21st Century Mom

Today I raced the Bethel Island Olympic Distance (sort of ) Triathlon. It was a day of firsts.

If I did the standard race report it would read:
Swim - too long and sort of hard - water had weird stuff in it that stained my cap and the letters on my wet suit
T1 - comical. I really wish someone had filmed me wobbling around trying to get my shoes on
Ride - flat but windy - great scenery
T2 - uneventful and probably too slow
Run - I ran, I finished - yay!

But I'm not going to do that. Instead, I will recount the 'firsts' that this day included.

1). First event I went to with my friend Melia, We go way back to when I first started running. I'll tell you the whole story some other time but for now I'll just tell you that years ago we ran together for many months and then our little group separated for some reason and then, a couple years later when I saw another woman we ran with she told me Melia was doing Ironman. She has done 4, to date.

2). First little panic attack in the water - It was a deep water, mass start. I was not to the side an in the back where I belong. I was smack dab in the middle of things and had no time to reposition. When the gun went off I started swimming with the washing machine and soon found myself puffing shallow little breaths. Oh NO! I thought I was suffering an anxiety attack. But then I realized I was suffering a sprinting attack - swimming way too fast. I decided to just breaststroke for a bit and let people go by. Then I started swimming at a comfortable pace and all was well. Everything except for the fact that they had exactly 2 buoys on this course - 1 at the start and 1 somewhere waaaaay far away that I could hardly see. I just kept going and eventually found it. It was also my first time drafting off a breaststroker. That guy was really good at it.

3). First ever snot rocket experience - I have never blown snot out of my nose on the bike. It just seemed too gross. But the snorfeling and no oxygen getting into my system thing was not working out for me at all. So I finally tried it. There was a Clydesdale guy coming up the road in the opposite direction who saw the whole thing. I swear I saw a thought bubble pop out of his helmet that said "That's hot". I'm hooked now because it's really a wonder what all that extra air does for your stamina. Next thing you know I'll be peeing on my bike (NOT!)

4). First time having my bottle cage and pump holder fly off my bike - nice. The bottom screw had come out of my bottle cage on the vertical bar below the seat. I did not have a bottle in it until the 1/2 way point of the ride when I was given a 2nd bottle. I put it in the cage and 500 feet later the entire assembly flew off the bike. Oh well. I'll have to have the hole re-threaded and get a new cage and probably a whole new pump. sigh....

5). First time on a 2 loop run where you have to run past the finish and do another loop - I have but one word for this CRUELTY!! Cannot even fathom the pain of that when you are 13.1 miles from finishing an Ironman.

6). First time placing in my age group - YES! I took 2nd. Woo Hoo!! Now there is some possibility that there were only 2 women in my age group but based on the past history of this event I doubt it. I'll find out in a few days. Be that as it may I have a 2nd place medal and I'm quite happy about that.

I theoretically PR'd except this race was short at least 3 miles. 1 or 2 on the bike and about 3/4 on the run. My finish time was 3:10.22 which is better than FIT but I'm not sure it was my best time ever. It was a good effort though so I declare success!!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)

It's cold season - don't forget to take your Vitamin C and get plenty of rest or you might end up like this little guy:

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 02:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Could everyone whose blog I read please quit linking to such fantastic blogs? And could everyone I don't read please quit writing such great posts? I mean really - I'M ONLY ONE WOMAN! I can't read blogs all day long. But if I could I would because there are so very many great writers out there. Too many. And you blog about such interesting things.

There is this huge mesh community out there . I know this from reading the comments on random blogs I land on via a hot link from one the the blogs I read regularly. Our very lives are hyperlinked now. Remember when hyperlinking was the new, new thing? Man, you're old.

When I look in the comments I see lots of names I recognize. Does this happen to you, too? And then you meet someone in person and they say "Oh - do you read so and so?" and you might say, "oh yes, all the time" or you might say "once in a while" or you might say "nope, never heard of her" but then you have to go look and again, you look at the comments and there are 1/2 the people you read and it's a great blog and you think "hmmmm... I should add this person to my blogroll". It's so difficult - so very difficult. It seems like I could have literally hundreds of Internet friends but I must remember to engage fully in my life on terra firma. It kills my blogging time (both reading and writing) but I must. How else am I ever going to get a job or a date or training partners?

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 03:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Yesterday the FedEx truck pulled up and I did a quick mental inventory trying to figure out what it could be. He unloaded and delivered a fairly large box from Smith and Hawken addressed to me. This was not my first Smith and Hawken box so I had an idea that it might be a tree of some sort since my first born Humbly Anne had sent me a beautiful miniature grapefruit tree for mother's day. But it wasn't Mother's Day and it wasn't my birthday. It wasn't even Halloween. It was just Sept. 23, an unremarkable date in my life (if it's your Birthday then Happy Belated Birthday!!).

I opened it up and what should I find but a really beautiful bonsai tree. It's a Golden Gate Ficus.

I pulled the card out and read it and sure enough and it was a note of congratulations and assurances that the best was yet to come. It was signed "Your Kids".

That's how generous and kind my Humbly Ann is. The other 2 kids didn't know a thing. She sent it to me to add a bit of brightness and love to my newly empty nest. Go ahead and say it. All together now "Aw Shucks, Mom! You must be the best mother in the world". And although I'm sure that's true what I really am is the most blessed.

Love you, Sweetie. You know how much.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 05:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

I had a fantastic weekend of cycling - really fantastic.

Saturday I went out with a group in the rain. I had never ridden in the rain before and another guy and I were chatting while we waited for the leader to show up and pretty much had ourselves talked out of it. Then 4 other people showed up and of course there was no way to bow out so off we went.

It was okay! In fact I enjoyed it and one of the elite riders on my team gave me some personal coaching on the way back. This is a woman who in 2006 rode IM CDA in just a hair over 6 hours and then did IM FL in just over 5:30. She's what in California we refer to as hella fast. She's also hella nice and remarkably helpful. At one point in the coaching process she told me to just tell her to be quiet if I got sick of getting coached. HA! As if. I loved it and so appreciated the feedback.

We only went 20 miles Saturday but 20 miles in the rain is quite enough, thank you. That photo is of my socks which somehow missed getting into the laundry yesterday. EW! I also got the seat of my new car dirty. We were totally soaked and covered in grit as were our bikes. I was so frozen when I got home I emptied out my 50 gallon hot water heater. The bike got a nice shower, too albeit a cold one with the hose.

It was totally worth it, though!

Today we did 40 miles in nice, warm, dry but overcast weather. Perfect riding weather except for the headwinds in places but it wasn't ferocious - just a bit annoying. It was the ladies ride, lead by aforementioned super star, fabulous cyclist. She gave another woman and me a lot of coaching. She had me riding up hill in the big chain ring (of a triple), keeping up my cadence (if I could which I must admit I failed to do a couple of times) and holding my speed at something in double digits. That's a first for me.

Mostly I was able to keep up with everyone until the way back and then I sort of lost it for a moment. I just ran out of juice on this one hill but once I caught up to the pack (waiting patiently for me) I was able to hang on. There was also a moment on the way out where I think I learned first hand what the expression 'blew up' means. I never really got it before but there was one hill where I was trying for the 5th or 6th time to keep it in the big chain ring and stand up and power my way to the top and I could barely move the pedals. I dropped the gears way down for fear of falling over and still I could hardly pedal. I thought there was something mechanical wrong with my bike but it turned out to be a mechanical issue with the rider, not the ride. Fortunately I got my mojo back after some downhill.

Stats:
Saturday - 21 miles @ an average of 15 mph
Sunday - 40 miles @ an average of 14.5 mph

And that's 2 more firsts. It's the first time I've gone out riding 2 days in a row (I know - not the stuff a triathlete is made of but I'm working on it!) and it's the first time I've averaged over 12 mph on a hilly course over distance.

All of this is really great as I have an unexpected, recently scheduled Olympic (sort of) distance triathlon next weekend. It's the one I won an entry to at my last sprint. I intend to nail it!

Sunday I am going swimming with the sharks in the SF Bay again on the YMCA's Treasure Island to Embarcadero swim.

Good times.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 05:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

So Floyd lost. He has but one appeal left.

After the dopers got axed from the tour this year and the winners came in within 30 seconds of each other my perspective on Floyd's case changed. There are no miracle performances. There is determination and grit and pain but nothing is going to rocket you into the lead. You might be able to gut it out and hold on even though you have a bloodied and bruised hiney but you aren't going to shoot out in front.

I'm disappointed in Floyd but the finish of the Tour was so fantastic this year that I am hopeful for cycling. It might actually stay clean and sober and show us many more exciting finishes.

If you haven't seen the real story on the real clean athletes then click here. You won't be sorry.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

It be Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Be makin' sure you do, ye survey dog or ye'll be walkin' the plank!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

No - I didn't win my triathlon - I didn't even place. I didn't even make my goal of going sub 2 hours but I did win something in the post race raffle which I'll tell you about in a minute and I did win having a great day and I did PR so before I go on let's celebrate

My official time was 2:06:19. This is not a USAT chip timed event so you have to sort of wing it on the times but by my various chronometers my times came out like this:
swim 15:09
bike 1:01
run 44
Total ~2 hours

That means I screwed up transition big time and took a total of 6 minutes. There's something to work on. Also, my bike was not so good. My bike computer says I was going an average of 15.4 mph which is definitely a best effort to date but not so hot. The course is basically flat. There was a headwind that did some damage but mostly I just need to push harder on the bike. I get too worried about trashing my legs for the run and I just don't step it up enough. Lesson learned. I actually had a good run with an average pace of 10:35. On a wicked, tough course. Here's the elevation map and it's no lie.

The course is littered with these short, steep hills that are nasty. Fortunately the weather was perfect - overcast and cool. My very first bead of sweat hit my eyes with just 1/2 mile to go on the run. Very tolerable.

Shout outs to the guy with a "49" on his calf who ran by me and said "Hey - I think they got the numbers for your age transposed" Love that guy!. I yelled "Oh man - I HATE it when that happens". Then I picked it up a little but alas, he was too fast to catch.

I had a great time, though and that's what counts. As I was coming out of T2 I heard someone yell "go Pamela!" and looked up to see Jen of RunningStories . She and her husband Zach came out just to cheer me on - how cool is that??!! When she yelled for me so did some other people which was a huge boost and really energized me. Pictorial evidence of our meeting was gathered by Jen and I'm sure she'll post it soon. Jen is local so I've been working to recruit her and Zach to join my race club, Forward Motion (FMRC) - I think it's working!

FMRC was out in force - 40 people participated in the race and about another dozen people were on the course as volunteers. As though that weren't enough we had a club BBQ this afternoon that was attended by about 100 people. I mentioned before that the race was handicapped so that people like me could experience placing something other than last. Okay - I'm the only one who consistently places last but you get the idea. Everyone who raced got a certificate and a little medal and some of us got prize titles. I'm not sure what my place was but I was given 2 title awards.

"PR Pamela" and "Most Likely to Write an Entertaining Race Report". I felt honored. I ♥ my race club. Once more:

If you have a race club in your area I can't encourage you enough to join. Getting up the nerve to join FoMo was one of the best things I have done in a while. It's fun and the really good elite athletes are helpful and encouraging to us struggling age groupers and there is nothing better than participating in a race with a bunch of other people all in the same team kit. If it's an option for you, go for it - you won't be sorry!

So what did I win besides the PR and the great time? The raffle included such things as bike jackets, messenger bags, gift certificates to Fleet Feet, gift certificates for a massage and then there was my prize - a free entry for another Olympic distance race. Oh yeah - lucky me? Think it's a hint? If nothing else it gives me another chance to get faster at the bike and transitions before SOMA and yet another chance to PR. What better way to live up to my new title?

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)

My next race is Sunday. It is my "A" race because this event was where it all started for me with triathlon. In 2000 I did this race on a Schwinn Varsity 10 speed that I had ridden 3 times. Those were the first 3 times I had ridden a bike since I was about 16. I had been swimming quite a bit but not really running all that much. The race is 700 meters swim in open water (a first for me), 16 miles bike, and a 4.2 mile run on a convoluted, run in circles dirt trail - with hills. My swim was a predictable first effort replete with panic, rolling on my back and sputtering. The ride was sloooooowwww.... and by the time I got to the run it was about 95 degrees and I ended up walking repeatedly. I finished in 2:31, just ahead of a 9 year old kid and a man who was limping. I guess there were about 5 other people behind me, too.

In the summer of 2005 I went on vacation with my siblings and their spouses and my sister and brother in law and I rented bikes and went for a ride. I was SO impressed with myself. I could ride hills! Thus began my life as a cyclist. I started on that Schwinn but quickly decided to buy a hybrid bike. I thought it was so sleek and cool despite it's hefty 22 pound weight. I rode and rode that bike with my friends. Last year I did my "A" race again but this time I had way more time in each discipline. I came in at 2:08 - a 23 minute PR. Woot!
This year I approach this race with 2 Olympic distance and 1 super sprint under my belt. I have trained like a triathlete doing brick workouts a few times a month. Okay so I train like a lazy triathlete but it's better than last year! My goal has always been to break 2 hours and I have every confidence that I can do that.

As though that isn't enough, my race club has decided to make this a team challenge and they've developed some sort of handicapping system. This makes my "A" race exceptionally "A" for me because with my hideous Wildflower time I expect my handicap is HEEEOOOOGE! I could place in the top 3 for my club! Maybe. In any case I will have a lot of buds out there and that alone is worth the price of admission. The club is having a BBQ and doing some awards later in the afternoon so it will be just a ton o' fun on Sunday.

Here is an excerpt from last year's (absurdly long) race report:
"The run on this thing is hard because it loops around a couple of times. I kept thinking I was done but then there was another loop or another hill. The thing that made the run so much better than it was last time was the Forward Motion Race Club who came out to pass out water and encourage the participants. This is the club I believe I will join so that I don't have to cry in my beer about doing these events alone any more. They were fabulous, yelling out 'Way to go! Looking Strong!" and that meant a lot to me because I was tired. "

Of course I picked up some airplane spooge on the way back from Madison and my throat has been sore all week and I'm a little snotty in the head. Hopefully this will clear up by Sunday AM. Sick or not - I'm going for for it! In fact I'm so excited about this race that I bought myself some new toys. A swanky new transition bag and a white helmet, because my blue helmet clashes with my team kit. A girl has to do what she has to do, you know?

** minor update** The handicaps were posted and mine, as predicted, is the worst/best. My number is the lowest so I think that's good - very good. I still have to race really hard to grab a spot. Excellent incentive.

See what I mean - I HAD to get a new helmet. It was not optional. I can't believe Brightroom thinks I would buy this photo. No way!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

After watching the run from a particular spot on State Street Jenny, Ally and I moved over to an area closer to the finish. We yelled and cheered and called out to the Ironmen to try to help keep them going. We had seen Greyhound go by and thought he was in for a sub 12 finish but then realized he still had to turn around and head back out. He was still in great shape and we figured he was looking at something under 15.

Finally the lure of the actual finish line beckoned and we wanted to be there to see our friends come in so off we went. People, you have no idea how LOUD it is there. The music is blaring and Mike Riley's voice just BOOMs over the sound system and the people are screaming and cheering. LOUD! But it is so great so very great.

Jenny and I spotted TriMama and the Tribe across the way in the 'run in with a finisher' waiting area
The new rule is that only 1 person can cross the line with the Ironman finisher but since all the kids and TriMama were in red capes we didn't know who the lucky person was. Finally, Soapinator ran out and we had our answer. Sadly, my camera ran out out battery right then -grrrr.... I did get these 2 little shots, though.

I know - totally frustrating. But onward!

After Tac came in we went around the back and tried to find people but it was tough. Jenny had a VIP pass so she was able to get a pic at the finish with Boomer. At that point Ally had had enough so we headed back to the car.

I must say that Ally was an angel. i think I said that before but that child deserves kudos for patience and perseverance. On those rare occasions when she would let out a little whine Jenny would gently remind her that she knew it would be a long day and she would just head off for the Burley and curl up and rest. I considered smuggling her home with me but I figured Jenny might get mad and I ♥ Jenny so I refrained.

In the morning the group staying at our hotel all met up for breakfast

It was so great to see Tac and Greyhound in their morning after glow. Then I headed to the awards breakfast with Laurie and met up with Bold, Michelle, Brent Buckner, his sister Wendy and some other folks (it's getting fuzzy now). (Pardon the lack of links but I'm getting all linked out.)

It was a nasty, rainy morning and everyone realized how fortunate they had been to have such perfect weather the day before. After the breakfast I still had many hours to kill but Laurie was heading home and Bold needed a nap so I did what all Americans do when they have time to kill and it is raining - I went to Starbucks, drank coffee and read The Onion. Good times. My flight was supposed to leave at 6:07 but didn't go until after 7:00 which meant I got to do my own IM sprint through O'Hare to catch my connecting flight.

The best part about being at the finish is that you see people who just an hour before were doing a death shuffle and looking like they hated the world transformed into some of the happiest people in the world. They are so triumphant with hands over head, fists pumping in the air, smiles as wide as Lake Monona. Getting on that plane in Chicago I saw a guy in a Finisher jacket and congratulated him. He asked if I had done the race and I said No. He asked me if I did triathlon and I told him I was really in my first year and just working on Olympic distance events. Beaming like he'd just crossed the line he said, "You should do an Ironman - when you finish you will feel so fantastic - better than you've ever felt in your life!"

And that's what it is about. It's about pushing yourself to go the distance through hours of training, through days of missed parties, through hours of early morning darkness, through muscle soreness and fatigue that makes you question your own motives, through fear and lack of confidence and on to cover 140.6 miles in one very long, very special day. And when you do that - you feel like the person you are - YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!

Several people have asked the question - "So what about you, Mom? Is there an Ironman in your future?" The answer is "Maybe". In fact, I am considering one for next year but I'm not sure I want to invest the time. I'm not sure I don't. Fortunately, I have at least until November to think about it.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

After watching the swim IronMomJenny her adorable daughter Ally and I reported to duty in T1 to slather the athletes in sunscreen. A few Pros were still coming through but they were not stopping for anything. They just blew through there in bare feet or socks because they were allowed to leave their shoes clipped to the bike pedals. The age groupers were not. Hmmmm...

There were times in transition when it got completely frenetic. We stood there yelling 'SUN SCREEN?' 'SUNSCREEN??!!' to dazed and focused athletes who were mostly thinking about what comes next and did they have all their nutrition and was it a good time to stop at a porat-potty and what? What??!! Oh - sunscreen? Sure! They were so on the move as though 30 seconds for some UV protection would mess up the day and they ended up with a thick, and probably annoying coating of goo on their shoulders. I tried not to slime them but there is only so much you can do under the circumstances. Jenny positioned herself at the end and yelled "Last chance for sunscreen" as she chased the athletes and made sure the back of their necks got some sunscreen.

I tried to keep watch for "my" athletes but I only saw a few amidst all the chaos. Tac came in and I ran over to sunscreen him and started yelling "Shake and Bake, Tac! Shake.And.Bake" and then wondered if he had ever seen Talladega Nights. He yelled "21stCentury?? NO WAY" I yelled "WAY" and he was off. Greyhound came through and I called to him. I asked him if he wanted some sunscreen and he said no but he wanted to give me a hug. It was a high point in the day. We had a quick one and then off he went wearing http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1074/1021761633_ba1f57b901.jpg">his white batwings; targert="_blank". I think I saw Roman rip through T1 and that's about all I remember.

After a few hours of that the 3 of us and the Burley headed for the bus to go see some bike action. Jumper joined us. We thought the shuttle bus line was prohibitively long but it turned out to take about 15 minutes to get on and off we went.

If I thought picking the people out in T1 was hard it was nothing compared to catching them whiz by on bikes. We had our big beautiful banners with everyone's name on them (Jenny has pics) and we yelled and rang cowbells and had a great time out there.

Then it was time for T2 sunscreen duty. I saw more athletes. I caught Bold heading out for the run and yelled to him and held the door for the porta-potty open. He was headed straight for it when some other dazed and focused dude just cut him off and took his station! He went to the next one and when he came out he just trotted off. He was in the zone. I also got Brent Buckner and I don't remember who else.

At 3 we headed out again to watch people on the run.

This is where the day got even more fun if that was possible. Jenny had made a sign that said, "You Know Your Reasons" and people LOVED it. We called out people's names and yelled "Karen! This is your day! You are IronKaren" lather, rinse, and repeat over and over and over and watch the smiles grow. It was like magic. We tried to find TriMama and the Tribe at their water station but we had the wrong one and thought they had left.

You may not know this but IronMomJenny knows at least every 5th person at the Ironman. Being with her was so much fun because she was forever spotting someone she knew either racing or watching. Jenny is just the nicest, warmest, friendliest, most open person I have ever met and spending the day with her was such a pleasure. If she saw someone she thought she knew she didn't just sit there wondering "do I know that guy?" She would just turn to him and say "Hey! Do I know you? " If the person looked confused and said, "umm.. don't think so" she was unfazed. "Oh - I thought I did - you look so familiar" All smiles. I so admire her confidence and candor and warm heart. And her little Ally was such a trooper. Nary a complaint all day and a long day it was.

As we wandered around State Street looking for Trimama and the tribe and trying to find a good place to stand we bumped into Kona Shelly who was on her bike. It was so great to meet her. I only wish we had had more time. She spent most of her day in the penalty tent, dinging people on time. Not a happy job but I think she enjoyed her day.

At one point Bold came running by so I jumped off the curb and ran with him for a little bit. I asked him how it was going and he said "I'm hurting!" and I said "Well, you're still in it and you look strong" and he said "I'm trying" and I let him run off. Another high point on the day.

I saw lots of people on the run, one of my favorites being this guy who did the entire run in hiking boots, dressed like the Cat in the Hat

I wish I had more pics but Jenny got the bulk of them so we'll just have to wait for her to have some time.

I have 1 more IM WI post in me that will cover the finish line and my new relationship to the Ironman distance as well as the ton of stuff I've forgotten to put in this post. As Boomer would say - stay tuned.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The real start for me was Saturday afternoon when I rolled into Madison. IronMomJenny picked me up at the airport with her daughter Ally and Jumper 2.0 in tow and we headed back the the hotel. A couple of hours later Jenny, Trimama, Jumper and I went for a run. I did my level best to keep up with the IronMoms and it was not easy! Jumper and I were huffing and puffing and really wanting to slow down but we hung on! I think we ran about 3 and a half miles or so in 35 minutes which is fast for me. For the IronMoms it seemed to be 'chatting' pace. When I grow up I'd like to be just like them (if you watched the end of the IM on IronmanLive you know what I'm talking about!)

The run was followed by a well attended dinner with IronMomJenny. Laurie, TriMama, Jumper 2.0 and a whole bunch of people from the Twin Cities area and thereabouts. AJ also stopped by. Good times! If you are ever in Madison, WI I highly recommend having dinner at The Great Dane downtown. Great menu, great food, lots of beer. After that it was bed time where I bunked with 2 of my 3 IM 'boyfriends'. Those guys were smart enough to order a roll away bed so there was no 'racey' at the race. Just sleep.

Sunday we headed to the start line about about 5:30 AM - long after the racers were there, body marked and ready to SHAKE AND BAKE! At this point I"m just going to offer you some pics and short video of the swim start. The video quality is horrible but what you want to do is listen. That sibilant swish, swish is the sound of 4,400 arns and 4,399 legs moving the athletes through the water (there was at least one competitor doing this race on a prosthetic leg - a real hero, for sure). Watching that from the top deck of the Monona Terrace was just about the coolest thing ever. Chills and thrills for sure. More later.

Jumper, TriMama talking giving Tac some pre-race support, Jenny, Laurie

This is about one half of T1 - try thinking about the dollar value of what's down there. BOOM - there went your brain!

The pros out in the water for their start with the sun coming up. Beautiful

The audio is much better than the video here

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

It is 1:30AM and I am reading blogs when I should be sleeping. I am totally exhausted from my inaugural trip to experience an Ironman. I guess I just can't get enough! I was there and yet I find myself hungrily devouring race reports.

What a great time I had - so GREAT! I have the least pictures of anyone so I'll leave the proof (no pictures = didn't happen) up to others but let me just say that being in the midst of an Ironman race is really fun and really exciting and I am SO glad I made it.

More later - I really do need to get to bed but before I do let me just extend yet another hearty
CONGRATULATIONS! to everyone who toed the line. You are amazing for suiting up and putting yourself out there. Thanks for the inspiration.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 12:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

My flight for Madison, WI leaves at 6 AM tomorrow - ugh. Good thing I know how to sleep on airplanes! When I get there I'll be sleeping with 3 men I've never met before. That's right - I'm putting the 'racey' back in 'race'.

If you are watching the developments then you already know that there are several places you can go for updates. Here and Here for instance. My blog will not be updated until I get back.

Meanwhile - I'm getting stronger! I'm very excited about that. Yesterday I rode my bike faster than I have ever gone before. I was cruising on flat land at 16 and 17 mph. Yeah me!

When I get back I will tell you all about my upcoming A race and how it got more A thanks to my race club.

Ciao!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 06:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I like to think triathletes and runners would answer this differently - at least the guys.

Thanks for the link to Feministing

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Today I went on a ladies only bike ride with 5 ladies and another lady with cajones. I believe his presence was a case of new love that could not withstand a Sunday morning apart. His lady wanted to go so he went, too. The leader had said any men who joined had to wear a wig and some pink but relented in the end. He went in red teamkit.

I decided to ride to the start in spite of having done that last time and not made it by the appointed hour. I missed the group ride and ended up going out alone and then flatting. This time I left earlier and rode harder. I was passed every so often by men riding at something around 20mph but I"m used to that. At one point I noticed that I was fast approaching a man up ahead of me and I was ecstatic. I was going to pass a man! As I rode by him I looked back only to see that he was at least 90 years old. Be that as it may, I PASSED A MAN ON A BIKE AND YOU CAN NEVER TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!

I got the rendez-vous point in plenty of time and we all took off to ascend Mt. Diablo, at least to what is known as 'the junction'. It isn't all the way to the top but it does require climbing for about 5 miles so that was good enough for me. I was consumed with gut wrenching fear that half way up I would grind to halt and fall over but I smiled and pushed on. I was riding with our fearless leader (photo to the right) who happens to be a very competitive triathlete and a very good cyclist so I figured I could get some good coaching. I figured right. You may find this humorous in a woman who has been riding some pretty tough hills for the last 2 summers but there was a chink in my hill climbing strategy. I didn't know how to get out of the saddle and stand on the pedals - until today. She taught me how to do it so I could get some good momentum when the going got tough. I got quite good at it after just a few tries.

I made it to the junction with a huge smile on my face. The view from up there and really all along the route was spectacular. (not my photo but it does the job)
The skies were clear and you could see far and wide. There was also the view of this young Adonis in white cycling shorts that started below his navel and ended high on his beautiful thighs. It was blinding. But I digress.

We flew back down the mountain (well - I managed to get up as high 29 mph woo hoo!) and I returned home. I looked down at my Garmin and realized that it had recorded only the time - no distance, no map, no altitude. I was bummed. I really wanted that elevation map. But then I thought, "the heck with the elevation map - I got the ride!" and I was once again happy as a pig in mud. It was a glorious day and I ended that ride feeling vital and strong and that's what it's all about. The rest of the day was filled with eat, nap, shower, shop, have coffee with a friend, watch trash TV with daughter. Does life get any better than that?

Tons of people do that ride and upload the results to Motionbased so here it is. My start and end were a little different and my ride was longer but the hill part is the same:

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Magic Bullet may be too strong a phrase but when Chris Lieto came to speak to our race club he brought one of his sponsors (maybe his biggest since he wears their team kit all the time) AstaVita. Astavita sells a number of products including something called Astavita Sport. They gave out bottles to each participant. I wish I'd snagged a couple more.

The claims they make for this stuff are absurd. The doctor they have representing them in my area sounded like a total quack. He was an OB/GYN who now pimps Astavita and his talk was rambling, boring and full of hoo-ha. The "official" medical professional of the group is the very fake Dr. Perricone of Cosmeseutical fame. You can read about Perricone and his BS credentials here.

The special ingredient in Astavita Sport is something called Astaxanthin which is a carotenoid extracted from algea. The sports sites claim that it is what gives Salmon that nice pink color, a claim backed up elsewhere. This link says it is what makes lobsters and crab turn red when you boil them. Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxident and we all know that antioxidents aid in recovery. Pomegranate juice and blueberries are favored antioxidents of athletes the world over.

Regardless of sketchy docs and crazy claims - the stuff seems to work. I have been putting in more hours in every discipline and yet my muscles are not so badly fatigued. My recovery seems much faster. I can get more antioxident with fewer calories and whole lot less mess in the kitchen by popping a couple of pills so that is what I've been doing. Astavita is not the only source for astaxanthin but it's the only one I have used.

If you buy the product direct from their site it costs $18/bottle. If you buy it here without the word 'sport' on the bottle and minus a little zinc and fish oil it costs $9.24. I know what I'm going to do. (I know - how rude after they gave me free product. Oh well).

If you try it and you feel that it is working for you please let me know. I could be laboring under the placebo effect.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)