When you see others out riding and they are all tucked down in aero position, you think to yourself... how hard could that be? Well it proved to be just as hard as clip in pedals were the first few times.
So Monday I noticed that Kevin had snuck them on my bike when I was napping on Sunday after BigFoot Tri... I was so excited, I wanted to get out and ride, but something within me said this may not be as smooth going as you think. I waited for Kevin to get home from work and we went out for a ride.
I was a bit nervous trying them out on the road so we hit the parking lot at Beren's Park. Its a nice size long parking lot and at the moment wasn't to crowded. So he has me start with just putting my left arm into the rest. We ride the parking lot like that for a turn or two... then its time to come out of the left side... Ok so far so good but I can see trying to get both arms/hands into position is NOT going to feel as comfortable as I had anticipated. AND I was right - once I final got into position I felt SO OUT OF CONTROL OF MY BIKE, my heart was beating out of my chest and not from riding at a break neck speed - once in position you are basically controlling/steering your bike with your elbows... if you can recall the first time you tried driving your car with your knee and how out of control you felt - this felt VERY similiar...
So the comfort factor will only come with that P word, practice, practice, practice. But because we have a tri on July 12th at the end of our vacation, we are taking the bikes with us to the East coast and its relatively flat land out there so I should be able to get in some time on my elbows - so to speak.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Pleasant Prairie Open Water Challenge
This was an add on to the schedule...even though I have a sprint tri on tap for tomorrow for some reason I couldn't resist the temptation to try a 1 mile open water swim.
There were actually several events, 1 mile swim w/5k run, 2 mile swim, 3 mile swim and some shorter events. It took place at Lake Andrea in Pleasant Prairie WI - just a short 1 hr-ish drive from Elmhurst. Wetsuit and non WetSuit events.
I opted for the 1 mile swim w/5k run. No idea of my time yet as results aren't up. The water was pleasant temp wise, and very do-able without a wetsuit, but considering this is my longest swim to date, I wanted the comfort of my wetsuit just in case. After 3/4 of the way into the swim, I was glad I made that decision. Once you rounded that last orange marker the wind was really making waves in this small lake.
When Kevin taught me to swim, he made sure I learned bi-lateral breathing from the start, but today, bi-lateral was not the way to go specially that last 1/4 mile. Every time I tried to take a breath on the right, nothing but water. I had to quickly learn breathing on the left only - what I found is I've got another thing I need to practice - once my bi-lateral went out the window, so did my rhythm. I'm so use to one, two, three, breath right, one, two, three, breath left - that having to take four strokes totally threw me off, and taking a breath every two wasn't much better. I was NOT likin' this last 1/4 mile - but I survived.
The run was an out and back along a nice paved path, one water stop at the half way point. All in all a decent event, kind of unorganized but hey what do you expect for a $40 entry fee. But for your $40, you got your chip timer (not to keep), a cute little key ring shaped like a snorkel fin, some Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, a swim cap, tons of coupons for the outlets that are right there, and a t-shirt.
I guess if your doing an upcoming Iron Man it would be great practice for the swim leg, heck you can even be brave and do the 3 mile swim..... mmmmm maybe someday :o)
Kiefer had some goodies they were selling so I picked up two new swimsuits - my others are gettin' kinda worn from the cholorine at the pool, so I got a TYR and a Speedo one piece for $65 total - the TYR is this bright pink with a floral pattern, the other is just a blue patterned suit... and I got some yank laces - sometimes the simple act of trying to tie your shoe in transition can be a hassle.
There were actually several events, 1 mile swim w/5k run, 2 mile swim, 3 mile swim and some shorter events. It took place at Lake Andrea in Pleasant Prairie WI - just a short 1 hr-ish drive from Elmhurst. Wetsuit and non WetSuit events.
I opted for the 1 mile swim w/5k run. No idea of my time yet as results aren't up. The water was pleasant temp wise, and very do-able without a wetsuit, but considering this is my longest swim to date, I wanted the comfort of my wetsuit just in case. After 3/4 of the way into the swim, I was glad I made that decision. Once you rounded that last orange marker the wind was really making waves in this small lake.
When Kevin taught me to swim, he made sure I learned bi-lateral breathing from the start, but today, bi-lateral was not the way to go specially that last 1/4 mile. Every time I tried to take a breath on the right, nothing but water. I had to quickly learn breathing on the left only - what I found is I've got another thing I need to practice - once my bi-lateral went out the window, so did my rhythm. I'm so use to one, two, three, breath right, one, two, three, breath left - that having to take four strokes totally threw me off, and taking a breath every two wasn't much better. I was NOT likin' this last 1/4 mile - but I survived.
The run was an out and back along a nice paved path, one water stop at the half way point. All in all a decent event, kind of unorganized but hey what do you expect for a $40 entry fee. But for your $40, you got your chip timer (not to keep), a cute little key ring shaped like a snorkel fin, some Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, a swim cap, tons of coupons for the outlets that are right there, and a t-shirt.
I guess if your doing an upcoming Iron Man it would be great practice for the swim leg, heck you can even be brave and do the 3 mile swim..... mmmmm maybe someday :o)
Kiefer had some goodies they were selling so I picked up two new swimsuits - my others are gettin' kinda worn from the cholorine at the pool, so I got a TYR and a Speedo one piece for $65 total - the TYR is this bright pink with a floral pattern, the other is just a blue patterned suit... and I got some yank laces - sometimes the simple act of trying to tie your shoe in transition can be a hassle.
Monday, June 23, 2008
AEROBARS!
WooHoo I got aerobars.... nothing fancy with the shifters on the ends or anything... I'm not ready for all that yet... But every month since Kevin and I have been dating he has gotten my flowers... not that I don't like flowers, in fact they are beautiful and I LOVE them AND it makes the ladies at work jealous, in a good way, not mean jealous... but I always tell him please get me a plant or dish garden with flowers in it, so that way when the beauty of the flowers die, I still have something to cherise... he finally listened, sort of, but it turned out BETTER than any plant...
Friday he was working from home because we were heading up to Lake Geneva to camp for the weekend right on the grounds the BigFoot Tri was held on, SWEET! So round 9 am or so he popped in on me at work with a present.. I still got a flower, a beautiful single yellow lilly, but I also got AEROBARS!
Well if the ladies at work don't already find my swimming, biking, and running life nuts for someone my age, now they are looking at this contraption like WTF???? And WHY is she so excited about some piece of metal that goes on her bike??? I tried to explain what they are, why they are used and why its a good thing.. but they still think I'm nuts.
Of course I couldn't put them on for the weekend's tri... using aero's for the first time, well lets just say a race is NOT the place to practice. And like clip in pedals, you do need to practice riding with aeros - but damn I was like a kid and begged to have them put on ASAP...
so today I had a vacation day to use or lose so I choose today.. well guess what the aerobar install gods came yesterday afternoon once my adrenaline ran out and I feel asleep for a nap after we got home and put on my aeros... I didn't even notice the gift bag they were in had been moved, nor did I notice at first when I went to the garage to get our dirty laundry from the weekend to wash that they were on... I moved some things off my handle bars and at first notice the extra nuts/bolts on the outdoor fridge, then moved the towel and still thought I was looking at Kevin's bike... well once I DUH realized it was my bike and the aero's were on.... I wanted to hit the road... but then I realized I might fall a time or two getting use to them so I should probably wait till Kevin got home to try them out, besides he deserves to see the joy on my face when I figure out the different riding position...
so now if he would just hurry up and get home damn it!
Friday he was working from home because we were heading up to Lake Geneva to camp for the weekend right on the grounds the BigFoot Tri was held on, SWEET! So round 9 am or so he popped in on me at work with a present.. I still got a flower, a beautiful single yellow lilly, but I also got AEROBARS!
Well if the ladies at work don't already find my swimming, biking, and running life nuts for someone my age, now they are looking at this contraption like WTF???? And WHY is she so excited about some piece of metal that goes on her bike??? I tried to explain what they are, why they are used and why its a good thing.. but they still think I'm nuts.
Of course I couldn't put them on for the weekend's tri... using aero's for the first time, well lets just say a race is NOT the place to practice. And like clip in pedals, you do need to practice riding with aeros - but damn I was like a kid and begged to have them put on ASAP...
so today I had a vacation day to use or lose so I choose today.. well guess what the aerobar install gods came yesterday afternoon once my adrenaline ran out and I feel asleep for a nap after we got home and put on my aeros... I didn't even notice the gift bag they were in had been moved, nor did I notice at first when I went to the garage to get our dirty laundry from the weekend to wash that they were on... I moved some things off my handle bars and at first notice the extra nuts/bolts on the outdoor fridge, then moved the towel and still thought I was looking at Kevin's bike... well once I DUH realized it was my bike and the aero's were on.... I wanted to hit the road... but then I realized I might fall a time or two getting use to them so I should probably wait till Kevin got home to try them out, besides he deserves to see the joy on my face when I figure out the different riding position...
so now if he would just hurry up and get home damn it!
BigFoot Triathlon
I had a GREAT day! I mean in the scheme of competitors I was 420 out of 423 Oly racers and 31/31 in my age group BUT WHO CARES! I actually had fun.
Up to this point I've done only sprint races. Even sprint tri's vary in distance but on average, they are a 500 to 750 meter swim, 10 to 15 mile bike, and a 3.1 to 4ish mile run. What I found this weekend that with a longer distance race, you get time to settle into your zone - something you or at least I, don't feel I get to do in a sprint.
This tri was the BigFoot Triathlon in Lake Geneva WI. We set off Friday for the weekend. We stayed at the campground where the tri takes place - made getting to transition to rack bike very nice!
I signed up for the OLY or Olympic or sometimes called International distance... this is a distance that can also vary in length by USAT rules... once you get to 1/2 IronMan and IronMan the distances are more set in stone... But this race was a 1500 meter swim, 26 mile bike, and a 6.5 mile run. The run was made more challenging in the fact it was a trail run... no nice running path to deal with but a trail which includes uneven surfaces, trees, branches, mud, holes, high grass, etc... note to self definitely do some trail running training to get ankles use to uneven surfaces...
Two wknds before I did a sprint that was a 1000 meter swim and totally freaked by how far that is when its laid out in front of you and NOT in a pool going back and forth. But this time I wasn't really nervous at all, maybe a tad but not like two weekends before where I stood at the swim start and questioned 'what the heck am I doing here' - I had none of THOSE feelings yesterday. I was wave 6 - the older lady wave 35+... :o) and we went off bout 7:30 am - it was a BEAUTIFUL day, not to hot, a smidge chilly at the start, not much humidity, and sunny skies... PERFECT just perfect.
So finally they let our wave go off after treading water for about 3 minutes or so. Mass start with the age group... I know there were 31 in the 40-44, not sure about the other groups, but there was probably 100 or so of us off on the swim at the same time... I just found my spot and went for it - the water was a bit choppy and I had forgotten my Dramamine... believe it or not, I've literally gotten sea sick from choppy waters on a swim before. Bout 1/2 way into the swim I noticed the sky getting black and I just HOPED it would blow over; I was in a good place and did not want this race called. Not long after that thought came to my mind... another swimmer on the return, got off course and literally swam right into me - didn't knock my goggles off but sucked them hard to my face, my eye sockets are still a bit sore today when I touch that area. I didn't get freaked out, just got back into the swim. It was a long way but eventually I was at the end - and believe it or not had swam 500 more meters in the tri, then the previous tri and did it in the same time frame - now granted 39:56 is not FAST - but I was pretty impressed I had swam 500 more meters than before in the same amount of time - I call that improvement :o) - really it was just being so much more comfortable.
The bike is my favorite leg... It was pretty uneventful. The course was not nearly as hilly as Galena but still posed its own little hill challenges... some you didn't really notice as a hill because it was just a small, slow, steady climb. The course was not the best marked bike course and when you are a back of the packer there are not many left in front of you to know if you've gotten off course... At one point I could barely see a biker in front of me, no one behind me I was sure I missed a turn but I plugged on and eventually I was ok and on course after all. Now one thing I had on the bike I've never had before was this cool water bottle called a GelBot. It has this reservoir for your gu/gel and when the pop up cap is down, you suck on it and the gel comes out, then you pop up the cap and you get your water to wash it down! Not that gels taste bad but you are suppose to take them WITH water - ok whoever invented this thing gets points in my book! It’s not easy to tear open a gel packet when you’re on the bike, then what do you do with the empty packet, I don't like the litter along the roadside, and if you are in an Ironman event, you can be penalized for littering, be it a gel packet, dislodged water bottle, etc. While I knew I would not get penalized for littering in this race, it’s just wrong, AND when it’s not a closed course trying to ride in traffic and one hand a gel packet isn't smart - so the GelBot rocks... So even with the hills and slight head wind at times, I averaged 15.7 on the bike, and finished in 1:38:44....
Now the run... I was a bit worried about the longer run after a longer bike. I've run the miles before but never after a 25+ mile bike and NEVER on a trail. What I found is while running, well ok it’s really jogging, a longer race is tougher, but you actually get time to settle into the run, something you don't get in a shorter race. The trail proved challenging to my ankles and I almost met the ground twice but managed to stay upright. At one point I thought there was only one guy and I left on the course... he said something about being last and I said who cares we are both over 40 and out here doing it, who cares if we are DFL (dead freakin' last) 99% of the 40+ population is home sitting on their arse's WE are doing a challenging race, so ROCK ON and SMILE when you cross the finish. He passed me but then eventually I passed him and stayed there. If there is any bad thing about being a back of the packer on the run... is they start to close up the water stations. The last one I was really in need of and they were gone - so I will learn to start carrying my own water for just those reasons. The course was really quite nice but if you are not a trail runner you really have to watch your steps. You are running on uneven surfaces, over roots, trees, branches, rocks, mud, holes... a true challenge to your footing, but I'll just be more prepared for it next year. So as expected it was not a fast run for me... 1:23:46 or a 13:32 pace...but the funny part was somehow I always find it within me to literally sprint to the finish, for those seconds I'm sure I'm running a 6 min pace... but I had fun so I leaped in the air after I crossed the mat at the finish... the photog missed it... I'm there catching my breath and the photog said ms... I didn't get you coming across the finish, can you fake coming across the line again...So I did, we all laughed, and the photographer promised he got me that time.
I really expected to be dead dog tired but I wasn't. I mean I know I didn't just finish and Ironman or anything but I had done twice the distance on every event than in previous races... I think it was adrenaline. I stretched, drank some water, then retrieved my stuff, went back, grabbed a shower, broke down camp and headed for home, looking forward to the Pleasant Prairie Race on Aug 17th when I will do an Oly distance again - all my other races are sprints, but you can bet if I can change the distance to an OLY I will!
End results 420 out of 423 OLY racers, 31 out of 31 in 40-44 age group...39:56 swim (409/423), 3:09 T1, 1:38:44 bike, 15.7 avg (403/423), 2:29 T2, 1:23:49 run, 13:32 pace (417/423), total time 3:48:05!!!
Up to this point I've done only sprint races. Even sprint tri's vary in distance but on average, they are a 500 to 750 meter swim, 10 to 15 mile bike, and a 3.1 to 4ish mile run. What I found this weekend that with a longer distance race, you get time to settle into your zone - something you or at least I, don't feel I get to do in a sprint.
This tri was the BigFoot Triathlon in Lake Geneva WI. We set off Friday for the weekend. We stayed at the campground where the tri takes place - made getting to transition to rack bike very nice!
I signed up for the OLY or Olympic or sometimes called International distance... this is a distance that can also vary in length by USAT rules... once you get to 1/2 IronMan and IronMan the distances are more set in stone... But this race was a 1500 meter swim, 26 mile bike, and a 6.5 mile run. The run was made more challenging in the fact it was a trail run... no nice running path to deal with but a trail which includes uneven surfaces, trees, branches, mud, holes, high grass, etc... note to self definitely do some trail running training to get ankles use to uneven surfaces...
Two wknds before I did a sprint that was a 1000 meter swim and totally freaked by how far that is when its laid out in front of you and NOT in a pool going back and forth. But this time I wasn't really nervous at all, maybe a tad but not like two weekends before where I stood at the swim start and questioned 'what the heck am I doing here' - I had none of THOSE feelings yesterday. I was wave 6 - the older lady wave 35+... :o) and we went off bout 7:30 am - it was a BEAUTIFUL day, not to hot, a smidge chilly at the start, not much humidity, and sunny skies... PERFECT just perfect.
So finally they let our wave go off after treading water for about 3 minutes or so. Mass start with the age group... I know there were 31 in the 40-44, not sure about the other groups, but there was probably 100 or so of us off on the swim at the same time... I just found my spot and went for it - the water was a bit choppy and I had forgotten my Dramamine... believe it or not, I've literally gotten sea sick from choppy waters on a swim before. Bout 1/2 way into the swim I noticed the sky getting black and I just HOPED it would blow over; I was in a good place and did not want this race called. Not long after that thought came to my mind... another swimmer on the return, got off course and literally swam right into me - didn't knock my goggles off but sucked them hard to my face, my eye sockets are still a bit sore today when I touch that area. I didn't get freaked out, just got back into the swim. It was a long way but eventually I was at the end - and believe it or not had swam 500 more meters in the tri, then the previous tri and did it in the same time frame - now granted 39:56 is not FAST - but I was pretty impressed I had swam 500 more meters than before in the same amount of time - I call that improvement :o) - really it was just being so much more comfortable.
The bike is my favorite leg... It was pretty uneventful. The course was not nearly as hilly as Galena but still posed its own little hill challenges... some you didn't really notice as a hill because it was just a small, slow, steady climb. The course was not the best marked bike course and when you are a back of the packer there are not many left in front of you to know if you've gotten off course... At one point I could barely see a biker in front of me, no one behind me I was sure I missed a turn but I plugged on and eventually I was ok and on course after all. Now one thing I had on the bike I've never had before was this cool water bottle called a GelBot. It has this reservoir for your gu/gel and when the pop up cap is down, you suck on it and the gel comes out, then you pop up the cap and you get your water to wash it down! Not that gels taste bad but you are suppose to take them WITH water - ok whoever invented this thing gets points in my book! It’s not easy to tear open a gel packet when you’re on the bike, then what do you do with the empty packet, I don't like the litter along the roadside, and if you are in an Ironman event, you can be penalized for littering, be it a gel packet, dislodged water bottle, etc. While I knew I would not get penalized for littering in this race, it’s just wrong, AND when it’s not a closed course trying to ride in traffic and one hand a gel packet isn't smart - so the GelBot rocks... So even with the hills and slight head wind at times, I averaged 15.7 on the bike, and finished in 1:38:44....
Now the run... I was a bit worried about the longer run after a longer bike. I've run the miles before but never after a 25+ mile bike and NEVER on a trail. What I found is while running, well ok it’s really jogging, a longer race is tougher, but you actually get time to settle into the run, something you don't get in a shorter race. The trail proved challenging to my ankles and I almost met the ground twice but managed to stay upright. At one point I thought there was only one guy and I left on the course... he said something about being last and I said who cares we are both over 40 and out here doing it, who cares if we are DFL (dead freakin' last) 99% of the 40+ population is home sitting on their arse's WE are doing a challenging race, so ROCK ON and SMILE when you cross the finish. He passed me but then eventually I passed him and stayed there. If there is any bad thing about being a back of the packer on the run... is they start to close up the water stations. The last one I was really in need of and they were gone - so I will learn to start carrying my own water for just those reasons. The course was really quite nice but if you are not a trail runner you really have to watch your steps. You are running on uneven surfaces, over roots, trees, branches, rocks, mud, holes... a true challenge to your footing, but I'll just be more prepared for it next year. So as expected it was not a fast run for me... 1:23:46 or a 13:32 pace...but the funny part was somehow I always find it within me to literally sprint to the finish, for those seconds I'm sure I'm running a 6 min pace... but I had fun so I leaped in the air after I crossed the mat at the finish... the photog missed it... I'm there catching my breath and the photog said ms... I didn't get you coming across the finish, can you fake coming across the line again...So I did, we all laughed, and the photographer promised he got me that time.
I really expected to be dead dog tired but I wasn't. I mean I know I didn't just finish and Ironman or anything but I had done twice the distance on every event than in previous races... I think it was adrenaline. I stretched, drank some water, then retrieved my stuff, went back, grabbed a shower, broke down camp and headed for home, looking forward to the Pleasant Prairie Race on Aug 17th when I will do an Oly distance again - all my other races are sprints, but you can bet if I can change the distance to an OLY I will!
End results 420 out of 423 OLY racers, 31 out of 31 in 40-44 age group...39:56 swim (409/423), 3:09 T1, 1:38:44 bike, 15.7 avg (403/423), 2:29 T2, 1:23:49 run, 13:32 pace (417/423), total time 3:48:05!!!
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