21st Century Mom

Today's helpful training hint is this: If your weekly running has averaged 3 - 6 miles per week and you are doing a half marathon on Sunday, do not run 9 hard miles the Monday before. And if you can avoid it, don't do a triathlon event the Saturday prior, either - even if it is a sprint distance.

I ran the SF half Marathon yesterday and it was not pretty. I was fine going out and even tried not to run too fast once I remembered that (okay my first mile was 9:54 but then I slowed WAY down). I did fine all through Golden Gate park, over the various hills and along the paths. I was okay coming out of the park and running through the Haight. My goal was 2:15 and at one point I caught up with the 2:20 pacer but then it seemed like we were going too fast so I fell off. I had a cramp in my side. I kept running. I watched as her pace balloons got further and further away. I walked the water stations. My legs got heavier and heavier and my knees started to hurt. I cursed my decision to wear my Sauconys even though they only had 300 miles on them.

I kept running through the ugly industrial backwaters of San Francisco just waiting and waiting for the Ball Park to show up in the distance. I know that when I see the Ball Park I'm almost done. And there it was! And then we had to veer right - drat! I kept running but now my legs were hurting like I had run a whole marathon, not a half.

I finished. I was in pain. The clock said 2:32 when I crossed but I knew I'd had a 5 minute delay to start (wave 2). Garmin said 2:26:07 but I had left it on auto pause and there had been a porta potty break in there. I was happy to be done but not happy with how I had done or how I felt.

The mind is a powerful thing. After I got home and showered and was about to take a nap I checked the official times. 2:22! Wahoo! That made no sense to me but I was elated. I wondered if the timing system had had a problem and they corrected it (yeah, sure). When I woke up I checked again - was I dreaming? Well no but then again my time no longer said 2:22 which I KNEW was wrong. It now said 2:28.42 which seemed exactly right. So then I was sad. Isn't that absurd? Same race, same me, different number and it impacted how I felt.

Today my legs are so sore - more sore than they have been in ages. My knees are recovering so I'm pretty sure it was the shoes which are now retired. I have a new pair of Asiics to break in. I am delighted that I could go out and run 13.1 miles on nearly no training at all but I don't recommend it. I also don't recommend putting together some crazy, hodge podge season that has you jumping from one kind of event to another.

Next up is an Olympic distance triathlon - on August 12. I MUST work on my bike skills but I MUST NOT burn out my legs in the week before the race. That means I need to recover and train and then taper over the next 13 days and then race on the 14th day. Terrific. Good thing I did so poorly at Wildflower and that I have scheduled SOMA because this one will be a PR but will not be the Oly to end all Olys for me this year.

Sept 19th I have my "A" race which, as I mentioned once before, got much "A"-er but you'll have to wait for the next post to find out what that means.

Splits for my half marathon:

1 9:57
2 10:28
3 11:39
4 11:32
5 13:00
6 10:52
7 10:13
8 10:55
9 11:22
10 10:42
11 11:01
12 11:30
13 11:13
14 1:37

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Kermie - what was that you said??? You are so wrong - so very wrong

For those not in the know - what Kermit said was "It' Not That Easy Being Green"

Not only is it easy - it's push button fun!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Last Monday I needed to do a long run in preparation for my half marathon on Sunday. I didn't want to run at all (as is almost always the case) but I also didn't want to show up Sunday as totally unprepared as I've gotten used to being with these events. So I ran 9 miles. I intended for them to be slow miles but they weren't all that slow.

When I got home I thought it might be good to stand in my not heated swimming pool thinking it would be nice and cold and that it would help my legs recover. Sadly there were 2 things wrong. First of all, it was not cold. It's the end of July and it's been hot and the water was probably 75 degrees. Second of all there were unwelcomed interlopers in the pool.

First I noticed this guy:

I stared at it wondering if I had discovered a rare form of chlorine loving aquatic arachnid. It looked like it was just hanging out in the pool, chillin' Then I noticed that it was not alone - there was another. WTF? Was it Bud Light for Spiders day at my pool? If so the other guy must have had a few too many:

Click to enlarge for a better view:

EW! Having 2 large spiders on my pool floor could only mean that there is a whole population of them nearby - like in my house. That coupled with my son finding a large black widow in his formerly filthy (now clean as a whistle) bedroom a couple weeks ago is just about enough for me to get the place tented.

Only thing is - we can't win against our 6 and 8 legged friends. If you don't believe me just rent The Hellstrom Chronicle and you'll know. Bugs will rule the world some day - mark my word.

I brushed the little creeps down to the filter and went in the house for a recovery drink. It was all I could do. And I'm not just talking about recovery from my run.

On a lighter note - did you see that shot of the dog in the polka-dotted hat along the Tour de France, today? Too adorable. And how about that Casar? If ever anyone deserved to win a leg of the Tour it was him with his poor battered and bloodied hiney - ow! The person who owns the dog that caused that accident should be in jail right about now. But poor Axel Merckx *sniff sniff* Mais, c'est la vie, non?

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Today I read one of the saddest statements I've ever seen with respect to the Tour de France:

"It's almost impossible to be at the front of the pack these days without doping," the Montreal lawyer said.

[ the lawyer being World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick Pound]

Where will it end? And what in the world does this mean (from the same article):

Race director Christian Prudhomme said the case showed that cycling's drug-testing system doesn't work.

"It's an absolute failure of the system," he said. "It is a system which does not defend the biggest race in the world. This is a system which can't last."

What is a failure of the system? Is he really suggesting that we should turn a blind eye toward doping so the show can go on? Doesn't sound like much of a solution to me but perhaps I have the wrong interpretation and he really meant something else.

Hat's off to Moreni for not engaging in a lot of lies and whining. If you get caught cheating please take it like an athlete. Accept the results and step aside.

Shame on him for trying to get away with doping, though. What are these guys thinking? Detection seems inevitable. I guess it all goes back to the sad statement of the day. And what a sad statement it is.

Oh how I long for the days when athletes had as much integrity as they had ambition and where the winners really were winners because they had the raw talent and the passion and the drive. Of course that pretty much pre-dates performance enhancing drugs. Those days are long gone and the last thing we need is the public shrugging their shoulders and saying doping is okay or that the result is more important than the process or that sports is just entertainment so so what? You hear that more with baseball and football but bear with me.

Athletes, like it or not , are role models. Children admire athletes and aspire to grow up to be just like them. Do we want our kids growing up to be brave enough to ingest chemicals that can harm them but that make them preternaturally strong so they can win? I'm pretty sure we don't. And do we want our athletically inclined girls growing up aspiring to be Playboy models? I don't think so.

Sports isn't just sports any more. It is a cash flow engine and that cash comes right out of our pockets. I've never been a pro nor do I play one on TV but I've got to believe that the passion that puts a fire in the belly of an age group athlete is soon altered when you go pro. And for boys in high school looking to become pros in any of the big 3 sports the lures that have nothing to do with a passion for sports are already there putting stars in their eyes - the money, the fancy houses and cars, the babes.

In addition to the money there is the desire to win and the hero worship that goes with that. Athletes are by definition competitive people and if you can out compete the next guy or gal by taking EPO or getting a transfusion or using steroids the temptation to resist that has to come from the proper reward/punishment structure. Getting caught cheating has to hurt not only financially but morally and spiritually as well. That's the part that is missing.

It is up to us to fix this problem because no one who is getting rich off the status quo is going to willingly shoot their cash cow. We need to voice our opinions. We need to demand tougher penalties for doping. We need to protest events by not buying tickets. We have to stop subscribing to magazines that turn a blind eye toward this behavior and that put hero worship ahead of laudable behavior both on and off the course. We have to demand news coverage that holds athletes who engage in criminal activity accountable for their lack of moral fiber .

If getting caught doping made you a giant loser in the public eye then maybe the risk/reward equation would favor rectitude over attitude, sweat over swagger and honesty over hubris. As it is bad behavior gets you good press and cheating costs you a few bucks and a couple of years. People forget and you move on and you are soon back in the game. As long as you win you are a hero.

Do you suppose that's what Christian Prudhomme meant when he said we have a failed system? Do you suppose when he said "defend" he meant "protect"? I certainly hope so.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Today I had a race. I know - I didn't talk about it much but there it was - Tri for Fun! And so I did try for fun and it worked - fun was had. This race had its ups and it had its downs but overall I'm happy with the results and I guess since I've never done this distance before I PR'd. So

After the flat the other day I was nervous, particularly since at about 5:30 PM yesterday I checked my rear tire and it was flat - FLAT! I freaked out OMG! What is wrong with my bike!! I ran down to the bike store and got 2 new tires and 2 new tubes and came home and thought "No No No - you DO NOT switch tires the night before a race". I took the rear tire off, inspected it closely and found no tears or holes so I just replaced the tube. Then I discovered that when I changed my flat on Sunday I neglected to replace the nut that holds the valve tight to the rim. I hoped that was the problem. I pumped up both tires and crossed my fingers.

As always I woke up at 4:30 wondering what the hell I was doing. I mean come on - it's Saturday! Why in the world would I want to get up, put my bike in the car and then go subject myself to a swim. bike, run experience? I mean WHY!? I always feel that way before and event and it always takes getting to the finish to remember.

I had 2 choices to start - I could go out with the 'competitve' people who knew what they were doing or I could go out, 4 waves later with the women 37 and up. I fretted. I just knew - KNEW! that if I went out with the first wave I would still be out there looking for a buoy when the next wave cruised past me. I was wrong. My swim was just fine and I even passed people!! Go me!

Then the bike. Harumph. I need work on the bike. My computer was all screwed up (no doubt due to changing flats) and the speed would go from 8 mph to 15 miph to 11 to 10 to 16 - I had no idea. What I did know was that I got passed by probably every single guy in the 19- 36 age group (not to mention the ones in committed relationships) and at least 1/2 the guys from the 37 and up age group . This made me grumpy and I kind of wanted to pull a Stadler but I did my best to channel that energy into pedaling harder and going I have no idea how much faster.

And then, about 8 miles into an 11 mile ride I heard the sound I was in dread fear of - pssssffffft. Damn! But then it turned out to be a truck on the other side of the road releasing the air brakes - HUZZAH! I was still in the game.

The run was not bad. The weather was a little warm but not killer and I ran the whole thing, no problema. I got passed by a few more guys and then a few of the younger women started passing me and I hated that because I had a 15 minute head start on them - grrr.. But then the most magic thing of all happened - I passed someone! And then I passed someone else. Woo Hoo! Good thing I'm no Stadler.

Coming in on the home stretch there was a younger woman just ahead of me. I thought about kicking it and passing her and then I thought "no - I can't" and then... and then I thought 'HELL YES!" and I kicked it and passed her in the last 50 yards because what I really wanted, and what I got was to come in under the timer at exactly 1.25:00. Go me.

Estimated stats:

400 yd Swim + part of T1 - 8:02 (~2 min/100 yard)
Rest of T1 - ??? maybe 2:30 ?
10.34 mile -Bike - 39:30 (give or take a few seconds, it was supposed to be 11 miles) = 15.77 mph
T2 - 2:42 (really need to work on that)
3.2 mile run - 31:52 (~ 10 min/mile)

This event has no official time and no places - it's for fun. And it was! It did, however raise some doubt in my mind about doing this Olympic distance event on August 12. I really want to focus on my "A" race on Sept 19, particularly since it just got a littler A-er. I'll explain that in another post.

Next up - SF 1/2 Marathon next Sunday.
Then an Oly on 8/12
Then my "A" race.
I have no idea how I can train for these things but I"ll manage something.

This is what you get when you are a bad planner.

*final note - the little magnet on my rear spokes was at an angle, up away from the sensor. I fixed it.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 05:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

What is up with THAT!?? I mean there's working to change your image and there's taking my faith in all that is good and pure and horking all over it with your Hairy Potter wanna be a p0rnstar craziness.

Haaa-rry! Haaa-rry! Haaa-rry!

Could someone please pass that guy a t-shirt?

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Or as pretty as an editor makes you. Check this out - from Jezebel:

Next time you are wondering why you don't look as good as the women on the covers of magazines you will know. It is because no one is airbrushing your image.

[via Feministing]

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

When I get to the edge of the pool for my workout I never test the water - I just jump in. That's kind of how I roll in life, too. If I spend too much time testing and thinking and considering things I can just rationalize my way out of taking action and that's not good. I can't say that being impetuous has never hurt me but by and large it works.

So today I looked up flights to Phoenix and they weren't too expensive and so I held my nose, squeezed my eyes shut and bought a plane ticket to Phoenix on 10/26 and then I went to the SOMA site and registered for the Quarterman. Arizona here I come!

That will make 5 triathlons I'm doing this year. I've also got 3 1/2 marathons, 1 swim across SF Bay and a couple of 5Ks. I'm thinking I need to toss a 10K in there, too. I'm still wondering what happened to my summer of hiking and kayaking and not training. I must have accidentally kicked it under the bed when I got up to un-hydrate during the night sometime last spring.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Today was rest day for the competitors in the Tour de France so I took it as a rest day, too. It wasn't the official rest day of my training plan but my legs were shot so I made it a rest day and that's okay.

Before I discuss my plan, my events and what I've decided or not decided about SOMA I'd like to let you in on a little secret. I have discovered the most comfortable way possible to fall on your bike. This should come as no surprise as I am a master at falling over due to an inability to clip out be it because the bike has stopped suddenly or I just forget. I do it quite a lot so I know of what I speak.

Yesterday I was supposed to go riding with a group of women one of whom is a sub 11 hour Ironman. I was really looking forward to this ride because I was told that this woman was a great rider and would give me lots of tips. Sadly, my legs were shot from going for a 6 mile run on Saturday, I had no speed on the way to the rendez-vous point and I missed them *sniff sniff*. I didn't have her number, either. So I rode by myself. I just rode. On the way back I was finally making some time and I heard that noise you dread to hear - Pop! pppffffffttttttt..... damn. I was on a 4 lane road with a wide bike lane and I headed for the curb, but I was so preoccupied with the reality that I had a flat and I was all alone that I completely forgot to clip out. I fell over - right on to the well cared for grass strip that was about 8 inches above the road. Ahhhhh.... very comfy. I didn't for a second consider how funny that must have looked to the 200 cars whizzing past me. No - it was that nice.

I'm happy to say that I was successful in changing my own flat tire - yeah! Self sufficiency is good. It took me too long so I need to practice but I got it done. I had some trouble getting the wheel back on and I got really confused by the way the chain hung over the frame so I flagged down a woman riding by so I could just look at her bike. Then I felt stupid. I got it worked out though and managed to ride home which was about another 10 miles.

So - about that planning thing.

My friend the Dread Pirate Rackham turned me on to 1/2 IM traning plan which I have been following more or less. The less part has to do with travel and with the odd assortment of events I'm signed up for. It feels good to be on a plan, though. I changed my thoughts about doing a 1/2 IM from testing it out by riding 50 and running 10 to just going on a training plan to see how that worked to getting smart. By getting smart I mean listening to my coach - Coach Bold. Now he did not volunteer for this job nor did he ever agree to it. I just decided he was my coach and so far, so good. It's a low output job as I almost never turn to him for anything but when I do I figure I might as well listen to what he says - awlays, not selectively. He said I should do the SOMA quarterman and who am I to argue? I also figure a 1/2 would be a really dumb move since I am running a 1/2 marathon the Sunday before SOMA. So - if I go, and it is still an "if" due to my decision to go to IM WI, I will be doing the Quarterman. I will be trained for the 1/2, though so it should work out really well, right?

The other reason I'm not doing the Half is because my reasons were all wrong. I'll save that for another post. For now I'll just say that if my reasons are wrong then I will never be able to get through a race by remembering my reasons because either I won't care or I'll decide I can't really do it. Not a good plan and if I'm going to actually buck up and make a plan it needs to be a good plan.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Yep - that's me according to my friend the DPR (fi you haven't checked out her new header do it NOW!) So what's a Rockin' Girl Blogger to do but give you something that sort of rocks out?

I believe the drill is to tag 5 others and I'm afraid if I break the chain I'll get hit by a car or something so I nominate the following Rockin' Girl Bloggers - Jeanne, Nytro, AM, Runner Susan and Katy the Greaty.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Before I get to the meat of this article a couple of things.
1). My official time from my not a PR 5K was 29:49. That's 9 more seconds than I thought but I'll take it.

2). Yesterday morning I woke up in a hotel room very tired and very comfortable. I thought about not going for a run. I thought about how nice that cushy hotel room bed felt. I went through the whole rationalization process about how I'd been drinking wine the evening before and how I MUST be dehydrated and running could ONLY do me harm and blah, blah, blah. I could not stay in that bed. I HAD to get up and run. There was no option. That was a first. I only ran 2.5 miles because the work day was beckoning but I got out there.

3). Today I woke up in my own bed tired from traveling and thought "I could take a day off and I don't really have time to swim and then run so really - I could go back to sleep". I could not. Could.not. That was a second I swam 1850 meters and I will get my run in later.

So, about those Pom Poms

A few days ago I sort of kind of thought it might be fun to go to Madison Wisconsin the weekend of Sept 9 and cheer for all my friends doing something BIG. It was just a thought. By yesterday it was a reality thanks in large part to IronMomJenny who just kicked the whole thing into gear. BOOM! So that's it. I've got plane tickets and a room reservation and travel buddies. And I've got Pom Poms!

I'm very excited to be going because there is such a long list of blogger buds who are competing and another list who are cheering and I intend to see all of you. I'm super exicted about getting to spend some time with IronJenny who I met for about 42 seconds before my wave started at Wildflower.

We bonded, though. Yes we did. As I headed for the water I looked over my shoulder and yelled "I love how we identify and mothers and triathletes" to her and to TriMama. Not sure where that came from but I needed to express my sense of bonding and that's what came out of my mouth. The other woman in that picture, FeLady, was also headed to the water.

Jenny and I will have lots more time to bond as we will be spending quite a few hours in the car together as well as being roomies at the hotel. I have a secret agenda to try to suck up some of her triathlete mojo because the woman is a masheen. She really is. If I could get 1 tenth of 1 percent of what she has going on I'd be a much better athlete. I will be looking to bond more with the rest of you, too.

Moooooooooooooooooooooooooo........................

See you there!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Yesterday was a wining day for me.

It started out with my daughter Pookie and me going to the kickoff training session for the Nike Women's Half Marathon. This event sold out in hours to the people who got the early registration email. I was one of them but didn't register soon enough. Then they had a lottery and I didn't get in that way, either. The only avenue left open was to join the 'Club Run SF' program, a.k.a. "Come Be a Nike P1mp". You have to do a lot of stuff to get a spot but if you do it you pretty much get one. What you have to do includes show up at training runs, bring friends, go to retail outlets and try Nikes on your runs. It's a little obnoxious but not only do you get to run a race that has beautiful SF Firemen handing out Tiffany necklaces as prizes, you get to access special tents with warmth and water and Luna bars and, at the finish line, a lot of very good food.

They had a pre-kickoff 'retail' event a couple of weeks ago where, in exchange for visiting all the stations (see -Nike p1mp!) you could enter a drawing to win a spot in the race. I did that and yesterday I WON! And I'm one of those people who never win - ever. And I won! I'm so happy.

As though that wasn't enough, I got have lunch with the traveling Family Momo. I gave them directions to a Park and Drive lot right off the freeway and then picked them up from their luxury liner RV and off we went to a local diner. As detailed in previous posts by others, the Angelones are just great, great people.

Melisa and I sat and jawed away through lunch (were your ears burning, peeps - we talked about you!) and the kids were just too adorable. They sort of pay lip service to sibling rivalry but they are obviously really close and really like each other as demonstrated in this fine photo. I also spent some time talking to Big J aka 'one of the nicest guys in the world'.

The visit was all too short but it was truly a winner. Momo is every bit as gracious, fun and down to earth in person as she is in cyberland and Big J and the kids are equally great people.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)

When I was a kid we saw a film at school called Hemo the Magnificent. It is an animated film that describes how the circulatory system works by using graphics that were light years ahead of their time. In researching this post I just learned that this movie was made by Frank Capra ("It's a Wonderful Life", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington") and has a lot of other famous film maker involves so it's no wonder it had such an impression on me.*

In the film, the brain is depicted as a control center, telling these little muscle men strategically placed around the heart when to push each chamber and how hard. It demonstrates the 'fright or flight' reaction in a deer by showing the control center issuing urgent orders to "pump faster! pump faster!" The film has shaped my personal internal narrative of what is going on in body ever since.

Today was supposed to be my Half IM test drive where I rode 50 miles and ran 6. Anyone who has ever trained for an endurance event of that distance knows full well you can't go out one day and make a test drive and have any idea whether or not you are prepared to train to go the distance at pace but I was rather enjoying my naiveté on that point so that was the plan. The best laid plans......

I arranged to have a friend meet me at 6 AM because we wanted to beat the heat. As it turned out it cooled way down Friday night so it wasn't an issue but I decided to keep the time. I woke up feeling sort of oogie in the tummy and couldn't eat any breakfast but that was okay because I'm pretty sure I OD'd on what we affectionately refer to around here as 'Easy Peasy Mac and Cheesy' which is Annies Organic shells and cheese with some peas thrown in. When it comes to cooking for myself that's about the level at which I function. But I digress.

As we were riding along, discussing the route I knew that I didn't want to do any really ferocious hills because I wasn't up to it just having raced a 5K a few days before. I didn't happen to mention that little factoid to my friend, though. We decided to take Happy Valley Rd and just do 1 of the Three Bears - no problem. Why I thought you could get to and area at the apex of some long hills without climbing is yet another mystery but I blithely rode along having no idea. It's like Pee Wee Herman stopped by to whisper "Today's word is"Naive" (heretofore referred to as WotD). Turns out we had to climb the second nastiest hill I have ever been on.

After we had been climbing for about a mile I was really getting knackered - my legs were shot. I almost stopped but my friend called out the lie we all love to tell each other when we're riding - "We're almost to the top!" I fell for it, too (refer to WotD). And then, when itwas clear that we were nowhere near the top my brain interceded and decided that I really should stop for a second.

I did my signature move - clip out right, fall left. As I lay there in the road under my bike with my left shoe still in the death grip of my pedal all I could think of was how really, profoundly good it felt to be flat on my back. I wanted to stay there forever but then I decided that if a car ran over me it wouldn't feel so good anymore so I forced my foot out of the clip and stood up. Then I was irritated with myself because I was on a steep incline and either had to ride down as I mounted then turn around ane re-climb the slope that had defeated me or I had to walk the bike up the hill for a bit. I picked door number 2 and really wished I had just stayed in the saddle but oh well.

It got a bit flatter and I got back on and rode the rest of the way up and then WHEEE!!! we were going down. That's when problem number 3 popped up (1 being my tummy, 2 being my beat up, post race legs). I was wearing a nylon jacket that has a lot of fabric in the sleeves and around the back. It is made for runners, not for cyclists. It was windy up there and I was going downhill. The jacket billowed out behind me and the sleeves flapped and slapped so hard that the slappage bit at my arms like a teething puppy. I might as well have had a big old sail mounted to my top bar.

Ultimately we got down that hill and then had to climb Papa Bear the back way and surprisingly enough, that was fine. The rest of the ride was sort of fine except my legs were suffering a level of fatigue I have never felt before. When I got to the bottom of Papa Bear (which required furious pedaling just to go 30 because my sail was in full bloom) and had no more descent to aid my forward progress I was sure I had a flat because it was so hard to propel the bike. I was practically in the granny gear and could barely move. I stopped and felt the tires - they were fine. I was just out of gas.

I kind of liked it. It gave me some idea of how it feels to be in the midst of a high volume training week where you feel totally beat up and like you can't go on anymore. It gave me some idea of what it is really like to train for an Ironman or even a half and I needed that insight so I could transcend the WotD.

I tossed the original plan in favor of being reasonable. I rode home the easiest way I could find back - total ride 22 miles. I took my ancient and somewhat crippled dog for a walk. I was done.

As I sat eating my scrambled eggs after the ride I could hear the little muscle men working on rebuilding my quads.

"Whoa - we have some serious damage here. Come in Control Center - we need an assessment"
"Yep - looks that these fibers aren't up to the load - time to reinforce. Bring in an extra crew"
"More myelin! Double it up!"

So Go Little Dudes - Go! I need you to be working like mad dogs in there because I'm looking forward to test driving my reinforced legs next weekend. When it comes to training it's really true that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

*the other thing I learned is that you can still buy this film! I'm so excited.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Who all is going to Wisconsin on 9/9 either to compete, sherpa, volunteer or just cheer? I know all the rA peeps are going so need to weigh in but who else will be there? Please leave a comment to let me know. Thanks!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

The 16th annual ALCATRAZ SHARKFEST is planned for June 28th, 2008. Registration for this event is now open!.
but don't tell anyone - it sells out fast. Of course that won't impact me - I'm already registered.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Today I ran a local 5K that was well attended by my race club. My goal was to beat my last 5K time of 29:29 although I failed to note a few key differences about these 2 races.

When I lined up I was standing right next to a woman who just did IMCDA, her first IM ever, in the very impressive time of 12:13. I asked her if she was really ready for this and she said it was all just for fun so I said, "hey - you could pace me" and told her my goal. She thought that was a fine idea.

It was hot. Really hot. She kept on me the whole way,though.
"Come on - keep it going"
"Deep breaths"
"We're going downhill now - this is nice"
"Don't you slow down now! Come on!'
"2 more corners, Keep it going"

She kept that up the whole way - she was awesome.

I didn't run out of legs until the last little bit but I felt like I was suffocating almost the whole run. Had she not been there pacing me I would have tossed it and run about a 12 min pace. As it was I just missed my goal by some seconds. I forgot to turn off my Garmin which now reads 29:59 so I'm thinking I did about a 29:40. Sort of disappointing but not really.

I thought about it afterward and my last 5K was run after having done both a marathon and a half marathon and some track work prior to the race. This time, not so much. My running has been abysmal this year. I've only got a total of 150 miles in on the year and zero track work compared to over 400 miles last year and at least a few trips to the track. So all in all it was a great effort and I feel good. I really can't thank my pacer enough, though. Pacers rule!

Happy 4th, everyone!!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Lee Gruenfields has this goofy generic race report creator. He states:

Interestingly, everybody who writes about Ironman thinks he's being original, and spends an awful lot of energy in the process of re-creating the same thing that's been written before. This is wasteful of the kind of talent that could otherwise be spent doing things like writing the same Christmas letter over and over.

Well don't you believe it! We love race reports, each of which is unique and special so keep 'em coming!!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

When I pack to go on a trip I start out thinking about where I'm going, how long the trip is and what I need to bring. I gather the clothes and accessories together and carefully put them in my bag. And then my mind starts thrashing with 'what if's and 'I really like that shirt' and 'I might want to wear those other pants' and before you know it I am just tossing random stuff in the bag and end up carrying enough stuff to keep me in clean clothes for any occasion for months even though it's just a weekend trip.

My events list for the next 6 weeks was apparently constructed using the same haphazard, undirected methodology.

Here is what I am doing in July and August
4th - 5K run
21st - Tri for Fun
29th - 1/2 marathon
8/12 - Olympic distance (Wildflower redemption event).

How nuts is that? I ask you - how in the world do you train properly for a lineup like that? want a PR in each thing and yet, I haven't really been training for any of them. I can't tell you how relieved I am that the Tri for Fun really is - they don't even time it and I've never done it before so PR!

Wednesday I'm just going to run as hard and fast as I can and try to PR over my last 5K of 29:29. So what if I puke at the end? That just leaves more room for 4th of July brownies.

I really need to get my run on for 1/2 IM marathon (Mr. Subliminal you can leave right now!) because I have to beat Nancy's PR of 2:26:38.65, She needs a new goal, right? and as her blogbuddy I take personal responsibility for delivering that to her. Yeah - that's what it's all about. That means a significant increase in run volume seeing as my last 10 weeks of running look like this: 2, 2, 3, 9, 6, 8, 6, 3, 11, 6. So yeah - more volume.

And of course - I need to get my bike on for the Oly because I want a serious, serious improvement over Wildflower. This course is kind of flat so that shouldn't be too hard but it will be hot and I just need to train. I had a fabulous ride yesterday which I may recount in another post but for now let's just say I'm looking forward to more riding.

Good thing I've been swimming a lot - no worries there.

So maybe I came up with this 'plan' to get me going again. And maybe planning isn't my strong suit. You think?

In other news - I got digital cable some time ago because there was deal if you got VOIP, internet and TV all at once. The big bonus is that for the first time in for ever I can watch the Tour de France!! Huzzah!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 06:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)