Super Bridget and Her Pro

What a weekend!

Helene has coached 5 of us for 70.3 triathlons.  Four of us are doing Musselman in less than three weeks and Bridget did Syracuse 70.3 yesterday.  Bridget and her husband also volunteered to host a professional athlete for the race week.  Lisa Norden, the 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist in triathlon came to stay with them for a few days.  Lisa is from Sweden and is getting ready train in Boulder and continue her professional race circuit.

The night before the race I snuck over to Bridget's house and chalked her driveway (with her husbands permission) and left poster board signs out (in case it rained) for Bridget and Lisa to see when they left to head to the race start.  Katie and I drove separately and went to different points on the bike course so Bridget would see us more often.  We chalked the course as we drove out, stopping repeatedly to write on the road....

 Initially I went to the "wall" (a steep down hill followed by a really steep uphill).  Riders commented how they went from speeds of 45mph to 5mph in a matter of seconds!  I have ridden the wall and it is challenging.

I was watching for Lisa first since she was one of the favorites for the top female spot and sure enough, she was riding with the guys in one of the lead packs.  NO OTHER WOMEN anywhere near her.

Bridget looked good when she passed me and I waited to cheer my other friends on before cutting across the course and heading to mile 43 and cheering again.  After that I met up with Katie and we parked as close to the park as we could (2 miles) and walked along the run course cheering everyone on as they ran in super hot weather!  Friends, this was a MISERABLE day to race.  High humidity and VERY VERY warm.

We hung out in the CNY Triathlon Club tent near the finish at the loop of the course (it was an out and back, out and back - so they ran up the hill above TWICE).  Then a thunderstorm blew through!  It cooled the temps but was a crazy summer storm for a while and Bridget was still running!  She finished and I am SO INCREDIBLY PROUD of her.

This woman trained for months, kept me laughing and sane through some tough times and overcame some fears as she determined to move forward.  I am so proud to call her my friend and teammate.  SO PROUD.

Lisa too had a great day!

She finished LOOOONG before any of the other women (over 20 minutes) and took home first female finisher!  Her swim time was 26:52, bike time was 2:23:52 and a run time of 1:30:46.  In that heat, she ran a half marathon in 90 minutes!!! that SHOCKS me.  She is very sweet and I enjoyed talking with her at the tent afterwards... she even had me take her picture with a bag of "swedish fish" that were in the tent for volunteers to snack on! Here is her bike, I am sure that bike costs more than you think!

Today I am back to training... swam in the weeds this morning and then biked... this is the last week of distance and then we are tapering for our race.... praying it is not as humid and hot and that it doesnt thunder/lightening.  It can totally rain during the run though!

Goggles On!

Three Weeks and Counting....

So today Katie and I finished our week's workouts with a long  brick workout.  We had to ride 50 miles and then transition immediately to a two mile run.  Today is very warm and we headed out about 7:15 and rode north for 25 miles, turned around and then ran our two miles in a nearby neighborhood.  

Here is a picture of me after the workout was completed!  

Recovery?  Chocolate milk and a cereal bar for now.  In a little bit will be taking in something more substantial before I head out to work!  

Tomorrow I cheer my fellow athlete and good friend Bridget and some other friends during their 1/2 Ironman!  

Goggles On!

Intermediate Distance Complete!

Hello my friends...

This is just a quick post to say that training has continued to progress and today KC and I completed our first intermediate triathlon.  We did a 0.9 mile swim in the harbor, then a 25 mile bike and a 6.4 mile run. 

After days of rain, today was beautiful.  I didn't notice the water temp being cold, though others said it was.  And guess what? I didn't panic in the water.  It was my longest open water swim to date (in the pool I have swam 2 miles w/out stopping, but open water is so different).  The last 400 yards were the hardest as we were swimming perpendicular to the waves and they were coming in on my dominant breathing side!  I swallowed some water but refused to stop.  I knew I was one of the last swimmers, but I was determined not to be THE last one out of the water.  I wasn't.

The bike was tough.  Its hilly and I was riding by myself.  I was only passed by one person and for the most part I was out on the roads alone.  My bike gears kept slipping in the big ring in the front (the harder gears).  Annoying as the gears it wouldn't stay in were the ones that I use most often! 

I headed out on the run and had forgotten to take my bike gloves off... I took them off as I ran and stuck them in my back pocket on my tri jersey.  After the first couple miles I settled into my pace and ran steady staying between 11 and 12 min miles.  The run was a little long but I felt good (though tired at the end)!!!!!

Yes, I was the next to last to finish the race.  However, as Coach said we were to focus on everything BUT the swim bike and run.  So, here is my checklist:

1. not panicking in the swim? CHECK
2. not stopping during the swim? CHECK
3. getting out of the wetsuit and having a good T1? CHECK
4. Nutrition? CHECK
5. Garmin transfer from wrist to bike to wrist? CHECK
6. Fluid consumption? CHECK
7. Not stopping for change or yardsales? CHECK CHECK

So, all in all today was a successful day!  I finished in under 4 hours and learned some things along the way.... namely I need to reapply sunscreen after the swim and before the run as I am a little burned right now...

Pictures will be posted soon. 

Goggles On!