Swim, Bike, Run

Here is the mass of swimmers (this is the second heat, which I was in)




Here I am finishing up the swimming leg...out of the water and on to the bikes!



Off to bike! I'm still so naive and hopeful here...thinking the bike leg will be a breeze! It was not. I thought it would feel so fast...it felt like it never ended. And all the hills hills hills...I was changing gears like a crazy-woman!



I'm finally done with what felt like the longest 7 miles ever. Notice all the bikes around me that are already back. Yes, nearly everyone who wasn't already ahead of me zoomed past me on the bike leg. I wasn't in last place...but I wasn't far from it!



Here I am, finishing the run and heading for the finish line! If the bike seemed like the longest 7 miles ever, the run seemed like the shortest 3 miles ever. Go figure! And my actual time is five minutes less than it says on the clock, because I started in the second heat of swimmers, which started 5 minutes after the first heat. (The clock is toward the upper right corner, you can see it more easily if you click the picture for a close-up. It says 1 hour, 27 minutes.)



Done! I successfully completed my first triathlon (in 17 years.)

I am so tired. Not physically...well, yes physically, but not from working out or anything. Maybe from not working out. But it's only 7 pm and all I want to do is close my eyes and curl up in bed and sleep.
We went and got my bike from my in-laws. I think it's a mountain bike. I think it's in pretty good condition, though it needs a new seat, and the back gears don't shift up. I shifted down down down to the smallest, and then the up wouldn't work. But there are three bigger gears that work. I was going to go on a bike ride tonight, on the trail by the river, but our car had a flat tire. We had to call AAA and it now has the donut. Tomorrow morning we'll get new tires. D says I could still drive it down to the river and back for my bikeride, but it just doesn't seem like the safest thing to me.

I started training today! In the rain! (It actually stopped when I was out running.)
I ran a bit, and did 5 hill reps up a hill (Wightman, on the far side of Forbes.) It took maybe a couple minutes to get up, I don't know exactly, I lost my watch.
I LOST MY WATCH!
That kind of sucks for my training. D says he wants a watch for his birthday (in one week), so I'll pick him up a new Ironman, and then use it when he's not. He wants to start running, too.
I did some situps and pushups, then I went swimming. It took me about 10 minutes to swim the 1/4 mile. I had fantasies about winning the triathlon. Then I got home and found last year's results on line (www.runhigh.com.) Why are these triathletes such fast runners??? (and bikers and swimmers!) Oh well. It's good I'm training, now I have something to shoot for (possibly finishing under 1 hour 10 minutes for a total time.) The winning woman was in 57 minutes or something.
In the pool I also did 5 50's (2 laps) that took about 55 seconds, I went on the 1:15.
Anyway, I started my training, hoorah!

Yesterday at the Greenfield Glide I picked up information about a short triathlon at Moraine State Park: 1/4 mile swim (that's only 16 laps in a pool, I think, right? 4 laps is 100 meters, so 400 meters is about 1/4 mile so that would be 16 laps...of course, meters and miles don't convert perfectly, but it's in that range...) The swim is in the lake there. Then it's a 7 mile bike ride, and 3.1 mile run. It's on July 7.

I'm going to do it! I've set up a training schedule for myself, scheduling 3 days/week swimming, 3 days/week biking, 3 days/week lifting and 3-4 days/week running. I've scheduled one hill workout a week and one track workout a week. It's only 5 weeks away!

I need to get my bike, which is "in storage" (at my in-laws who live 45 minutes away), and by the way, I haven't ridden the bike somewhere in the 8 to 10 year range. Literally. I hope the frame is still good: I'm assuming I may need new just about everything else. I'll have to:

1. get it back in my possession
   
2. get a tune up and in working order
   
3. learn how to patch a hole or change a tire or whatever
   
4. ride it!
   

I think it's a hybrid type bike with no toe clips...not ideal for serious triathloning of course, but it should do just fine for a seven mile ride.

I don't think I'll need a wetsuit for a lake swim in July. In the picture on the brochure it shows some people with wetsuits, some without (as they are exiting the water.)

I'm excited!

This morning I ran in the Greenfield Glide 5K. It was a cross-country race, meaning it ran on grass and through a wooded trail as well as a little on the road. It was actually my regular running trail route: in Schenely park on the Bridle Trail and Upper Panther Hollow Trail, which connect. It started and ended on the road up by the Schenely oval.
The first part was downhill, but still, I felt like I was flying! In fact my first mile was 8:30, faster than normal. I was passing people and it wasn't until the first little uphill that people began to pass me back. The second mile I hit at 18 minutes (9:30 second mile.) I was breathing hard and my legs were tired, which I usually do not do in races. But that third uphill mile was slower...I crossed the finish line at 29:19 -- still, my personal best. I was fourth in my age group (third was around 27 minutes), so no medal. They gave a trophy to the "middle of the pack" person and I just missed it (on the fast side!) -- the woman that got it was 29:40 or something.
I did win a $20 gift certificate to Primadonna restaurant during the raffle though, woo hoo!
I got socks in my goodie bag (hoorah! I totally need running socks). It was a very well run race (in memory of Mayor Bob O'Conner, who often ran the race, they said.) His wife did some of the raffle drawing. They had entertainment: a 45 minute set from a local accappella-ish rap group. BBQ of hot dogs and burgers (nothing veggie again) and a keg of beer. Also soft drinks, chips, pretzels, fruit, the usual.
And the family came, which was so nice. I heard E cheering me on as I raced (uphill) to the finish line.

The Promise of Fresh Legs
The Cleveland Marathon, 26.2 miles
May 20, 2007

At the Marathon Expo/packet pickup, the day before my first marathon, I heard Olympic marathoner Jeff Galloway speak. He extolled the virtues of his run/walk/run program: fresh legs, a stronger faster finish than start, no soreness the next day, even personal best times (though I was just in the market for finishing!) "Won't you lose time walking?" someone asked. Surprisingly, Galloway explained, you only lose 15 to 20 seconds for each minute walked, which is easy to make up in the run portion. You'll see you'll be keeping up with the same people, and then you'll pass them at the end since your legs will be so fresh.

( see how it really turned out )

Getting ready to go to Cleveland! Leaving tomorrow morning! Stress! Don't forget my sneakers!
I did my last 30 minute run tonight. For the marathon I wanted to come up with 26 words...like "breathe, relax, smile, enjoy (that's for the last mile), strong, light, heels up...." one for each mile. I guess people do stuff like that...but they usually have those rubber bracelets to write them on. Then they look at them for each mile of the marathon. Or they do people, or bible verses, or such. I'd have to write them right on my arm or something. I wish I knew where to get those bracelets, but now it's too late (unless they sell that at the Cleveland pre-marathon expo, which actually seems likely now that I think about it!)
I'm not sure what interval to pick...I think I'll set my watch to beep every 9 minutes and run for 8 / walk for 1. Don't forget my watch! (I did make a list....) Oh, I really hope I can do it!!!

Today I ran from my office to the Strip, and met my family at Jojo's for breakfast. I ran across the 10th street bridge up to Grant and then to Liberty...I went the wrong way on Liberty for a while, asked someone, found Penn...and proceeded the wrong way on Penn for a bit! I asked someone else, turned around and found my family at Jojo's. Unfortunately it was smoky there (when does the smoking ban in restaurants start!?!) so we went to Pamela's, which was fun and nice and clean air.
It took me only 34 minutes, even with going the wrong way (but I did only go the wrong way for a "little minute".)
The weather was hot, though, and lots of fumes and dirt and dust got in my eyes. After the initial 10 minutes or so when my hamstrings were tight and tired and I thought "how am I possibly going to run a marathon this weekend?" I felt good and strong.

Yesterday I did my hour (well, 55 minute) run around north park (5 miles) and the family came too and played on the playground. I ran the VAP's (3 of them) where at different points of the run I picked a point ahead and ran faster until I reached it at a sprint. I ran the whole way 'round, but still averaged only 11 minute miles.
Today I rested, and I have three 30 minute runs left before the marathon on Sunday!

The marathon is next Sunday! A week from tomorrow!
Today was a rest day. I felt like running, but I didnt....I ate crap instead. Cookies, cakes, pretzels, non-stop, all day. Argh. I should have gone out for a little jog or at least a walk.
Just now I did a little ("a little minute" as E. says) of sit ups, push ups and stretching.
Tomorrow is my last 60 minute run...the rest are short 30 minutes until the marathon. I can't decide whether I want to go up to North Park tomorrow...actually, I do want to go up to North Park, what I can't decide is if I feel like the long drive home. I wish I felt a bit safer running by the river...I'd just go from Hot Metal Bridge to Station Square and back. It's such a pretty run, but also pretty secluded.
Oh, ok. So I've decided to cut out sugar (white, brown, processed) from now until the race, and also to stop eating by 7 pm again. That makes such a difference in my life, and yet. And I've got to get some fruit into this house! All the pears we have have gone all mealy, yuck.
But I feel good, I feel strong, I can do it! (Affirmations! Visualizations!)