I Don't Know How You Do It

I have heard several people say this to me.  "I don't know how you do it."  They are typically referring to my training, full time job and family responsibilities.  Most of the time I smile and agree that it's not easy but that it's totally manageable.

However, there are times when I can't do it all.  This week is one example.  Saturday I left early in the morning to drive to Ohio to pick up Ryann from her summer session.  Sunday we drove home and didn't get in until after midnight.  Stephen left at 3 am this morning for a hiking trip.  He won't be home until Friday. Plus work is extremely busy and requires some extra time.

I am having a huge challenge in finding the time in my schedule to do any training, much less do the training that is on my plan.  I can't make my Spin90 or swimming classes at all this week.

So what now?  Do I just take a week off?  Do I fit in whatever I can and not worry about the rest?  Whatever I decide, I'm sure that I will feel badly about it.  But the reality of life is that sometimes it gets in the way of training.

I suppose the most important thing is to come out of this week without too much guilt.  Because in the grand scheme of training, one missed week is not the end of the road.  It's just a speed bump.  So I'm going to do what I can and just get through the week.  Next week is another week...

Storm Chasers

I went to Spin90 class tonight despite a weather forecast showing a chance of severe thunderstorms.  As I pulled into the parking lot, John and Robb were comparing radar reports.  I gathered that the storm was far enough away to satisfy them that we could get class in.

As the group surrounded John, he explained the route for the day.  Everything was about being close to the cars in case the storm came in quicker than we expected.  We started with a warm-up ride up and down Race Rd.  Then we did the Hanover Rd loop...which starts with a climb.  It's not an unusually hard climb, but right now I'm not in climbing shape...so I was pretty nervous.

On the warm up I focused on spinning my legs and really getting the blood flowing.  As we made the turn to start the loop, Robb and one of the students (Beth) were right with me.  Robb talked us through the gear shifts and reminded us to breathe.  As we hit the steep incline at the top, I pulled away from Beth.  My legs were screaming.  Robb kept pushing me to keep on my cadence.  I crested the hill and shifted into a harder gear.  Robb yelled towards me to do an active recovery, then he dropped back to get Beth. 

I finally made it to the circle where the fast riders were circling and waiting for the slower riders.  I was about in the middle of the group.  I had to do a few circles waiting for the riders behind me.  Robb and Beth both told me that Robb had made me a target and challenged Beth to go get me.  I laughed and said I was just trying to survive at that point!

We rode down Hanover Rd to the end of Race Rd.  John thought we could get in 2 time trials before the storm came.  So in typical time trial fashion, he sent off the slower riders.  He kept forgetting me.  He didn't send me until right before the really fast group!  As I started, Robb said "Karen's with the strong riders!"  I yelled back "that was a mistake!" 

But in my mind, I convinced myself that I was going to show John that it wasn't a mistake.  I passed the first rider in about 30 seconds.  I set my sights on the next one.  I couldn't tell you about my speed or cadence.  I didn't look at my computer once.  I just looked at the back of the rider in front of me.  John, Robb and one other guy flew by me in a pace line about halfway down the road.  It didn't phase me...I kept focused on the rider in front of me.  By the end of the road, I had passed everyone except 2 riders!  I was pretty impressed with myself.

The way back down Race Rd was supposed to be a recovery ride.  But Robb pulled up next to me and I ended up pushing it a bit to keep up with him while we chatted.  I really didn't think I had another time trial in my legs.  I was pretty spent.  But I knew that as soon as we started, I would get competitive again.

Sure enough, we took off and I was chasing down the rider in front of me again.  Even though I had very little left in my legs, I was going on pure determination.  I wasn't going to look bad after that first time trial.

As we pulled into to parking lot, we heard a clap of thunder in the distance.  Just in time!  What a good workout...physically and mentally!  And the rain held off for us! 

Diamond in the Rough Race Report

I have been remiss in not posting for so long.  So I have a lot of thoughts and updates that will have to be discussed in some posts.  But to keep this post as short as possible, I will only focus on my race report.

This race took place in Perryville, which is over an hour away from my house without traffic. Since I wanted to get there before 6:30 on the morning of the race, we would have had to get the little one up at 4 am. Ugh! So Friday night we decided to spend the night in a hotel not too far from the race site. I didn't sleep well at all but at least we didn't have far to go in the morning.

I was a nervous wreck.  I was almost as nervous as I was for my first triathlon.  As we drove into the park where it was being held, I felt almost nauseous. 

We parked and I grabbed my transition bag and bike and headed off to get my registration packet.  The line wasn't too long and the volunteers were super helpful.  I had forgotten my race belt and was able to buy one for $10.  I actually like it better than my other one!

After picking up my packet and timing chip, I went over to body marking. They were using the body tattoos instead of the normal sharpie marking that I'm used to.  The only other time I had the tattoos was the half Ironman and I remember how hard it was to get them off!  Oh well, I'll deal with that later.  Off to transition to set up my area.

I ran into my friend Steve who was doing his first triathlon.  He was most worried about the swim and I tried to assure him that it's over before you know it and he would be great on the bike and run.

One of the things I love the most about doing these races is the camaraderie that is created with the other competitors.  In transition, I chatted with the ladies racking their bikes around me.  When I realized that I had forgotten my sunscreen, I had 2 bottles of sunscreen offered to me immediately.  I love how supportive everyone is of each other.

Before long it was time to walk towards the swim start.  I found 2 of the ladies who I had met in transition and talked with them as we waited for our turn to get in the water.  In the picture below, I'm in the blue tri-suit...kind of hard to pick me out in the sea of pink caps!

The water temperature was 81 so no wetsuits were allowed.  That actually works in my favor since it takes me so long to get out of the wetsuit.  As we got into the water, I did a few breathing bobs.  I also swam around a little bit to warm up.  For the first time ever, I headed towards the front of the group.  I've been making really good progress with my swimming and I didn't want to be fighting through traffic. 

As we started the swim, I wanted to get into a good rhythm right away.  I started strong and noticed that I was keeping pace with the women around me.  (Good sign I thought since I started so close to the front)  I was sighting well and stayed on course better than normal.  Because it was only a 1/4 mile swim, it was over super fast.  I got out of the water and had to run down the dock, up the steps and quite a way to get to transition. 

 

I tried to be as fast as possible, but my transitions are always slow...and in a sprint triathlon, every second counts! 

I ran out of transition with my bike and noticed one of the other ladies mounting her bike too soon.  I pointed to the mount line and said wait until you cross that line!  She thanked me twice.  We passed the mount line and I got into a good cadence right away.  Before we left the grounds of the park (about 2 miles), I passed Steve.  He said the swim took a lot out of him.  I encouraged him that he was doing great.

The bike course was hillier than I had expected.  Hills work in my favor when I'm in good cycling shape...which I'm not right now.  I need some more work on that, but overall I was pretty happy with my ride.  It was a pretty course, especially inside the park. 

Towards the end of the ride, I was passed by someone in my age group.  I thought that there was still a chance for me to place in my age group, although that wasn't really the goal for the day.
Transition 2 went well, although I still took longer than most people would take.  I tried to remember what Coach Sandra had told me, which was to go into the run with confidence.  Run the first part relaxed and race the second part.  I knew about 1/4 mile into the run that I was just going to run the whole part relaxed...there wouldn't be much racing. 

Steve caught me about 1/2 mile into the run.  (His strength is definitely the run.)  We took a few steps together and chatted about the hilly bike course.  Then he went off on his way.  I focused on the back of the woman in front of me.  I kept pace with her pretty well.  Unfortunately the run course was on a trail for the most part.  In several sections it was a rocky path.  Because of my klutziness, I was really worried about running on the rocks.  I took my time going over the rocks and lost track of the woman I was following.

The turn-around point seemed very far away.  I wasn't worried about my pace...but I knew it wasn't fast.  I loved that it was an out and back run because I saw several of the ladies I had met before the race.  I cheered for all of them as we passed each other.  About a mile from the finish, I was passed by another woman in my age group.  She was trucking...there was no way I could keep up with her and I knew that I had no shot of placing.  Note to self:  work on the run!

As I came into the finishing chute, I heard the announcer say my name.  I crossed the finish line with a huge smile on my face. 

This race reminded me of why I love this sport so much.  The people, the atmosphere, the feeling of accomplishment...I love it all.  It was so well run and well organized.  The volunteers were really great and I made it a point to thank as many of them as possible as I went by.  The venue was beautiful and the course was fun.  I would recommend this race to anyone.

I checked the results and thought I was 4th in my age group.  Later when I pulled it up on the computer, I saw that I was actually 5th.  Honestly, for my first race back after surgery with such sporadic training, I'm just happy I was relatively competitive!