This week, I've been enjoying a staycation. I've been checking things off my to-do list, hanging out with Winnie, and cooking and baking. I have lots of blog posts that I plan to post in the coming weeks: weekend at the cabin with my family, my cousin Alec's wedding, and a Winnie update.
Until then, I'm going to take advantage of Winnie's napping and catch up on my DVR :-)
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
A few more tri photos
Over the weekend, the photos from our Tri were published so I thought I'd share the "official" photos with you.
I cannot download the photos of us crossing the finish line legally but you can check them out here. You can also see video of Michael and I crossing the finish line. Just type in our bib numbers (Michael = 3623 and Jenni = 4594) in the search box and click on the photo and video tabs. Michael's video is synced up correctly, but mine is off for some reason. If you scroll to the 6:20 mark, you can see me cross the finish line.
I cannot download the photos of us crossing the finish line legally but you can check them out here. You can also see video of Michael and I crossing the finish line. Just type in our bib numbers (Michael = 3623 and Jenni = 4594) in the search box and click on the photo and video tabs. Michael's video is synced up correctly, but mine is off for some reason. If you scroll to the 6:20 mark, you can see me cross the finish line.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Sunshines and Creeps
Sunshine to our first triathlon last weekend. You can read a full recap here.
Creep to coming home to a flooded basement last weekend. We're planning to strip it down to the studs, based on the damage :-(
Creep to the insane humidity this week. I am looking forward to the relief the meteorologists are predicted this weekend.
Sunshine to a long weekend with the S family at the cabin. And Jessi and my parents are coming on Saturday. Should be lots of fun!
Sunshine to Winnie being a cutie this week. We just love her!
Sunshine to Winnie learning to use her potty bells. I think this weekend at the cabin might be challenging but she has the hang of it at home.
Sunshine to meeting so many of our neighbors now that we have a dog. Everyone wants to meet the new puppy :-)
Creep to being so busy at work. I have a ton to do next week before I'm out the week after for a week of vacation.
Sunshine to my new office being under construction. I've been relocated to our business office and I have to say, I kind of like it over here. I'm in the corner and everyone is pretty quiet. It's nice! I am so excited to have a space that is my own and I can shut the door. I haven't had my own office in 4 years (I shared an office at the NAA too) so this will be awesome!
Creep to being totally unmotivated to workout this week. We do plan to swim at the cabin this weekend though.
Creep to not having enough time in the day. This week felt so hectic and I just wish I had more time. I went grocery shopping last night at 9:15pm for Pete's sake!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Triathlon: We did it!
Well, the tri was Saturday and I finished. But there were SO many twists and turns that day that it will take me some time to recap it all. If you're only interested in the race recap, scroll down to find that section.
3:30am
Michael and I both wake up to a big thunderstorm. Lots of thunder, lightning, and rain. We both said, "It will pass" and went back to sleep.
5:00am
Our alarm goes off and it's still raining, perhaps harder now than it was at 3:30. We eat breakfast, take quick showers, put on our temporary tattoos (with our race numbers), and finished packing. As I looked at the clock and realized it was nearly 6, I told Michael we should hurry. We went to the garage and again, still pouring. We left and drove to the race site, Lake Nokomis. There were sheets of rain falling. And it was dark. Michael said, "There is no way this race is starting in an hour."
6:15am
We parked five blocks from the race site, and noticed lots of bike rakes with the bikes still on them. Everyone is sitting in their cars. We talked to someone who said the transition area was closed and race officials were asking everyone to wait in their vehicles. They said to check Facebook for updates. 10 minutes later, they posted the transition area was open. As we walked our bikes to the transition area, it was still pouring and the amount of water on the ground was insane. We were walking in ankle-deep puddles. Michael and my transition areas were not close to one another so we split up to set up our stuff. And by set up, I mean store in a giant 50 gallon ziploc bag we were given the day before (thank goodness we took those!). I went back to Michael, we got out our umbrella and we waited for announcements about the race plan.
6:45am
The first announcement was made: we obviously were not starting on time. Race officials were looking at radar maps to gauge the storm and also looking at the course to see what the plan will be. At this time, they announced that the international course (the long course) bike route was impassable in multiple spots and it would not be happening that day. More updates soon.
M and I tried to walk around and stay warm. We tried to get our legs marked, but the permanent markers were not working because everyone was so wet. We were soaked, cold, and stressed. We had trained so hard - please do not cancel the whole thing!
7:15am
Another announcement: the storm would pass in an hour (no one could be in the water for the swim if there was any lightning in the area). Start time for the pros would be 9am, and everyone would follow quickly after that. The waves (think heats if you're a track athlete or swimmer) would move fast and athletes would be released 2 at a time instead of 1 at a time. The last part of the announcement was the shocker: there would be no international course run that day. All athletes, including the pros, would compete in the sprint course. M and I signed up for the sprint race so it didn't affect us but I felt so badly for everyone who had put in the time to train for the long course.
Check out this water!
9am
Everyone hit the beach to watch the pros do the swim. It was pretty windy. Since there was race money on the line, the pros actually did the sprint swim course twice. Though the pros made the swim look easy, you could tell the wind was really affecting them, especially on the swim in. No one was staying on the outside of the buoys, as the wind and current was blowing them hard to the middle. Michael and I met up with his family and watched most of the international heats go, and then we went over the start area for the sprint waves.
10:00am
Michael started his race.
10:40am
I started my race.
11:38am
Michael finished his race.
12:35pm
I finished my race.
MY RACE RECAP
Swim - .25 miles
The made us line up in number order. I was third to last. Luckily, since your numbers are on your arms, I made friends with the women around me after Michael left. We all chatted and complained about the crappy conditions: windy day, late start, the fact that the pros were already done and we hadn't even started yet, etc. I was the only first-timer in our group of 8. Everyone was really nice, which was great. We all wanted the best for our group and no one was a crazy competitor.
As we walked the beach to do the swim, I didn't even have time to be nervous. It literally was 10 seconds from when I started walking until I was running into the water. Ed, Patty, and Amy (Michael's parents and sister) were right there to cheer me on (have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE my in-laws?), which was awesome. The girl I was running into the water with and I gave each other hugs, said good luck, and then we were off.
Thank you to Amy for the pics!
I felt great for the first 3 minutes. I was swimming calmly, my breathing was good, and I was mostly going straight. And then, I was suddenly overtaken by kids. That darn Jr. Invitational group started just 30 seconds after I hit the water and these kids had no decorom. They were swimming on top of us! Someone the women in my wave were screaming at them, but I just tried to ignore them and keep going. It was SO windy and choppy, and I took in two breathes full of water. I decided to breaststroke to the buoy. Once I reached the buoy, it was madness. None of us could swim in a straight line. The lifeguards kept yelling, "Keep the buoys on your right." I was yelling, "I'm trying!" It was so hard. My googles filled with water about 100 feet from shore so I had to stop and adjust them. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I stopped swimming and started running. I felt like my body was 1000 pounds when I was out of the water and running to the transition area. I was also so thankful the swim was over.
Swim time: 12:20.58. I was hoping to be around 10-11 minutes but since it was so windy, I was not surprised by my time at all.
Transition 1: Swim to Bike
The good part was my bike was right next to the swim in, a mere 10 steps. The bad part was my bike was a good 500 feet from the bike start. I had to put on my helmet, sunglasses and watch, rinse the sand off my feet, put on socks and my shoes (luckily I got bungee cord laces, which saved me at least a minute), and then run my bike the 500 feet to the bike start. I hated every second of running with my bike. Once I finally reached the bike mount, I took off.
Transition time: 3:47.67. I was hoping for a 3:30 transition. It did not feel like it took me nearly four minutes on that part, but I had to run really far with my bike, which is not easy.
Bike - 15 miles
It was hot and sunny the whole ride. I saw a ton of people on my way out, as there were many athletes on their way back in (I was so jealous). But overall, I saw very few people on my route. I was passed by about 5 people (all stupid Jrs) and I passed about 20 people. Otherwise, it was a quiet and lonely ride. I settled into my areo bars (so glad I got those!) and found a good rhythm. By the time I rode, the roads were dry, which was great. I never worried about crashing, which was also great. The only snaffu came when I took some water and poured it on my head because I was hot - it ended up on my sunglasses, which was really annoying. I tried to finish the bike strong but I was tired and took in just two sips of water the whole bike. Not good to gear up for the run.
Bike time: 1:02:17.69. My goal was 1:00:00. I wore a watch so I could keep track of my time. At 5 miles, I was at 20 minutes, which was where I wanted to be. At 10 miles, I was at 39 minutes, one minute ahead of my goal. But the last five miles were brutal, and I couldn't rehydrate. Still, I was only 2 minutes off my goal so that is ok with me.
Transition 2: Bike to run
This was annoying. So many people were done with their race and were just milling around in the transition area. Get out of my way, people! I'm still racing! They also changed the bike in because of the rain so instead of being right next to my station, it was were the start was. So again, I had to run my bike 500 feet. I put my bike back, took of my helmet, grabbed my hat and race belt and was off. The run start was the same as the swim in so that made it easier for me. I also saw Michael (who was done), his family, and my friends Becky and JB at this point. I was in the zone and totally exhausted so I didn't even smile at them (I should have-bad Jenni!) and struggled to get my cap on when I started the run.
Transition 2 time: 2:20.70. That was a good and fast transition. I didn't have to switch shoes (we don't have cycling shoes-on my list for the future) so that made me one of the faster people in my age group to get through the transition. I was happy with that time.
Run - 3.1 miles
Oh my gosh, I was tired at this point! Michael ran with me for the first 100 meters to give me words of encouragement. I was so tired and just wanted it to be over. I kept telling myself "Do not walk. Do NOT walk!" There were an aid station at 400 meters and they had Gatorade. Finally, some fuel! Yuck - it was yellow Gatorade! I hate yellow Gatorade! I spit it out and went with water. I poured two cups on my head, drank one, and spit one out. After what seemed like eternity, I reached the one mile sign. ONE MILE - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That was probably the slowest mile I've run in my entire life. My mind was battling with itself at this point, telling me that I couldn't do this and also telling me not to walk. At the one mile mark, there is also a run up a bridge. That was brutal! I wanted to kill the course designers at that point. But I just kept moving and tried to keep up with the people in front of me. At the two mile marker, I just kept telling myself "One more mile." About halfway into it, I found Michael waiting near the path to cheer me on. He actually ran with me the last half mile. I was defeated at this point and near tears. I SO wanted to be done. He just kept being positive and telling me how proud he was (I know, I am so lucky to have such an awesome husband!). Finally, we went over a small hill and Michael told me that the finish line was just around the corner. He ran off the path and let me finish on my own. What I love about races is that they announce your name as you come across the finish line. I was all by myself so the race announcer said "Here comes Jenni Beadle. Jenni, how are you feeling?" I gave him a thumbs up, lifted my arms over my head and crossed the finish line. Woo hoo - I made it!
Run time: 34:33.79. I was so disappointed in my time, though honestly, I'm not a strong runner and I knew that. I actually thought it was even slower than it was. I felt like I was hardly moving and I knew my pace was slower than it should have been. I was shooting for 30:00.
OVERALL TIME: 1:55:20.43. My goal was 1:45:00, so I was 10 minutes off my goal. As we waited in line to get our times, I was sure that I was over 2 hours, based on my run. I am glad I finished under 2 hours and even though I missed my goal, I feel good about my time.
I finished 36 out of 58 in my age group (30-34 women). This is about where I was hoping to fall - the middle tier - so I am happy with my place. Overall in sprint women, I was 162nd out of 301 and 483rd out of 709 in the sprint category overall.
MICHAEL'S RACE RECAP (not as detailed as my recap)
Michael killed the swim. He was 1st in his age group, 7th in sprint men, and 9th in sprint overall (men+women = 709 people). To put it in perspective, I was 501st :-) His time was 6:37.59, twice as fast as mine.
His transition from swim to bike was 3:17.37.
Michael was not happy with his bike time. Like me, he thought the last five miles were grueling. His time was 57:29.14. He had a good transition from bike to run though, at 2:05.52.
Michael's run was when I was biking: it was hot and sunny. Still, he ran a 28:54.08, so he was happy that he finished under 30 minutes.
His overall time was 1:38:23.70. He finished 7th out of 20 in his age group (20-24 men); 174th out of 408 men and 225th out of 702 overall. Michael was not very happy with his time. Like me, he was hoping to be about 10 minutes faster than he was.
Still, we did it! And as early as yesterday, I was already thinking about doing another one. On Saturday afternoon, I was thinking "Never again. That sucked." And yesterday, I was looking up dates for future races. Michael and I both agree that now that we know what it is like to race, our training will look a lot different next time around, if there is a next time. He wants to improve his bike and run, and I can definitely shave minutes off of all of areas of competition.
So that's it - the total event recap. It certainly did not go as we thought it would, but it was memorable, fun, and exhilarating just the same. It was by far the hardest physical thing I've ever done, and I'm so glad we did it. We are triathletes now!
Here's a side by side comparison of before and after. I weighed 9 pounds less after the race...
Our celebration on Saturday was cut short when we got home. Remember how I said it was raining really hard that morning? Well, we got about 5 inches of rain over the course of 5 hours and we came home to a basement with standing water in it. So we spent 4 hours on Saturday moving everything out of the main room, using every towel we own to soak up the water, and ripping out the carpet. Yep, we lost all the carpet in the main room. We might lose the bedroom as well - not sure yet. We ripped off the wainscoting last night as well. It will take us a long time (and some cash-ola) to repair the damage. Boo to tainting the memory of our first tri!
3:30am
Michael and I both wake up to a big thunderstorm. Lots of thunder, lightning, and rain. We both said, "It will pass" and went back to sleep.
5:00am
Our alarm goes off and it's still raining, perhaps harder now than it was at 3:30. We eat breakfast, take quick showers, put on our temporary tattoos (with our race numbers), and finished packing. As I looked at the clock and realized it was nearly 6, I told Michael we should hurry. We went to the garage and again, still pouring. We left and drove to the race site, Lake Nokomis. There were sheets of rain falling. And it was dark. Michael said, "There is no way this race is starting in an hour."
6:15am
We parked five blocks from the race site, and noticed lots of bike rakes with the bikes still on them. Everyone is sitting in their cars. We talked to someone who said the transition area was closed and race officials were asking everyone to wait in their vehicles. They said to check Facebook for updates. 10 minutes later, they posted the transition area was open. As we walked our bikes to the transition area, it was still pouring and the amount of water on the ground was insane. We were walking in ankle-deep puddles. Michael and my transition areas were not close to one another so we split up to set up our stuff. And by set up, I mean store in a giant 50 gallon ziploc bag we were given the day before (thank goodness we took those!). I went back to Michael, we got out our umbrella and we waited for announcements about the race plan.
6:45am
The first announcement was made: we obviously were not starting on time. Race officials were looking at radar maps to gauge the storm and also looking at the course to see what the plan will be. At this time, they announced that the international course (the long course) bike route was impassable in multiple spots and it would not be happening that day. More updates soon.
M and I tried to walk around and stay warm. We tried to get our legs marked, but the permanent markers were not working because everyone was so wet. We were soaked, cold, and stressed. We had trained so hard - please do not cancel the whole thing!
7:15am
Another announcement: the storm would pass in an hour (no one could be in the water for the swim if there was any lightning in the area). Start time for the pros would be 9am, and everyone would follow quickly after that. The waves (think heats if you're a track athlete or swimmer) would move fast and athletes would be released 2 at a time instead of 1 at a time. The last part of the announcement was the shocker: there would be no international course run that day. All athletes, including the pros, would compete in the sprint course. M and I signed up for the sprint race so it didn't affect us but I felt so badly for everyone who had put in the time to train for the long course.
Check out this water!
9am
Everyone hit the beach to watch the pros do the swim. It was pretty windy. Since there was race money on the line, the pros actually did the sprint swim course twice. Though the pros made the swim look easy, you could tell the wind was really affecting them, especially on the swim in. No one was staying on the outside of the buoys, as the wind and current was blowing them hard to the middle. Michael and I met up with his family and watched most of the international heats go, and then we went over the start area for the sprint waves.
 |
| Pre-race - isn't my arm tattoo awesome?! |
Michael started his race.
10:40am
I started my race.
11:38am
Michael finished his race.
12:35pm
I finished my race.
MY RACE RECAP
Swim - .25 miles
The made us line up in number order. I was third to last. Luckily, since your numbers are on your arms, I made friends with the women around me after Michael left. We all chatted and complained about the crappy conditions: windy day, late start, the fact that the pros were already done and we hadn't even started yet, etc. I was the only first-timer in our group of 8. Everyone was really nice, which was great. We all wanted the best for our group and no one was a crazy competitor.
As we walked the beach to do the swim, I didn't even have time to be nervous. It literally was 10 seconds from when I started walking until I was running into the water. Ed, Patty, and Amy (Michael's parents and sister) were right there to cheer me on (have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE my in-laws?), which was awesome. The girl I was running into the water with and I gave each other hugs, said good luck, and then we were off.
Thank you to Amy for the pics!
 |
| There I go! |
 |
| I'm on the right running into the water |
Swim time: 12:20.58. I was hoping to be around 10-11 minutes but since it was so windy, I was not surprised by my time at all.
Transition 1: Swim to Bike
The good part was my bike was right next to the swim in, a mere 10 steps. The bad part was my bike was a good 500 feet from the bike start. I had to put on my helmet, sunglasses and watch, rinse the sand off my feet, put on socks and my shoes (luckily I got bungee cord laces, which saved me at least a minute), and then run my bike the 500 feet to the bike start. I hated every second of running with my bike. Once I finally reached the bike mount, I took off.
Transition time: 3:47.67. I was hoping for a 3:30 transition. It did not feel like it took me nearly four minutes on that part, but I had to run really far with my bike, which is not easy.
Bike - 15 miles
It was hot and sunny the whole ride. I saw a ton of people on my way out, as there were many athletes on their way back in (I was so jealous). But overall, I saw very few people on my route. I was passed by about 5 people (all stupid Jrs) and I passed about 20 people. Otherwise, it was a quiet and lonely ride. I settled into my areo bars (so glad I got those!) and found a good rhythm. By the time I rode, the roads were dry, which was great. I never worried about crashing, which was also great. The only snaffu came when I took some water and poured it on my head because I was hot - it ended up on my sunglasses, which was really annoying. I tried to finish the bike strong but I was tired and took in just two sips of water the whole bike. Not good to gear up for the run.
Bike time: 1:02:17.69. My goal was 1:00:00. I wore a watch so I could keep track of my time. At 5 miles, I was at 20 minutes, which was where I wanted to be. At 10 miles, I was at 39 minutes, one minute ahead of my goal. But the last five miles were brutal, and I couldn't rehydrate. Still, I was only 2 minutes off my goal so that is ok with me.
Transition 2: Bike to run
This was annoying. So many people were done with their race and were just milling around in the transition area. Get out of my way, people! I'm still racing! They also changed the bike in because of the rain so instead of being right next to my station, it was were the start was. So again, I had to run my bike 500 feet. I put my bike back, took of my helmet, grabbed my hat and race belt and was off. The run start was the same as the swim in so that made it easier for me. I also saw Michael (who was done), his family, and my friends Becky and JB at this point. I was in the zone and totally exhausted so I didn't even smile at them (I should have-bad Jenni!) and struggled to get my cap on when I started the run.
Transition 2 time: 2:20.70. That was a good and fast transition. I didn't have to switch shoes (we don't have cycling shoes-on my list for the future) so that made me one of the faster people in my age group to get through the transition. I was happy with that time.
 |
| Transition from bike to run - thank you Becky for this photo |
Oh my gosh, I was tired at this point! Michael ran with me for the first 100 meters to give me words of encouragement. I was so tired and just wanted it to be over. I kept telling myself "Do not walk. Do NOT walk!" There were an aid station at 400 meters and they had Gatorade. Finally, some fuel! Yuck - it was yellow Gatorade! I hate yellow Gatorade! I spit it out and went with water. I poured two cups on my head, drank one, and spit one out. After what seemed like eternity, I reached the one mile sign. ONE MILE - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That was probably the slowest mile I've run in my entire life. My mind was battling with itself at this point, telling me that I couldn't do this and also telling me not to walk. At the one mile mark, there is also a run up a bridge. That was brutal! I wanted to kill the course designers at that point. But I just kept moving and tried to keep up with the people in front of me. At the two mile marker, I just kept telling myself "One more mile." About halfway into it, I found Michael waiting near the path to cheer me on. He actually ran with me the last half mile. I was defeated at this point and near tears. I SO wanted to be done. He just kept being positive and telling me how proud he was (I know, I am so lucky to have such an awesome husband!). Finally, we went over a small hill and Michael told me that the finish line was just around the corner. He ran off the path and let me finish on my own. What I love about races is that they announce your name as you come across the finish line. I was all by myself so the race announcer said "Here comes Jenni Beadle. Jenni, how are you feeling?" I gave him a thumbs up, lifted my arms over my head and crossed the finish line. Woo hoo - I made it!
 |
| Done!!! |
OVERALL TIME: 1:55:20.43. My goal was 1:45:00, so I was 10 minutes off my goal. As we waited in line to get our times, I was sure that I was over 2 hours, based on my run. I am glad I finished under 2 hours and even though I missed my goal, I feel good about my time.
I finished 36 out of 58 in my age group (30-34 women). This is about where I was hoping to fall - the middle tier - so I am happy with my place. Overall in sprint women, I was 162nd out of 301 and 483rd out of 709 in the sprint category overall.
MICHAEL'S RACE RECAP (not as detailed as my recap)
Michael killed the swim. He was 1st in his age group, 7th in sprint men, and 9th in sprint overall (men+women = 709 people). To put it in perspective, I was 501st :-) His time was 6:37.59, twice as fast as mine.
His transition from swim to bike was 3:17.37.
Michael was not happy with his bike time. Like me, he thought the last five miles were grueling. His time was 57:29.14. He had a good transition from bike to run though, at 2:05.52.
Michael's run was when I was biking: it was hot and sunny. Still, he ran a 28:54.08, so he was happy that he finished under 30 minutes.
 |
| Michael on the home stretch |
 |
| Go Michael! |
 |
| Finish line! |
Still, we did it! And as early as yesterday, I was already thinking about doing another one. On Saturday afternoon, I was thinking "Never again. That sucked." And yesterday, I was looking up dates for future races. Michael and I both agree that now that we know what it is like to race, our training will look a lot different next time around, if there is a next time. He wants to improve his bike and run, and I can definitely shave minutes off of all of areas of competition.
So that's it - the total event recap. It certainly did not go as we thought it would, but it was memorable, fun, and exhilarating just the same. It was by far the hardest physical thing I've ever done, and I'm so glad we did it. We are triathletes now!
Here's a side by side comparison of before and after. I weighed 9 pounds less after the race...
Our celebration on Saturday was cut short when we got home. Remember how I said it was raining really hard that morning? Well, we got about 5 inches of rain over the course of 5 hours and we came home to a basement with standing water in it. So we spent 4 hours on Saturday moving everything out of the main room, using every towel we own to soak up the water, and ripping out the carpet. Yep, we lost all the carpet in the main room. We might lose the bedroom as well - not sure yet. We ripped off the wainscoting last night as well. It will take us a long time (and some cash-ola) to repair the damage. Boo to tainting the memory of our first tri!
Friday, July 12, 2013
Sunshines and Creeps
Sunshine to the Tri tomorrow. It's finally here!!!
Creep to the weather forecast tomorrow. 50% chance of thunderstorms. Boo!
Creep to being so nervous about the Tri.
Creep to feeling like I'm not prepared for tomorrow. Darn nerves...
Sunshine to a puppy play date today with Roxie. And of course Sunshine that Roxie's mom and my bestie Michelle was there too.
Creep to Winnie's "crazy puppy" phases every night this week from 7-8pm. She's otherwise a sweetie but from 7-8pm, she's a nut job (I still love her though!).
Sunshine to puppy class this week. More of a recap later with some pics and videos. Winnie loved the first class so here's to hoping for 4 more positive weeks.
Sunshine to watching ESPN's Nine for IX, a series on girls/women/situations in sports since the introduction of Title IX. I did a report on Title IX in high school and am a huge supporter of girl's/women's sports. I just watched the documentary on my women's sports idol, Pat Summit, and it was awesome.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Tri Training Week 10 – Race Week
The Tri is this weekend! Agh! I cannot believe it is finally here. We have been doing so much work and training that it seems a bit surreal that the date is just days away.
Week 10 Training
Monday – bike 35 minutes
Tuesday – off
Wednesday – run 20 minutes
Thursday – off
Friday – swim 10 minutes
Saturday – RACE DAY!
As you can see, our training is super light this week, which is great. That said, it's proving to be a challenge. On last night’s bike ride – our last before the race – some dumb @$$ crashed into Michael. The idiot was going the wrong way on a CLEARLY marked one-way trail AND wearing headphone so he did not hear Michael yell at him to watch out. I let the idiot have it once I knew Michael was not seriously injured. Michael has quite a few scrapes and bruises, but overall, he’s ok. It shook both of us so even though I know there is no way someone will be going to the wrong way on race day, I am still worried about a crash on the bike portion of the race.
I’m not going to lie – I am NERVOUS! I don’t want to drown in the lake. I don’t want to crash my bike (see above story). I don’t want to psych myself out on the run and think I need to walk. My stomach is in knots now just thinking about the race, and I know that on race day, it will be even worse given the schedule.
The schedule was announced yesterday and it is not in my favor at all.
4:30 a.m. -- Transition opens
6:40 a.m. -- National anthem & pro athlete introductions
6:45 a.m. -- Transition closes
7:00 a.m. -- Race starts – pros go first
7:29 a.m. -- International individuals start
8:47 a.m. -- Sprint individuals start
8:52 a.m. – Men 20-24 start (Michael)
9:00 a.m. -- Pros finish
9:36 a.m. – Women 30-34 start (Jenni)
11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- Awards ceremony and festival
I am in Wave 54 out of 55, with only the Jr. Invitational following my group. That means I will watch 53 other groups complete the swim before I start. I will stand around for 3 hours. And the pros will finish before I even start! By 9:36 a.m., it could be quite warm, as the high for Saturday is 86 degrees. And sunny – darn! I was hoping for a cloudy day. I’ll sunscreen up but it will probably wear off before I even start the race. Why did I choose to wear all black again???
We are working on good diets this week – low fiber, no spicy stuff, simple carbs and proteins – so that we do not have any GI stress during the race. We are also staying hydrated, which I typically do anyways so this is more for Michael. Lastly, we are getting our gear together now so that we don’t forget anything. Last night, I was working on my list and thought it was done and then I remembered “Bike helmet.” Oops! That is essential!
Although I say my goal is to finish, I do have a time in my head that I’d like to hit or beat. And I would also really like to not be the last person to cross the finish line, which given when I start, is a possibility. I hope there are still some spectators cheering people on when I cross the finish line. So if you’re not doing anything Saturday and are in MPLS, come watch Michael and I compete and cheer us on. He should cross the finish line between 10:00-10:30 a.m. and I should cross between 11:00-11:30 a.m. Recap and pics to come next week!
Week 10 Training
Monday – bike 35 minutes
Tuesday – off
Wednesday – run 20 minutes
Thursday – off
Friday – swim 10 minutes
Saturday – RACE DAY!
As you can see, our training is super light this week, which is great. That said, it's proving to be a challenge. On last night’s bike ride – our last before the race – some dumb @$$ crashed into Michael. The idiot was going the wrong way on a CLEARLY marked one-way trail AND wearing headphone so he did not hear Michael yell at him to watch out. I let the idiot have it once I knew Michael was not seriously injured. Michael has quite a few scrapes and bruises, but overall, he’s ok. It shook both of us so even though I know there is no way someone will be going to the wrong way on race day, I am still worried about a crash on the bike portion of the race.
I’m not going to lie – I am NERVOUS! I don’t want to drown in the lake. I don’t want to crash my bike (see above story). I don’t want to psych myself out on the run and think I need to walk. My stomach is in knots now just thinking about the race, and I know that on race day, it will be even worse given the schedule.
The schedule was announced yesterday and it is not in my favor at all.
4:30 a.m. -- Transition opens
6:40 a.m. -- National anthem & pro athlete introductions
6:45 a.m. -- Transition closes
7:00 a.m. -- Race starts – pros go first
7:29 a.m. -- International individuals start
8:47 a.m. -- Sprint individuals start
8:52 a.m. – Men 20-24 start (Michael)
9:00 a.m. -- Pros finish
9:36 a.m. – Women 30-34 start (Jenni)
11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- Awards ceremony and festival
I am in Wave 54 out of 55, with only the Jr. Invitational following my group. That means I will watch 53 other groups complete the swim before I start. I will stand around for 3 hours. And the pros will finish before I even start! By 9:36 a.m., it could be quite warm, as the high for Saturday is 86 degrees. And sunny – darn! I was hoping for a cloudy day. I’ll sunscreen up but it will probably wear off before I even start the race. Why did I choose to wear all black again???
We are working on good diets this week – low fiber, no spicy stuff, simple carbs and proteins – so that we do not have any GI stress during the race. We are also staying hydrated, which I typically do anyways so this is more for Michael. Lastly, we are getting our gear together now so that we don’t forget anything. Last night, I was working on my list and thought it was done and then I remembered “Bike helmet.” Oops! That is essential!
Although I say my goal is to finish, I do have a time in my head that I’d like to hit or beat. And I would also really like to not be the last person to cross the finish line, which given when I start, is a possibility. I hope there are still some spectators cheering people on when I cross the finish line. So if you’re not doing anything Saturday and are in MPLS, come watch Michael and I compete and cheer us on. He should cross the finish line between 10:00-10:30 a.m. and I should cross between 11:00-11:30 a.m. Recap and pics to come next week!
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Goals - July 2013
Well, June just FLEW by so my goals were hit and miss. Let’s hope for better success in July!
Professional Goals - June 2013
Meet our financial and participation goals. We’re close on all of them except one so we should be ok. We made them all!!!
Finalize thank you card. We need one more piece of data that won’t be done until next week, then it’s ready to go.
Meet with data researcher about what end-of-year reports I need. Done.
Start website overhaul. Not started yet. Next week!
Hand off my old job to the new “me.” Did I mention her name is Jen and she’s tall and blonde? :-) Done but I still get a lot of questions from people. I’m happy to redirect them to Jen.
Personal Goals - June 2013
Keep up with training schedule. We only missed one day all month!
Complete 30 day ab challenge. I stopped at day 22.
Do one open water swim practice. Done. So. Unbelievably. Hard!
Eat healthier lunches. Yes, yay me!
Menu plan each week. We did pretty well on this.
Keep up on our gardening/yard work. Eh, we could have don better.
Go to the cabin the last weekend of the month. Yes! Cannot wait to go more in July.
Have a fun weekend with Jessi. Yes! But I forgot to take pictures :-(
Eat all of our favorite Chicago foods – deep dish pizza, Ann Sather’s cinnamon rolls, and a Chicago-style hotdog. Yes, yes, and yes!!!!!!!
Reschedule our meeting with financial planner. Rescheduled but not until this month.
Have a girls night. Yes. Winnie even joined us.
Go on walks in the evenings. Yes – thank you, Winnie
Catch up on my magazine reading. Sort of – looking forward to doing that over the 4th!
Blog three times a week. I sucked at blogging this month. Shame on me!
And now for July’s goals!
Professional Goals - July 2013
Finalize and send thank you card.
Start working on all my end-of-fiscal-year reports.
Start website overhaul.
Send volunteer thank yous.
Meet with graphic designer about next year’s projects.
Move into my new office (supposed to be done by the end of the month – I’ll believe it when I see it).
Celebrate two years at my school.
Take the last week of the month/first week of July off for a stay-cation :-)
Personal Goals - July 2013
Complete my first (and only?) triathlon!
Keep working out post-tri.
Eat healthy lunches.
Menu plan each week using things from our garden – herbs and tomato recipes needed!
Enjoy our long-weekend at the cabin for the 4th of July.
Have a fun weekend with the S family.
Have a fun weekend in Minot for my cousin’s wedding.
Meet with financial planner.
Lunch with Michelle.
Start puppy kindergarten for Winnie.
Go out on a date night.
Check off at least two things on my summer to-do list.
Continue training Winnie – potty training, walking, no nipping, etc.
Blog three times a week.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Tri Training Weeks 8-9
Ah, the tri is so close and training is in the final stretch. Thank goodness! We had a busy Week 8 that I never got around to blogging so this will be a recap of Week and what’s to come for Week 9.
Week 8 recap
Now that we are dog owners, working out is tough. We skipped our Thursday workout (swim) because we did not have it in us to do it. We had our first open water swim this week. OMG it was hard! I’m so glad we did that because now I know what to expect on race day. It was really windy the day of our swim so I’m hoping that prepared me for the worst. Our last brick was on Sunday and went pretty well. Once I got in the groove on the run, I ran a nice pace.
Monday – bike 50 minutes (it had rained and both my bike and me were covered in mud afterwards)
Tuesday – swim - 150 yard warm up, 450, 200 easy, 50 cool down
Wednesday – run – 45 minutes (there was 90% humidity during our run at 5am so that was not fun)
Thursday – off
Friday – bike – 45 minute spin class
Saturday – open water swim 400-500 yards – we guessed how far we went but it was probably 500-ish yards
Sunday – brick – 45 minute bike and 30 minute run
Week 9 schedule
We finally get to do a little bit of tapering. We are at the cabin Wed-Sun so it will be easy to get in some open water swims.
Monday – off
Tuesday – run – 35 minutes
Wednesday – bike - 45 minutes
Thursday – open water swim 400-500 yards
Friday – run – 30 minutes
Saturday – open water swim 400-500 yards
Sunday – off
My 30 day ab challenge ended at Day 22 – I blame Winnie. It’s impossible to do a sit up with a puppy who loves biting your hair…
Also on the docket for this week are practicing transitions – running out of the water, running with our bikes before mounting them, putting on our shoes, etc.
Week 8 recap
Now that we are dog owners, working out is tough. We skipped our Thursday workout (swim) because we did not have it in us to do it. We had our first open water swim this week. OMG it was hard! I’m so glad we did that because now I know what to expect on race day. It was really windy the day of our swim so I’m hoping that prepared me for the worst. Our last brick was on Sunday and went pretty well. Once I got in the groove on the run, I ran a nice pace.
Monday – bike 50 minutes (it had rained and both my bike and me were covered in mud afterwards)
Tuesday – swim - 150 yard warm up, 450, 200 easy, 50 cool down
Wednesday – run – 45 minutes (there was 90% humidity during our run at 5am so that was not fun)
Thursday – off
Friday – bike – 45 minute spin class
Saturday – open water swim 400-500 yards – we guessed how far we went but it was probably 500-ish yards
Sunday – brick – 45 minute bike and 30 minute run
Week 9 schedule
We finally get to do a little bit of tapering. We are at the cabin Wed-Sun so it will be easy to get in some open water swims.
Monday – off
Tuesday – run – 35 minutes
Wednesday – bike - 45 minutes
Thursday – open water swim 400-500 yards
Friday – run – 30 minutes
Saturday – open water swim 400-500 yards
Sunday – off
My 30 day ab challenge ended at Day 22 – I blame Winnie. It’s impossible to do a sit up with a puppy who loves biting your hair…
Also on the docket for this week are practicing transitions – running out of the water, running with our bikes before mounting them, putting on our shoes, etc.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Our new family member (and my defense of poor blogging)
Sorry about the lack of posting the past 10 days. My life has been crazy-busy. We traveled, we have a new family member living with us permanently (see below), and my work was insane last week because it was the last week of the fiscal year (we met our goals!).
We went to Michael's sister's graduation in Evanston the weekend before last, which was really fun. We are very proud of Amy for graduating from Northwestern and it was great to spend time with Michael's family.
On our way home, Michael and I made a special pit stop near Green Bay, WI. Please say hello to Winnie, our newest family member!
Michael and I have been talking about getting a dog for over a year. We've tossed around a lot of ideas about what type of dog we should get - husky, lab, golden retreiver, Airedale. Michael wanted a hunting dog, but our tiny house is just not conducive to a hunting dog.
Winnie is a Welsh Terrier. I don't remember which one of us suggested a Welsh Terrier. Welshes look like mini-Airedales. Technically, Welshes were originally bred for hunting rodents but not so much anymore. Still, as a terrier, they are a feisty breed who love to play, sometimes a bit aggressively.
Winnie will grow to about 16 inches and will weigh around 20 pounds. I love her long legs and rectangular face. She's has hair, not fur, so she won't shed. My favorite feature on her is her coloring, though she will lose all of the black on her face. I just love the black and tan look of her now and am a bit sad she will lose it.
So far, she has been a great addition to our family. She's a great cuddler and has a sweet and fun personality. She's very playful and loves to explore. She rarely whines or barks. She's very friendly with people and other dogs, hardly ever being afraid. She loves children.She loves the cabin and is particularly fond of eating grass :-)
At the same time, she is a handful. We have to pretty much watch her all the time if she's not in her kennel. Potty training was improving throughout the week and weekend, though today has already had it's fair-share of accidents. She wasn't eating much until yesterday, when she decided to eat all her food super fast and then act like she was starving later. She's learned how to dig and started some nice holes on the beach at the cabin last weekend. She's in a nippy/biting stage and only wants the things she can't have.
Still, I have no regrets about getting a dog. I'm looking forward to many, many years of having her as a member of our family. More pictures to come!
We went to Michael's sister's graduation in Evanston the weekend before last, which was really fun. We are very proud of Amy for graduating from Northwestern and it was great to spend time with Michael's family.
On our way home, Michael and I made a special pit stop near Green Bay, WI. Please say hello to Winnie, our newest family member!
Michael and I have been talking about getting a dog for over a year. We've tossed around a lot of ideas about what type of dog we should get - husky, lab, golden retreiver, Airedale. Michael wanted a hunting dog, but our tiny house is just not conducive to a hunting dog.
Winnie is a Welsh Terrier. I don't remember which one of us suggested a Welsh Terrier. Welshes look like mini-Airedales. Technically, Welshes were originally bred for hunting rodents but not so much anymore. Still, as a terrier, they are a feisty breed who love to play, sometimes a bit aggressively.
Winnie will grow to about 16 inches and will weigh around 20 pounds. I love her long legs and rectangular face. She's has hair, not fur, so she won't shed. My favorite feature on her is her coloring, though she will lose all of the black on her face. I just love the black and tan look of her now and am a bit sad she will lose it.
So far, she has been a great addition to our family. She's a great cuddler and has a sweet and fun personality. She's very playful and loves to explore. She rarely whines or barks. She's very friendly with people and other dogs, hardly ever being afraid. She loves children.She loves the cabin and is particularly fond of eating grass :-)
At the same time, she is a handful. We have to pretty much watch her all the time if she's not in her kennel. Potty training was improving throughout the week and weekend, though today has already had it's fair-share of accidents. She wasn't eating much until yesterday, when she decided to eat all her food super fast and then act like she was starving later. She's learned how to dig and started some nice holes on the beach at the cabin last weekend. She's in a nippy/biting stage and only wants the things she can't have.
Still, I have no regrets about getting a dog. I'm looking forward to many, many years of having her as a member of our family. More pictures to come!
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