Colin and I had a lot of fun riding our first hundred mile bike ride on this hot August day! It was actually 105 miles by the end and it was great Ironman training for me and Highlander training for Colin. (He is signed up to bike the Highlander on September 12 which is 100 miles of really tough hills in Bristol, NY. One climb is a 23 percent grade!) Our friend Dave came with us on this fun ride and he is a veteran cyclist having completed 40 to 50 hundred mile rides already!
The group ride started in Buffalo, NY and cruised over to Canada for a lovely spin past Niagara Falls and through Canadian countryside. We all had to stop and show our passports to cross the border two times. My favorite part was the Canadian side, wish the whole thing could have been in Canada! Terrain for all the miles was mostly flat so it truly was a laid-back, easy ride, our average pace was just right at 16.0 miles an hour for the entire 105 miles. We did have one HUGE hill to climb, it was so long! And it was incredibly hot! Plus it was right around 60-65 miles so we were well into the ride at that point. But we all just granny-geared it and climbed to the top! Not bad, just one tough hill for the entire ride. :) The last 15 miles or so were on a bike path which we all objected to greatly due to pedestrians and major cracks in the asphalt. That part turned out to be quite humorous. Every time I thought we were getting off the bike path and onto the road, an orange arrow would point us BACK to the path AGAIN! Seriously, at the time, I was going crazy! I'd get this huge wave of happiness to be off of it and then there we were again. I had to just laugh at it or I would SCREAM! All in all it was a great course and it was fun to push the limits on the bike for such a distance.
The aid stations were great! There were four and we actually decided to skip the last one because we were so close to the finish-we just wanted to get to the end! I had perpetuem in my bottle on my bike which is basically liquid nutrition with calories, carbs, protein and even a little fat. It's what I plan to use in the Ironman and I've been training with it on long bike rides. It keeps everything leveled out so you never really hit a big energy low on those long bike miles. So even though the aid stations had sandwiches, drinks, fruit, cheese, pretzels and more, I mostly relied on my perpetuem. I had some gatorade and re-filled my water bottles and snacked on some grapes and pretzels, but not many. (Didn't want to get an upset stomach...)
At the end of the ride there was great post-ride food! And we took great advantage of it after the long, hot day on our bikes. Temps climbed to about 90 and we were in lots of full sun all day. Completing the miles was a huge confidence booster for the Ironman, I'm so glad to have ridden it. And Colin and Dave were great riding partners, we made quite the trio and really had fun out there!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Musselman Half Iron Tri: July 19, 2009
Race Site: Seneca Lake in Geneva, New York
My friend Kim and I are the two smiling faces on the left waving at the camera. Look at the serious faces of all the other women!! :)
Our wave start group heading out to the lake to begin the swim.
...and we are swimming, 1.2 miles to go!
Me running up to transition after the swim, hard to get a good shot of this, but there is my face, right shoulder, arm and hand. Whew! Made it through the swim in 37:57 and only got kicked in the head once which didn't hurt at all. I also grabbed somebody's foot for a second and swam slightly off course....All part of the triathlon swim! Lake was calm, warm and perfect! Had to swim a small portion in the canal to the boat ramp at the end which was stinky (literally!) and felt long mentally. :)
Colin drove out on the bike course and got a quick picture just after I made a right turn, about halfway through the 56.1 mile ride.
On the home stretch back to transition, an exhilerating and FUN ride on the bike course. Lots of rolling hills, very fast course overall. Had a section at the end in the last 5 miles where I passed a bunch of people without trying and was rolling steady between 20-24 mph. Overall pace for the entire ride was 17.7 in 3:12 and felt great. 
...and one final bike shot, almost to Transition 2 to switch to "Running Mode!" I was so happy to get out of the bike saddle! :)
Mile Number one of the 13.1 mile run. My whole body felt like the end of a marathon at this point. Amazingly, everything warms up and feels normal in about 2 miles and the run is pretty decent. I never run as fast in triathlon as in just a running race but my goal is to get to the finish line. 
The woman in purple was a great athlete! Just before this picture was taken a spectator yelled "Only 13 more miles to go!" which is the LAST thing we want to hear on the race course at the beginning of a painful run. I said, "Oh did you hear that??" and the woman in purple sarcastically said "Thank you very much," then added something else not too nice which made me laugh and she sped off for the rest of her faster than me 13.1 miles. :) If you look closely, I'm barely visible in turquoise in the back left of this picture.
This is the last mile of the run and it was a long one! The girl behind me had started the run at the same time as myself. I ended up running the first 6.5 miles with a friend from Rochester, Melissa, who was doing this race as her first triathlon. We trained some together. The girl in this picture behind me also ran with us. We just chatted it up and joked around helping each other through the miles. Then we spread out and separated and suddenly there was the girl again behind me. She was great! She said "Come on, we started this race together and let's finish it together!" And we both picked up the pace and ran to the finish line, it was a great moment! One of the things I love about triathlons is the camaraderie among the athletes even though we've never met each other before. Everyone is out there together pulling for all the people around them. Total run time was 2:05.
Here I am back at home with my bike gear medal. Official Race Time 6:02:16
Final Thoughts...
This tri marked several things worth sharing. It fell on the anniversary of my first wedding 12 years ago and it was my second half-iron tri in 7 years. I completed the first one 7 years earlier just before losing my first husband who also completed the same race. It was the last thing God enabled him to accomplish in this life. And there is so much more than that in the person he was, committed to memory, including much happiness and many good times. I wore his helmut along the bike course, which just happens to be my helmut now due to convenience. :) Throughout the 6 hour race, I reflected some on my life, that first triathlon race, and enjoyed the fabulous day and moments of the race. Emotions tend to be close to the surface in an endurance activity for me when I'm pushing physical limits. So naturally, the weight of this race day was present for all of the above reasons. And ESPECIALLY when I thought of Colin taking pictures along the course, and waiting for me at the finish of the race. He is truly a gift and I have much to be thankful for in the gifts God has given me in this life. The best part of the race was the hug I got from Colin after crossing the finish line, despite being sweaty and covered with salt.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Keuka Sprint Tri: June 7, 2009
Kim and I waiting for our wave start time in the lake...The first tri of the season was in Keuka, NY with my friend and training partner, Kim, and my Mom as a spectator. It was such a fun triathlon-we had perfect weather and a blast in all three events! As always, there was plenty of pre-race anxiety which completely melted away as soon as we started swimming. The lake's 61 degree temp was nothing to us after training in 59 degree lake water just a few days earlier. We weren't even cold! A wetsuit goes a long way, what can I say? The bike part was a bit of a rough ride but we made it with good speed and no flat tires so all was well. The run was faster then we anticipated running, it's crazy how your body kicks into gear and picks up the pace. The perception is always that I am running much slower then my actual pace. Plus another guy in the race came along beside me and started pushing me to keep my pace of in the middle of the run and really helped me keep going. So, it was a great first tri of the summer. Both Kim and I wished we had done the olympic distance that day but we were worried about the lake being too cold. Ha! Next year....we'll sign up for the longer distance.
Mom and I after the race. We had a fabulous time at Women of Faith in Rochester for two days before the race.
Just arriving, getting ready to set up our tri gear in transition.
Tansition Area...
Mom trying to get a picture of the numbers on my legs...
My Sprint Times: Swim: 16:46 (half mile)
T1: 4:09 (uggh!!!!!!)
Bike: 13.6 miles in 44:17 with an average pace of 18.3 mph
T2: 1:42 (a little better...)
Run: 3.1 miles in 24:24 with average mile pace of 7:46 (Mile 1- 7:46, Mile 2-7:43, Mile 3-7:39)
Overall Finishing Time: 1:31:24
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Pittsburgh Marathon Crew
Here is pic of the great friends that all went to Pittsburgh together for the big race May 3. (Left to Right: Mark, Me, Sandy, Steve, Kim, Kathy, Wendy)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Pittsburgh Marathon May 3, 2009
THE CITY
After training through the cold, dark, snowy winter, spring started to peek through and I made it to the finish line of my 15th marathon on May 3 in the fabulous city of Pittsburgh. Now this was a marathon, very rolling and taking us through all parts of the city. We ran across the bridges of the city with gorgeous views of tall buildings in the skyline, water, and green trees and landscape. The weather was perfect, low 50's and completely overcast. The people of Pittsburgh came out in force on the sidelines and volunteering at aid stations to cheer the runners on. All of this made for a memorable and outstanding race that I would love to run again and again.
THE FRIENDS
A whole group of us got the bulk of the toughest training in together. This consisted of Saturday long runs in snow, below 0 temps, and sometimes nice, weather. We also hit our favorite Cobbs Hill for hill repeats every Tuesday night. Those Tuesday night hill runs turned into distance runs of 11 to 14 miles with hill repeats sandwiched in the middle starting at 6 PM every week. Yes, we ran most of it in the dark! Everyone was excited for our final day to be in Pittsburgh and run our goal race. There were 9 of us running the marathon and two running the half marathon. With spouses and a couple kids we had 22 for dinner reservations the night before in a fabulous Italian restaurant in Pittsburgh. It was so much fun to hang out with the crowd all weekend and wait for each other at the finish line to celebrate our success. Everyone had great races and three people set PR's.
THE TIME GOAL
I needed to run an 8:35 pace to meet my finishing goal and was just shy of hitting the mark. I crossed the line in 3:48, missing my goal of a 3:45 Boston qualifying time by 3 minutes! But still, it was my best marathon of my past 5, many of which I ran with injury, so I finally feel like I am back within reach of running those 3:40 and 3:30 something marathons....Needless to say, I'm happy with this race and finishing time.
THE RACE
Standing at the start I realized I had to pee! Great, no porta potties in sight! So I had to wait for the race to start and I hit the first porta that I saw at about a half mile. I still managed to run an 8:37 first mile with the RR stop! Oh well, what can you do? At least I didn't have to stand in line for it. I started settling into a pace that was between 8:20 and 8:30's which was perfect. The course turned out to be very rolling with hills and I thought it would be flat with one huge hill at mile 12. Nope, I'd call this a gently rolling hilly race. It was great though, gave a nice change for your legs and didn't feel monotonous, still, I kept waiting for the "one big uphill."
THE MENTAL TRAP
The first 10-13 miles of the marathon is mentally grueling for me. I was trying to settle into a pace and in my head I was having turmoil over the whole thing. "Why do I do this again? What if I can't hold this pace? Am I going to meet my goal? Is anything going to start hurting? There's my plantar fasciitus steady in the right foot, what if it becomes excruciating?" And the mental anguish continued! I ran a couple of slower miles but knew I had time in the bank with some faster previous miles and my 3:45 goal was still within reach. Miraculously, later about halfway through the race the pain in my right foot completely disappeared and it wasn't even sore the next morning. This never happens and I've been dealing with plantar fasciitus for a year and a half, maybe it's gone!
THE HILL
Every hill I hit I kept thinking, "Is this the hill? The half marathoners turned off just after a nice uphill, and I thought "That can't be the hill." Well, there was no question when we finally hit the hill around mile 12, and it was fine. It was close to a mile long and decently steep but completely manageable. And it was a relief to finally run it! Whew!!! Now to continue on the rolling hills, ha!
THE SLUMP
The thing about a marathon is it's never the same race, no matter how many times you've run the distance. I'm painfully aware of the fact that anything can happen, paces can drop off, injuries can flare up. So I feel like I was running the first chunk of the race with those worries hanging over my head. Then from around miles 13-18 I hit this mental slump and slowed down, off of my goal pace, and there was nothing I could do to speed it up. Then a bright spot! The 3:50 pace group caught up to me and I heard them chatting. I asked them a question or two and they said, "Latch on to us and we'll get you through." I thought to myself, I'll try but I'm probably gonna' end up dropping back and not be able to keep up. At that point, I thought I would continue to slow down...
THE SECOND WIND
I was wrong! This group was incredible! They asked me my name, where I was from, if it was my first marathon and told me their names and stories. Suddenly, we were on a great downhill, it was mile 20, I had more energy then I had previously. Talk about a mental boost! I quit looking at mile markers, I quit looking at my split times. Seriously, I didn't look at a single split time from there until after I crossed the finish line. I was simply running and talking to my new friends. The pace leader was Pacer Rick and he easily chatted us all up, telling us what was next on the course and mentally prepping everyone for it. At water stops we would get water and they all looked around for each other to make sure the gang was all there. I paced off with a man in his late 40's maybe early 50's (I'm guessing...) and his name was Dan. He lived in Pittsburgh and people knew him on the course. It came out that he was a doctor, Doctor Pickle, to be exact. Great guy! We had a great chat and near the end of the marathon, Pacer Rick said "okay I'll cut any of you loose now if you've got energy and want to pick up the pace, go for it. " Surprisingly, Dan and I picked it up and brought it to the finish. He waited for me to make sure I would make it, he said "I'm not leaving you now." In the last two miles I looked at my watch and told him I was missing my BQ by a minute or two. He said "you want to lean into it? I'll help you." First I said no because I knew I wouldn't make it anyway. Then I thought well I might as well know I gave it everything I've got and we took off with a harder pace. We crossed the finish line and I high fived Dan and he gave me a hug! Our last two miles were each 8:15's, go figure! I'm happy we finished strong and have hope that a 3:45 or less is in my future.
THE END
This race is yet another great memory. I'm so thankful to be able to run and I love marathons. God is my strength and so faithful and so good to give me the joy of a simple pleasure like running. Why do I do it? The challenge, the addicition of it all, the training, the friends, the feeling of crossing the finish line after 26.2 miles. Until next time...
After training through the cold, dark, snowy winter, spring started to peek through and I made it to the finish line of my 15th marathon on May 3 in the fabulous city of Pittsburgh. Now this was a marathon, very rolling and taking us through all parts of the city. We ran across the bridges of the city with gorgeous views of tall buildings in the skyline, water, and green trees and landscape. The weather was perfect, low 50's and completely overcast. The people of Pittsburgh came out in force on the sidelines and volunteering at aid stations to cheer the runners on. All of this made for a memorable and outstanding race that I would love to run again and again.
THE FRIENDS
A whole group of us got the bulk of the toughest training in together. This consisted of Saturday long runs in snow, below 0 temps, and sometimes nice, weather. We also hit our favorite Cobbs Hill for hill repeats every Tuesday night. Those Tuesday night hill runs turned into distance runs of 11 to 14 miles with hill repeats sandwiched in the middle starting at 6 PM every week. Yes, we ran most of it in the dark! Everyone was excited for our final day to be in Pittsburgh and run our goal race. There were 9 of us running the marathon and two running the half marathon. With spouses and a couple kids we had 22 for dinner reservations the night before in a fabulous Italian restaurant in Pittsburgh. It was so much fun to hang out with the crowd all weekend and wait for each other at the finish line to celebrate our success. Everyone had great races and three people set PR's.
THE TIME GOAL
I needed to run an 8:35 pace to meet my finishing goal and was just shy of hitting the mark. I crossed the line in 3:48, missing my goal of a 3:45 Boston qualifying time by 3 minutes! But still, it was my best marathon of my past 5, many of which I ran with injury, so I finally feel like I am back within reach of running those 3:40 and 3:30 something marathons....Needless to say, I'm happy with this race and finishing time.
THE RACE
Standing at the start I realized I had to pee! Great, no porta potties in sight! So I had to wait for the race to start and I hit the first porta that I saw at about a half mile. I still managed to run an 8:37 first mile with the RR stop! Oh well, what can you do? At least I didn't have to stand in line for it. I started settling into a pace that was between 8:20 and 8:30's which was perfect. The course turned out to be very rolling with hills and I thought it would be flat with one huge hill at mile 12. Nope, I'd call this a gently rolling hilly race. It was great though, gave a nice change for your legs and didn't feel monotonous, still, I kept waiting for the "one big uphill."
THE MENTAL TRAP
The first 10-13 miles of the marathon is mentally grueling for me. I was trying to settle into a pace and in my head I was having turmoil over the whole thing. "Why do I do this again? What if I can't hold this pace? Am I going to meet my goal? Is anything going to start hurting? There's my plantar fasciitus steady in the right foot, what if it becomes excruciating?" And the mental anguish continued! I ran a couple of slower miles but knew I had time in the bank with some faster previous miles and my 3:45 goal was still within reach. Miraculously, later about halfway through the race the pain in my right foot completely disappeared and it wasn't even sore the next morning. This never happens and I've been dealing with plantar fasciitus for a year and a half, maybe it's gone!
THE HILL
Every hill I hit I kept thinking, "Is this the hill? The half marathoners turned off just after a nice uphill, and I thought "That can't be the hill." Well, there was no question when we finally hit the hill around mile 12, and it was fine. It was close to a mile long and decently steep but completely manageable. And it was a relief to finally run it! Whew!!! Now to continue on the rolling hills, ha!
THE SLUMP
The thing about a marathon is it's never the same race, no matter how many times you've run the distance. I'm painfully aware of the fact that anything can happen, paces can drop off, injuries can flare up. So I feel like I was running the first chunk of the race with those worries hanging over my head. Then from around miles 13-18 I hit this mental slump and slowed down, off of my goal pace, and there was nothing I could do to speed it up. Then a bright spot! The 3:50 pace group caught up to me and I heard them chatting. I asked them a question or two and they said, "Latch on to us and we'll get you through." I thought to myself, I'll try but I'm probably gonna' end up dropping back and not be able to keep up. At that point, I thought I would continue to slow down...
THE SECOND WIND
I was wrong! This group was incredible! They asked me my name, where I was from, if it was my first marathon and told me their names and stories. Suddenly, we were on a great downhill, it was mile 20, I had more energy then I had previously. Talk about a mental boost! I quit looking at mile markers, I quit looking at my split times. Seriously, I didn't look at a single split time from there until after I crossed the finish line. I was simply running and talking to my new friends. The pace leader was Pacer Rick and he easily chatted us all up, telling us what was next on the course and mentally prepping everyone for it. At water stops we would get water and they all looked around for each other to make sure the gang was all there. I paced off with a man in his late 40's maybe early 50's (I'm guessing...) and his name was Dan. He lived in Pittsburgh and people knew him on the course. It came out that he was a doctor, Doctor Pickle, to be exact. Great guy! We had a great chat and near the end of the marathon, Pacer Rick said "okay I'll cut any of you loose now if you've got energy and want to pick up the pace, go for it. " Surprisingly, Dan and I picked it up and brought it to the finish. He waited for me to make sure I would make it, he said "I'm not leaving you now." In the last two miles I looked at my watch and told him I was missing my BQ by a minute or two. He said "you want to lean into it? I'll help you." First I said no because I knew I wouldn't make it anyway. Then I thought well I might as well know I gave it everything I've got and we took off with a harder pace. We crossed the finish line and I high fived Dan and he gave me a hug! Our last two miles were each 8:15's, go figure! I'm happy we finished strong and have hope that a 3:45 or less is in my future.
THE END
This race is yet another great memory. I'm so thankful to be able to run and I love marathons. God is my strength and so faithful and so good to give me the joy of a simple pleasure like running. Why do I do it? The challenge, the addicition of it all, the training, the friends, the feeling of crossing the finish line after 26.2 miles. Until next time...
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Crunch Crunch Crunch Crunch...
"Crunch Crunch Crunch Crunch" was the sound that filled my ears throughout our 14 mile training run in below zero temps this morning. I have often found a sort of settling comfort in the sounds of all of our feet running. There's just something about everyone's shoes pounding the pavement together that makes everything okay. Never mind if it's an ungodly dark hour like 5:30 AM, or in the middle of a seemingly endless 20 miler, that sound reminds you that you're out there with your friends, and for some reason it's FUN. Today the sound was not shoes rhythmically hitting the asphalt, but rather shoes crunching across the packed snowy and icy streets of Rochester.
Yes, today we had several conversations questioning our sanity and level of craziness, deciding ultimately that we were okay since we were all in it together. Who cares if we saw a couple of people in their cars laughing at us? Or if the cashier at the coffee shop shook her head in disbelief when we walked in to use the restroom? There's a marathon in a few months and you can't just skip a long run. Nope, today's run was not for the faint at heart. And we survived.
I wore two pairs of pants, wool socks, trail shoes, four layers on top plus a jacket, a balaclava, a hat, two pairs of gloves... I should have opted for mittens since my hands were balled into tight fists gripping handwarmers for the entire run. My water bottle was frozen solid by the end of the distance. My vanilla GU was like thick ice cream, and no, it didn't taste good.
Despite the conditions, it was actually fun to be out there with a group of people. Somehow we filled the miles with a fair amount of laughing, telling stories, and talking about random bits of nothing. We reminded each other that conditions could have been worse had the wind been blowing. But even the locals who have lived here much of their lives said today was one of their coldest runs ever, so what an accomplishment for all of us! What would I do without that favorite sound of feet hitting the roads?
Saturday, January 3, 2009
One Sprint Tri and Two Marathons...
And where did the fall of 2008 go anyway???? Sorry for not posting in five long months. Life happened with busy schedules, my new addiction to facebook, and sheer laziness in posting here. I did manage a brief summary of the end of 2008.
Sodus Sprint Tri - August
This is Kim and I after finishing the tri--she is my bike training partner, we have lots of fun training together!
Went out for a fun little sprint tri that I thought would be easy and it was the exact opposite! I still had fun and loved being out there, after surviving the ocean-like lake swim in a very rocky and rough Lake Ontario! Seriously, it was such rough waters that me and my rented wetsuit contemplated swimming back to the shore and calling it a day after only a few short minutes of being tossed and thrown around by some extremely choppy water. But alas, I sucked it up and decided to get around all those big orange bouyies and make it to the end. Next came an unexpectedly hilly bike ride, suddenly 13 miles became much more difficult then originally anticipated! Finally the run, I somehow ran a decent average in the hot temps of the day and made it to the end. The most memorable part of this tri was meeting a girl who happened to have the same exact tri attire on as me! Quickly we realized we also had similar looks and have ever since referred to each other as "TWIN!" We snapped several pictures and still laugh about that day. She is also a vocal music teacher like me, go figure! Colin and I got to ring in the new year at her house and had a great time meeting new friends and enjoying her husband's fabulous cooking!!!
A pic of my TWIN Tiff--we had a blast laughing about our similarities!!
Rochester Marathon - September
April, myself, Karen and Dave
HOT! Can I say it was incredibly hot and humid? It was sheer torture! Water stops were only every couple of miles and needed to be every mile in that heat! AND the stops ran out of gatorade by the end, okay that's an exaggeration... But at MILE 22 they really did run out of gatorade!!!!! And what the other stops tried to pass off as gatorade was so watered down and weak it tasted like water to me! No I won't be running the full in Rochester next year, I will however run the half marathon! The best thing about the race-besides crossing the finish line and ending my misery-were my three awesome friends who flew up from Little Rock to run the Rochester Half Marathon! We had the best time that weekend-lots of laughter and fun memories! Karen, April and Dave are amazing runners and friends. I truly miss our Tuesday-Thursday 5:30 AM runs when I lived in Little Rock. Of course they still are there every week to run the long standing and wonderful training course! Anyway, this was my 13th marathon and my slowest in the last 10 that I have run due to the excruciating temps!
Karen, Dave and April after finishing their awesome races--Karen even won her age group!!
Memphis Marathon - December
Me, Raquel and Bailey the morning before the big race...Raquel ran an awesome half and Bailey PR'd!!!
My fourth time to run this full marathon and I've also run the half a couple times. I love this race! It benefits St. Jude's Children's Hospital and is incredibly emotional for me every time I run it. I have both PR'd on the course and fallen on my face, but I've always finished, and each time with a renewed perspective about what in life is truly important. Seeing those beautiful children's faces and recognizing the battle they are fighting for life suddenly puts my mile pace or finishing time in a pale light. My run itself was not a complete disaster, but tough mentally and physically. I stayed the course and crossed the finish line in 4:06, better then my Rochester race, not outstanding... I got to see lots of incredible friends at the race! Shared a hotel room with my tried and true marathon training partner Raquel, and her Mom, and a new friend, Bailey. Saturday night after the race I spent the night in Little Rock at April's house and saw MANY special friends at a party she and Craig hosted that night. It was a wonderful weekend and I'm so blessed to have been able to go and run another marathon and see my friends.
Raquel and her Mom
Next....
So what's next??? Funny you should wonder.... So far on my wish list is the LR half marathon in March but I don't know if I can make the air fare for it. In May I plan to run the Pittsburgh Marathon with a group from Rochester. And I have a long list of tri's and bike rides for the summer in preparation for my next big endeavor, Ironman Florida in November 2009. Stay tuned for more details. And I'll try not to wait five months before the next post, but I make no promises!
Sodus Sprint Tri - August
This is Kim and I after finishing the tri--she is my bike training partner, we have lots of fun training together!
Went out for a fun little sprint tri that I thought would be easy and it was the exact opposite! I still had fun and loved being out there, after surviving the ocean-like lake swim in a very rocky and rough Lake Ontario! Seriously, it was such rough waters that me and my rented wetsuit contemplated swimming back to the shore and calling it a day after only a few short minutes of being tossed and thrown around by some extremely choppy water. But alas, I sucked it up and decided to get around all those big orange bouyies and make it to the end. Next came an unexpectedly hilly bike ride, suddenly 13 miles became much more difficult then originally anticipated! Finally the run, I somehow ran a decent average in the hot temps of the day and made it to the end. The most memorable part of this tri was meeting a girl who happened to have the same exact tri attire on as me! Quickly we realized we also had similar looks and have ever since referred to each other as "TWIN!" We snapped several pictures and still laugh about that day. She is also a vocal music teacher like me, go figure! Colin and I got to ring in the new year at her house and had a great time meeting new friends and enjoying her husband's fabulous cooking!!!
A pic of my TWIN Tiff--we had a blast laughing about our similarities!!
Rochester Marathon - September
April, myself, Karen and Dave
HOT! Can I say it was incredibly hot and humid? It was sheer torture! Water stops were only every couple of miles and needed to be every mile in that heat! AND the stops ran out of gatorade by the end, okay that's an exaggeration... But at MILE 22 they really did run out of gatorade!!!!! And what the other stops tried to pass off as gatorade was so watered down and weak it tasted like water to me! No I won't be running the full in Rochester next year, I will however run the half marathon! The best thing about the race-besides crossing the finish line and ending my misery-were my three awesome friends who flew up from Little Rock to run the Rochester Half Marathon! We had the best time that weekend-lots of laughter and fun memories! Karen, April and Dave are amazing runners and friends. I truly miss our Tuesday-Thursday 5:30 AM runs when I lived in Little Rock. Of course they still are there every week to run the long standing and wonderful training course! Anyway, this was my 13th marathon and my slowest in the last 10 that I have run due to the excruciating temps!
Karen, Dave and April after finishing their awesome races--Karen even won her age group!!
Memphis Marathon - December
Me, Raquel and Bailey the morning before the big race...Raquel ran an awesome half and Bailey PR'd!!!
My fourth time to run this full marathon and I've also run the half a couple times. I love this race! It benefits St. Jude's Children's Hospital and is incredibly emotional for me every time I run it. I have both PR'd on the course and fallen on my face, but I've always finished, and each time with a renewed perspective about what in life is truly important. Seeing those beautiful children's faces and recognizing the battle they are fighting for life suddenly puts my mile pace or finishing time in a pale light. My run itself was not a complete disaster, but tough mentally and physically. I stayed the course and crossed the finish line in 4:06, better then my Rochester race, not outstanding... I got to see lots of incredible friends at the race! Shared a hotel room with my tried and true marathon training partner Raquel, and her Mom, and a new friend, Bailey. Saturday night after the race I spent the night in Little Rock at April's house and saw MANY special friends at a party she and Craig hosted that night. It was a wonderful weekend and I'm so blessed to have been able to go and run another marathon and see my friends.
Raquel and her Mom
Next....
So what's next??? Funny you should wonder.... So far on my wish list is the LR half marathon in March but I don't know if I can make the air fare for it. In May I plan to run the Pittsburgh Marathon with a group from Rochester. And I have a long list of tri's and bike rides for the summer in preparation for my next big endeavor, Ironman Florida in November 2009. Stay tuned for more details. And I'll try not to wait five months before the next post, but I make no promises!
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