Frozen Fun

Yesterday, RDJr. and I drove to Columbia, Missouri to do a little road race called Froze Toes. 31 miles of frozen fun!! This was my second road race ever, and a first for RDJr. We both had a TON of fun despite the fact that we both blew up in the middle of the race because we're silly triathletes and we don't know roadie rules just yet. Hee hee!

This race wasn't even on my radar for the year. Aubs mentioned it a couple weeks back and RDJr. became intrigued. He pre-registered for the race a week ago and was excited to race. I could stand to do some riding outside and this would force me out of the trainer/roller-derby watchin'/bathroom steps away/basement comfort zone, so I signed on to go with him.

We rolled out of KC about 8:30 am on Sunday morning with doubts about the weather. When we left, there was still about 1-2" of snow on the ground, foggy and 38 degrees. Columbia didn't have as much snow and the roads were supposed to be clear, but there was a 50% chance of rain for our noon start. It could be a cold and wet one.

About 40 miles out from Columbia, Aubs calls and tells me that it has been pouring all morning at the race site and that they were turning around (she was just 30 minutes behind us). We pressed on since we were so close, but both agreed that if it was raining, we too would bail.

Got to the site and NO RAIN! Temps had gone up to the 40s or 50s and the sun was even starting to poke out a bit. Good call by RDJr to press on!

I had to run for 25 minutes BEFORE the bike ... you should have seen the faces of those cyclists! They must have thought I was crazy for running (in fat chamois/diaper knickers) before the race. Done did the run and had just enough time to grab the gear and get to line up.

There were four women in the Open race and 18 in the Cat 4. Had I raced open, I would have come in 4th, but I wasn't here to place, I was here to do a fun workout and support the BF. We all started together and the pace was easy but I was nervous and I'm not used to riding in a pack. I became more confident as the race went on and stayed at the middle-front.

About half-way into the race and I'm feeling good and ... I made the stupidest move! I'm feeling so good that I fly pass the group and decide to pull UP A HILL. I could not hold it for longer than a minute and I blew up and everyone passed me and all I could do was laugh!! That's what you get, dumb a$$!

Dropped and left for dead, I can still see the group through the fog. I was on my own huffin' and puffin' trying to make my way back to the pack but they kept their distance - which never grew, but never shortened either. FINALLY some other lone girl comes from behind and I fall in and it was like the best vacation ever! I thought, hey let's work together and get back to the pack, so after my little rest, I move back in front and she's GONE! Dropped. Great. Now I'm on my own again.

Until ... four others come from behind and we are WORKING! Thankfully we get back to the pack and I can rest, get a little something to eat and take a drink. Lesson learned for sure!!! Pack is just humming along until we get about 6-7 miles from town and then it starts to spread out as people start to attack. I could not respond as well, as I was a little tired and at the mid-back, but I stayed with three other girls and would not leave the wheel in front of me. Finally, I can see the finish and while I was in a great position to sprint, I didn't think I had it in me ... I found the strength and climbed out of the saddle pushing with everything I had just to pass one silly girl, but I did and THAT is another lesson learned.

I finished 10th out of 18.

RDJr. was waiting for me at the finish. He too had a great race but he too went out too early - actually went for a break and dropped the pack for a little while!!! But he thought they were closer to the finish than they really were and got caught. He is such a strong rider and I am really proud of him for taking a risk like that!! Just need to bring the Garmin next time. :)

The rain that had been predicted eventually got us on the way home and thank goodness RDJr. was driving because I HATE driving in bad weather. Freaks me out! I went home to a hot shower, pizza and ONE victory beer.

All in all, it was a really fun day. I feel like I did pretty well considering I wasn't exactly "racing" this race and I don't really know squat about race strategy, tactics and I was basically on my own since I didn't know a soul among the women. My focus isn't on road racing anyway - it's triathlon, but these races are a good way to break out of the monotony of tri training. Good miles and good times with the BF!!

How Soon is Now?

I realized something this morning. I AM NORMAL.

I know - who knew, right? Here I was thinking I was the only one in this world who was feeling sore, tired, grumpy, worthless, lost, fat, etc. Nope. Turns out EVERYONE is feeling one or more of those things these days.

Blame it on the weather. Blame it on the training. Blame it on ... being human.

The Boss is feeling it. Her fast-swimmy friend is feeling it. Even the pros are feeling it. Tired. Sore. Fearful. Will it be enough? It's not enough. I'm not good enough.

I'm trying the "fake it 'til you make it" strategy and it seems to be working. I'm also doing a lot of self-talk which includes telling my mind to just SHUT IT already ... or GO BACK TO SLEEP there is no reason for you to be worrying about this at 4:23 am. And guess what? It's working! But more than the pep talks that I give myself, more than the encouraging words and cards from RDJr., just knowing that everyone else is suffering in some way, shape or form right now, is ... comforting.

Strange, right? Misery loves company? Naw, it's not like that. It's more like ... well, I'm thinking of this part in Home Alone where McCauley Calkin yells out, "I'M NOT AFRAID ANYMORE. Ya hear that world - I'M NOT AFRAID ANYMORE". Only, replace "afraid" with "alone".

Thank goodness this week is step back week. Man! Masters is kicking my BUTT! And while I have three swims this week instead of two, and the workouts include funny things like binding your ankles with an old inner tube and dumb hypoxic sets (yeah, that's right, they're STUPID HARD!) I'm kinda glad I don't have to go to masters until Saturday.

Geez, I guess I really needed to vent. :) Ha! Ha!

Okay, so now that is out of my system, let's look FORWARD!! I hear it's supposed to be in the 40s and maybe even 50 this weekend!! GOODBYE SNOW!! And Valentine's Day is coming up and I have a very special valentine to spend it with... and our trip to Tucson keeps getting closer and closer every day!! 34 days to be exact. I CAN NOT WAIT to swim in an outdoor pool ... to bike up Mt. Lemmon for a cookie, or pie, or whatever they serve up there ... to trail run IN SHORTS ... to visit the Biosphere and Observatory ... to wake up to a gourmet breakfast every day ... to just spend time with the most awesome person I know.

AND THEN ... two weeks until my first foot race AND THEN race season will practically be in full swing!!

OH HELL YES! LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

See. Totally normal. ;)

Make It Work

Friday is long run day. Well, it has been for the past two weeks. As you know, I have been pretty good about running outside despite what Mother Nature has on the agenda. Not this week. I had had it!! No more running in the dark, in the cold, in the snow and ice. So I decided to do my long run at the gym.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

"Long run" and "gym" don't usually mix, but I got it done. X minutes on the mill, X on the indoor track, X on the mill again. Done.

Not too bad ... except I FORGOT TO PACK SOCKS! Hmmm, okay. Guess I'll just go without because I have this:



What? You didn't know that chapstick is good blister protection? I'm guessing no one at the gym did either as they watched this sweaty girl take off her shoes and apply CHAPSTICK to the hot spots. Yeah, I still got blisters anyway, but my shoes smell like cloves now.

What else got me through a PAINFUL long run at the gym? Ol' trusty iPod! I haven't been running with it lately, mostly because I really need to download some new tunes, but also because it's probably safer NOT to wear it when I'm running in the pitch dark.

Blast back to high school, circa 1994(ish) ...

My reward for all this hard work? Pizza, ice cream, and the sweetest card from RDJr. He is my #1 cheerleader! I am a lucky lady!!

Green Machine

I just finished one of the biggest training weeks I've had in years. I haven't had a week like that since I was training for 70.3! And ya know what, it was not that bad.

Ha! Ha! Actually, I did get my butt kicked on Saturday by the training load. Huffing and puffing on the wall at masters, trying to blink back the tears as I told coach that I was just too tired. A number of things contributed to Saturday's bonk and now that they are identified, I'll make some changes so it doesn't happen again. Sunday was full of energy and a looong workout, and I'm happy I was able to finish the week strong.

One of the things that is making me strong like Popeye is this:

Green smoothie!!! I thought it would be gross but it's actually delicious!

What's in it? About 2-3 cups of spinach, a bunch of mint (leaves only), unsweetened almond milk, maple syrup (you could use Agave or honey) and some frozen strawberries. The trick is to set the blender to "puree" with the spinach, mint and milk, first. Then set to "liquefy". This will get rid of all the little "bits" of spinach and mint and make it nice and smooth. Then add the strawberries and set to "smoothie". Add the sweetener at the end. Looks like baby poo, but tastes great!!

Now that the sno-nami (snowmagedon, sno-torious B.I.G.) has hit the Midwest, I will be doing ALL of my workouts this week inside. Even Yaktraks won't do me any good in 5-25" of snow!! (Seriously, pick a number and stick with it, weatherman!)

Stay warm and safe this week!