up my straw, my CO2 cartridge, my damn gel, and I don't know what else. I was so happy to see my bike was working and ready to rock again.
Off I went. I wanted some hugs though. I felt sorry for myself for a while and went pretty easy. My head was throbbing. I wanted to cry. I just sort of made pathetic "I hurt" noises. My friend Steve went by me and said, "Hey you ok?" I yelled, "I fell on my head!" Kind of funny now htat I think about it. Not the fall....the way I expected him to hear me and do anything.
So, on I biked. The course remained strange. Lots of potholes, construction, unmarked intersections with irritated policemen. Not good.
I also can't begin to tell you how disgusting my hands were. The bike was covered in HEED when I fell. I was so sticky. It's been a family joke since I was about 1 that I do NOT like sticky hands. My parents would have been proud. :-) Forget the whacked head! I was riding with sticky hands. Gotta find humor in these situations.
I figured I was out of the running. It was not my day. But I'd finish come hell or high water.
I got to the turn around and there she was. Fast girl. She was RIGHT THERE!! Alright, back in the game. What if I hand't fallen!! ugh. that annoyed me. I grabbed a water bottle from the volunteer and tried to wash up. I poured it over my hands and aero bars. Much better.
I had about 13 miles left. I decided to start working. I started seeing more of my competition closing the gap. A few more minutes on that road and I would really have been in trouble. I was happy to see some buddies go by...Mike, then Mary and I knew Mark would be right along. Should I tell him? I decided not to. I didn't want to make him worry. THere he was. I smiled and he screamed Good luck stuff and that was that. I later learned that he saw my blood. But, he also saw my smile so he was ok with that.
Towards the end of the bike I was passed by a woman Pro. She's from ME but has moved to CO to focus on Triathlons. She young and fast. That's ok. I held on. We conquered a big steep hill wihtout too much ado. Another friend was at the top of that and I saw him do an open mouth double take when he saw my road rashes.
Ok, bike is done. One more thing to conquer and then I can cry. I kind of wanted to cry.
I was so so careful coming into T2. I always slip getting off my bike. I didn't this time for once. Enough blood for one day. There was a lady there who had on a blue shirt (later learned she worked in the med tent) who asked me if I was ok. First one to ask. I thanked her and said yes.
No time to stop.
The Run:
I felt great heading out of T2. There was music playing and tons of people around. I flew around the corner went for it. 5.7 miles. For the first time in a race this summer I felt good on the run. Perhaps my easy bike helped me! Remember that Ange. My stomach wasn't sick and I could breath pretty well!
I came upon my parents and kids. Before I even got there I could see worry in Mom's eyes and heard her say, "I know you're hurt Ange, you're ok, be tough, it's ok." Oh man, I almost cried. How did she know? Steve. My friend I saw on the bike right after my fall had told them. He had said, "Ange is hurt. She' s ok but she's banged up so just know that." Dad followed me up the hill and asked more questions. "You really ok? Shoulder? Head?" Yup-yup-smile-I'm great-can't let on now.
The run was solid. Mile 1 6:51. Ok, that's good. I saw the young Pro right there. Mile 2- 6:24. Cool. Was it a realy mile? Had no reason to doubt it so I chose to believe the clock. I missed the rest of the mile markers but I was gaining on the young Pro. I kept the same pace. I would pour it on later if I had to. I saw some other competitors coming at me. But, I was ahead. They are fast runners but not That much faster than me. I had 3+ miles to go. I could hold on. I continued to gain on the girl in front of me. I don't know where fast girl went. Somehow I missed her on the run. Oh well...next time. I was focusing on this new one. I had a plan. I would "hide" behind her until about .5 to go. She didn't know I was there. At that point, I would hear and see the crowd and I'd go for it. I knew I had her. And then, Ahhh She turned around!! Darn. She stepped up the pace. Some guy caught up to me and said, "You're going to get her right? You aren't running around here with all that blood for nothing are you? " I loved that.
You know, I dug deep. I did really work it but I just couldnt' get her. I was feeling the emotions of the day seep up. I hit the finish line with a smile...proud of my day. And then, I let it out. Two friends were at the end of that shoot and after saying, good job they saw the wounds. One of them grabbed me and I screamed in pain. Poor guy. He didn't know. He hurried me to the med tent where I spent a long time getting cleaned up and looked over. It all hurt so so bad. I was in big time pain. Just touchign my shoulder made me squirm in agony. My friend stayed with me and I was thankful for that.
While sitting there, I also felt so bad I wasn't at the line to cheer on my friends. But, I did see Mary finish strong. I saw Mike cruise in and I even saw Mark crank out a good race. People were watching for me and telling me when they were coming.
As the afternoon wore on, I felt sick and dizzy. I couldn't focus on a conversation. I went back to the tent where they had a big conversation with me about concussions. I had landed on my head after all. I had to lay there for a while. I didn't want Mom and Dad to know so they snuck out to get Mark. I wanted to hang out and have fun with all my friends but it was a bit tricky feeling that way. I just wanted to hide in a dark quiet corner.
I have seriously deep road rashes on my arm and shoulder. My legs is all scratched and I have bruise on my face that makes it hurt to eat. My shoulder is so swollen. I can move it more than before but not well adn it doesn't feel good. You see, 2 yrs ago I crashed and tore the rotator cuff on the other shoulder. Surgery followed and it was not good. I can't go through that again. I'm scared. I woke up Sunday feeling like I got run over by a truck. My entire upper body hurt so so bad. I just layed in bed and cried and cried and cried. I hadn't really let it out yet. I have worked so hard this summer, well, all year. The season is going well. My big race is in 18 days. Life is full of curve balls though. I will get through this. I am feeling damn lucky to be alive. Honestly, the feeling of smashing on my head was truly frightening. While sitting on that road, I just kept moving my head back and forth in disbelief. Waiting to see if I was still me. Am I thinking clearly? Is it all over from here. I almost quit the sport. My kid's lives flashed through my brain. It scared me. It scared me to the core. I will never forget that feeling.
In the end, it was a good race. Not sure how but I'll take it.
I placed 5th for women....3 of them ahead of me were pros I think. Fast girl was less than 2 minutes ahead of me. If only......
I will always remember this race. I proved to myself that I can race hard when put in a situation and I can hammer on when faced with challenges.
What a day.
Here goes.
We arrived super early as usual. I was so nervous. This was a big day for me. I was going to start in the Elite wave. I wasn't 100% convinced I belonged there although I had amazing friends giving me so much support and words of assurance. It was suddenly time to hop on a shuttle for Mackworth Island. The swim began on a island and we swam across Casco Bay to a beach in Portland Harbor. Very nice in theory. Very tricky in reality. I got in to warm up on the island and just did a few minutes of gentle swimming. I picked my head up to see if the pre-race meeting was underway yet and saw No One on the beach!? Woah. The current has pulled me way way down around the other side of the island. I fought to get to the shore and walked back! Crazy. I searched for Mark, Mary, Alina, Mike and any of my other friends to warn them. "The current is real! Take it seriously!"
It was time. We were to swim straight out and go through some buoys and then through the rest of the sets all the way to the beach. Ok, got it.
THE SWIM: I felt this surge of confidence come through my body as my wave walked over the timing chip mats. There were 13 of us. I was calm and ready to rock. I positioned myself next to a girl I know well and desperately want to beat and planned to draft from her. Off we go. We were in a pack. But I was right there. I felt awesome. No need to draft...I was side by side this girl and it felt good. Suddenly though, our group dispersed. There were a few arms near me but the whole group was spread out. Ok...I figured I knew who went ahead. Keep going Ange. Here's where it got interesting. I came upon the first buoy and fought like MAD to make the turn. The current was pulling me so hard. It was like swimming in an endless pool. Upstream in a river. I got so I was nearly around it and whoosh-I was under the frickin orange thing. I the current kept me there. The thing bobbed and flopped all around. I was totally trapped. I have been a swimmer since I was 8 yrs old and I have never feared for my life in the water like I did at that moment. I started to panic as I turned on my back and pushed the buoy off my face over and over again. I screamed for help from the kayaker but just then I got loose. Shit. I was so so scared and it took me a few minutes to mentally recover from that one. I finally got my head back in the game. I did worry about all the remaining swimmers however. I was really worried. I was sure someone else would have that happen. Little did I know....they were all on shore watching us struggle to make that turn and the race director changed the course. He said, "Well, this clearly isn't goign to work. Skip that section and head for the next set." Mark was livid I guess. He knew that meant our times were going to be slower and he was just watching out for me.
The girl I had planned to draft off was right there. I saw her the whole swim. Yeah! I was psyched. The rest of the swim was great. I did get a nasty cramp in my calf towards the end though. It locked up. I worried about that for the rest of the race. Time will tell.
I came otu of the water side by side my main competitor. First time I've Ever done that with her. I was so so excited. Good day so far. I heard my Mom and DAd, my kids, my dear friend Lexi and lots of other enthusiastic voices. I love racing. It's such a rush.
Mini Transition: Time to strip wetsuits, put goggles etc in a bag, don sneakers and run to the real transition spot. Yikes. That half mile was Looooong and Fast girl was looking Stroooooooong. Go me go!
Real Transition: All was good. I zipped along and headed off about 10 seconds behind.
Bike: Here's where things get fun. For the readers that is. Not so fun for this Mom turned triathlete. It was a city ride. I didn't know the course. But that's not unusual! I started off and right from the get go realized I was unsure about where to go. The roads weren't marked well in my opinion and there weren't enough volunteers. I can't coutn how many time I had to yell, "which way???" to cops directing traffic. Not good.
It was around mile 4 or 5 and I was in a neighborhood. Because of the frequent turns, I could not see fast girl. There as Nobody near me. Not a spectator, not a volunteer, not a poor soul watchign us whiz by out their window. I decided I should take a gel. I had it out in my hand when at the last minute I saw a small arrow pointing right.
I braked and at that moment I knew it was over. The bike stoppped hard and fast but I kept going. Straight over the bars. I screamed in fear.I could feel it all happening. I slammed down on the top of my head and rolled to the left. I have No idea how I came unclipped, no idea what happned to the bike. I was in the middle of the road stunned. I was so hurt. I was in such shock. I just sat there or was I laying? I'm not sure. I wimpered and cried for help. Nothing. No one was anywhere near me. I jusst looked at the blood on my body and figured, "it's over. All this excitement and this is how it's going to end? I hit my head! I might be dead! I definately can't ride. Wait...I can see ok. It hurts but I'm not dizzy. No one is going by me yet. Get up!!! Let's go and see what happens." I picked up my straw, my CO2 cartridge, my damn gel, and I don't know what else. I was so happy to see my bike was working and ready to rock again.
Off I went. I wanted some hugs though. I felt sorry for myself for a while and went pretty easy. My head was throbbing. I wanted to cry. I just sort of made pathetic "I hurt" noises. My friend Steve went by me and said, "Hey you ok?" I yelled, "I fell on my head!" Kind of funny now htat I think about it. Not the fall....the way I expected him to hear me and do anything.
So, on I biked. The course remained strange. Lots of potholes, construction, unmarked intersections with irritated policemen. Not good.
I also can't begin to tell you how disgusting my hands were. The bike was covered in HEED when I fell. I was so sticky. It's been a family joke since I was about 1 that I do NOT like sticky hands. My parents would have been proud. :-) Forget the whacked head! I was riding with sticky hands. Gotta find humor in these situations.
I figured I was out of the running. It was not my day. But I'd finish come hell or high water.
I got to the turn around and there she was. Fast girl. She was RIGHT THERE!! Alright, back in the game. What if I hand't fallen!! ugh. that annoyed me. I grabbed a water bottle from the volunteer and tried to wash up. I poured it over my hands and aero bars. Much better.
I had about 13 miles left. I decided to start working. I started seeing more of my competition closing the gap. A few more minutes on that road and I would really have been in trouble. I was happy to see some buddies go by...Mike, then Mary and I knew Mark would be right along. Should I tell him? I decided not to. I didn't want to make him worry. THere he was. I smiled and he screamed Good luck stuff and that was that. I later learned that he saw my blood. But, he also saw my smile so he was ok with that.
Towards the end of the bike I was passed by a woman Pro. She's from ME but has moved to CO to focus on Triathlons. She young and fast. That's ok. I held on. We conquered a big steep hill wihtout too much ado. Another friend was at the top of that and I saw him do an open mouth double take when he saw my road rashes.
Ok, bike is done. One more thing to conquer and then I can cry. I kind of wanted to cry.
I was so so careful coming into T2. I always slip getting off my bike. I didn't this time for once. Enough blood for one day. There was a lady there who had on a blue shirt (later learned she worked in the med tent) who asked me if I was ok. First one to ask. I thanked her and said yes.
No time to stop.
The Run:
I felt great heading out of T2. There was music playing and tons of people around. I flew around the corner went for it. 5.7 miles. For the first time in a race this summer I felt good on the run. Perhaps my easy bike helped me! Remember that Ange. My stomach wasn't sick and I could breath pretty well!
I came upon my parents and kids. Before I even got there I could see worry in Mom's eyes and heard her say, "I know you're hurt Ange, you're ok, be tough, it's ok." Oh man, I almost cried. How did she know? Steve. My friend I saw on the bike right after my fall had told them. He had said, "Ange is hurt. She' s ok but she's banged up so just know that." Dad followed me up the hill and asked more questions. "You really ok? Shoulder? Head?" Yup-yup-smile-I'm great-can't let on now.
The run was solid. Mile 1 6:51. Ok, that's good. I saw the young Pro right there. Mile 2- 6:24. Cool. Was it a realy mile? Had no reason to doubt it so I chose to believe the clock. I missed the rest of the mile markers but I was gaining on the young Pro. I kept the same pace. I would pour it on later if I had to. I saw some other competitors coming at me. But, I was ahead. They are fast runners but not That much faster than me. I had 3+ miles to go. I could hold on. I continued to gain on the girl in front of me. I don't know where fast girl went. Somehow I missed her on the run. Oh well...next time. I was focusing on this new one. I had a plan. I would "hide" behind her until about .5 to go. She didn't know I was there. At that point, I would hear and see the crowd and I'd go for it. I knew I had her. And then, Ahhh She turned around!! Darn. She stepped up the pace. Some guy caught up to me and said, "You're going to get her right? You aren't running around here with all that blood for nothing are you? " I loved that.
You know, I dug deep. I did really work it but I just couldnt' get her. I was feeling the emotions of the day seep up. I hit the finish line with a smile...proud of my day. And then, I let it out. Two friends were at the end of that shoot and after saying, good job they saw the wounds. One of them grabbed me and I screamed in pain. Poor guy. He didn't know. He hurried me to the med tent where I spent a long time getting cleaned up and looked over. It all hurt so so bad. I was in big time pain. Just touchign my shoulder made me squirm in agony. My friend stayed with me and I was thankful for that.
While sitting there, I also felt so bad I wasn't at the line to cheer on my friends. But, I did see Mary finish strong. I saw Mike cruise in and I even saw Mark crank out a good race. People were watching for me and telling me when they were coming.
As the afternoon wore on, I felt sick and dizzy. I couldn't focus on a conversation. I went back to the tent where they had a big conversation with me about concussions. I had landed on my head after all. I had to lay there for a while. I didn't want Mom and Dad to know so they snuck out to get Mark. I wanted to hang out and have fun with all my friends but it was a bit tricky feeling that way. I just wanted to hide in a dark quiet corner.
I have seriously deep road rashes on my arm and shoulder. My legs is all scratched and I have bruise on my face that makes it hurt to eat. My shoulder is so swollen. I can move it more than before but not well adn it doesn't feel good. You see, 2 yrs ago I crashed and tore the rotator cuff on the other shoulder. Surgery followed and it was not good. I can't go through that again. I'm scared. I woke up Sunday feeling like I got run over by a truck. My entire upper body hurt so so bad. I just layed in bed and cried and cried and cried. I hadn't really let it out yet. I have worked so hard this summer, well, all year. The season is going well. My big race is in 18 days. Life is full of curve balls though. I will get through this. I am feeling damn lucky to be alive. Honestly, the feeling of smashing on my head was truly frightening. While sitting on that road, I just kept moving my head back and forth in disbelief. Waiting to see if I was still me. Am I thinking clearly? Is it all over from here. I almost quit the sport. My kid's lives flashed through my brain. It scared me. It scared me to the core. I will never forget that feeling.
In the end, it was a good race. Not sure how but I'll take it.
I placed 5th for women....3 of them ahead of me were pros I think. Fast girl was less than 2 minutes ahead of me. If only......
I will always remember this race. I proved to myself that I can race hard when put in a situation and I can hammer on when faced with challenges.
What a day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)