Renovating The Walls of Your Mind...Step One: Declutter

If you've been reading this blog long, or if you know me personally, you know my mind pretty much never stops going.  Coach E says I think too much, but really, that's an understatement.  That's like saying there's too much water in the ocean...too much air in the sky...too much sand in the Sahara!!

But I think there's more to it than that.  Here's what I think...I think I not only think "too much" (okay...am I the only one who thinks that's funny?).  I also tend to think the wrong thoughts.  At least I HAVE been.  That is changing.

For a long time I have been slowly renovating my mind.  It's much like the process of remodeling an old house.  I have clutter to be sorted through.  I have old notions that need to be spruced and shined.  And I've had (have) false beliefs that had (have) to be discarded completely. 


Okay...let me just be honest, when I say "I have clutter that needs to be sorted through..." it's not like your average junk drawer, it's more like the hoarders you see on TV.   My mind is overflowing with thoughts

ALL THE TIME

and usually more than one at a time.  I have a hard time keeping things straight and a hard time easily retrieving needed information.

One of the main issues with mind clutter is that it makes it hard to remember workouts.  If I go to the pool and can't remember what I'm supposed to do, sure I can just swim for an hour, but I'm not making the best use of my time.  Also, when my mind is cluttered with all the different theories of nutrition and training out there, I get completely confused.  Do I eat carbs or not?  Do I run easy or hard?  To brick or not to brick?  Strength training should be done when?  Do I stretch before or after working out?  And the list goes on.

You have to be careful when cleaning out the clutter that you don't throw out a signed first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (it was worth a lot of money back in 2006, according to this site) with the manual on the TV you had back in college.  (That sentence will make sense if you see the picture that goes with this post...)  Knowing what to treasure and what to toss is hard for someone who keeps everything that "might be" useful (to someone) one day.  (I mean come on, what if someone has that TV now and needs the manual??)  In training, this is why it's important for you to know yourself better than anyone, so you can make unequivocal decisions regarding workouts, nutrition, equipment, picking out races, etc.  Or you can find a coach you can TRUST who will help navigate you through all the information out there. 

A coach should give you no more than a couple of things to really focus on at a time. These nuggets of wisdom will be different for each athlete.  A far cry from doling out information like words on the page of a book, a coach is working with each athlete in a way which serves the person best (not in the way which best inflates the coach's ego).  It doesn't sound like "look what I can do"/"listen to how I do it"/"let me tell you how to do it the right way".  Instead it starts with something like, "for you the key will be..."  The workouts might all be the same for a group working toward the same race, but the coaching for each person will look different.  One athlete might need a good swift kick in the bike shorts, whereas another might need a gentle hug of reassurance. 

Swimming form doesn't vary....oh, wait, there are actually different philosophies regarding "the best way to swim".  Well, once you've sorted through all that information, and have found one you believe in, how it's learned can vary greatly.  Beyond that, what individual athletes need to focus on branches off even further (one needs to focus on speed, one on relaxing, one on POWER...). 

Before I signed on with the e3 Tribe (note the name change: e3Trivolution.com), I was trying to focus on everything all the time.  I didn't know what I needed to work on, when, or how.  There are MANY philosophies on EVERYTHING.  Sorting through clutter is a crucial step in any remodel job....but it's an on-going process.  Anyone who has been on a construction site knows how clutter can ruin a job. 

I'll bet you want to go clean out your junk drawer now don't you??  :D

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon.  (I still need to write up the post about Pigtails and the Mach Tenn swim....now I can add to the list parts two and three of this post.  So much writing to do, so little time!)

:D

Stuck in the Mud

I've been working on two blog posts for a while now but I haven't liked either one of them enough to publish.  It's become even harder to finish them because I'm now injured.  It's difficult to write about competing vs completing or about replacing negative thoughts when all I can think about is not being able to train and the ground I'm losing as I'm laying in the bed.

So...in typical Dana fashion...I'm just going to, once again, write about me and hope at least some of you can relate!!

As you may remember from my last post, I had made a decision to really PUSH in my workouts.  I was seeing some noticeable improvements on the bike and in the swim (not so much on the run just yet).  Then, a week ago Thursday I noticed my knee started feeling a little funny.  It wasn't hurting necessarily, just feeling wonky.  I had decided there would be NO EXCUSES not to train hard (when my plan called for it...hard is hard, easy is easy), so I didn't allow a wonky knee to stop me from going out.  I reasoned that if it were anything to worry about 1) it would hurt during activity and/or 2) it would be swollen and hurt all the time.  Well....when those conditions were met, I went to the doctor.  His first assessment was that it would probably only take a session of ART (active release therapy) to get me back out there.

After he started working on me he said it might take 2 or 3....but when the swelling and pain got worse even with no activity he said we might be looking at 2-3 weeks.  (I'm holding onto hope that he's just setting my expectations high so when he says I'm good to go after a week I'll be really happy.)  We figured out it all started with a tiny little very minor bike wreck.  I basically slid on a patch of gravel, but I went down still clipped in.  He said that (wrecking while clipped in) can do funky things to knees.  It might have been fine, but I gave everything I had to every workout for the next week without regard to how my knee was feeling.

Hindsight almost always gives me a clearer perspective of what should have happened.  When my knee started feeling off, I should have taken care of it immediately.  I did ice it one day...but then went out and ran almost 4 miles of trail, pushing myself the whole time.  (It didn't hurt while I was running...only when I stopped!)  When it was hurting the next day I should have not ridden my bike at all...but I was coaching that night and didn't want to be a wimp when I was given the task to get to a certain point as quickly as I could.  I think I had the fastest speeds on that route that I've ever had...but my knee was really hurting.  I kept thinking, "SUCK IT UP...NO EXCUSES."  When I got off the bike and I couldn't put weight on that leg I realized I had made a mistake.

But...here's the thing...I didn't know what I didn't know.  I had no idea that minor little bike wreck could have even possibly done anything to me (other than the massive bruise on my hip and some minor road rash on my hands).   When my knee started feeling off, I didn't connect those dots.  But, even now, I'm glad I didn't use that as an excuse to take it easy.  Eric Charette told me one time in order to find out what my limits are it's necessary for me to push beyond them every now and then.

Taken from THIS website.

You know I really like analogies, right?  As I've been writing, I've been thinking how it's much like going muddin'.  Now...I have to be honest, I don't like muddin', not on a four-wheeler, not in a Jeep, not in a big red-neck truck.  Okay, if I'm really being honest I'd have to say I've never really even done it.  But, I can see a good comparison here.  (For all my non-countryfied readers...muddin' is when you intentionally go out and ride around in mud....to have fun.)

There's technique to it...you not only need the right "tools" (mainly tires), you have to know how to use those tools in the right way or you'll end up stuck in the mud.  But...the truth is, if you never get stuck, you probably haven't come close to reaching the limit of what you can do!!  Yes...if you get stuck all the time, you aren't taking the time to learn the skills you need but never getting stuck probably means you're playing it safe.

As far as I can remember, I've only been injured once since I started running and that was from being stupid.  This time it's really a result of trying to find my limits.  I feel like I was smart in that I went to the doctor as soon as I realized it wasn't getting better, and I've followed his instructions (ice every 2 hours, take NSAIDs, light stretching, stay off of it, and NO working out).

I won't be stuck for long.

Thanks for stopping in...by the way, you got a winch??
:D

Proving Myself Right

Pretty much ever since I started swimming, I have had the mindset of completing my workouts and completing that portion of the races I have entered.

Well...let me back up.  To be perfectly honest, I've had trouble even completing many workouts.  Sure I've had "legitimate" reasons for missing some of them, but more times than I really care to admit, I haven't even started the swim of the day out of fear.  I would get my workout and think, "really?  I can't do that!"...and I would prove myself right.  Other times I have started it thinking, "I'll never be able to finish this"...and I would prove myself right.  And....there have been other times when I thought, "I can do this...I can complete this thing"...and I have proven myself right, I "complete" it, I endure it, I survive the workout and can check it off the list.

Interestingly enough I have started every swim of every race thinking, "I will certainly complete this distance".   I have never even considered the idea I might not finish a swim in a race.  I have known I would be able to get to the finish with out having to hold onto a boat or seek assistance of any kind.  ...and I have proven myself right.

I have also never even considered the idea I would be able to compete in the swim....until recently.  I'm not sure when the idea popped in my head, but I remember it was something like, "why not?  Why can't I train to COMPETE in the swim?"  I'm positive it started with something Coach Eric said or something he posted on FaceBook, but I can't tell you what it was.  The idea is being reinforced daily as I continue to listen to Macca's book "I'm Here to Win".

I think ...no, I BELIEVE we generally prove ourselves right.  If I want to compete in my races (and I do), then I have to train with that end goal in mind.  I can't simply endure workouts; I have to WORK, I have to PUSH in my training.  I can't go into them with anything less than the thought of "I'm going to give everything I have to the task in front of me and do even more than I think is my best." ...and I have to prove myself right.

I think tomorrow's swim is the longest one I've ever done.  If it's not the longest, it certainly has the longest continuous sets I've ever done.  I'm going to say this right now....I'm not just going to endure the workout.  I'm not going to just complete the workout.  I'm going to PUSH to give all I have to it.

If I don't BELIEVE it, I can't ACHIEVE it, right Dennis??   I believe I can compete in the swim...and I'm going to start proving myself right by training that way.

Thanks for stopping in...come again soon.  I still have a post to write up about PigTails from Mach Tenn as well as the swim portion of that race.

:D

Mach Tenn Results

Okay...this has to be a record for the fastest consecutive post I've ever done.  ((NOTE: it would have been the fastest, but I waited to publish it so I could process through a little bit more...I actually wrote most of this starting about one minute after the last post!!))

I just looked at the results and in true Dana fashion, I'm going to pick them apart.  I might as well do that in writing and kill two birds with one stone!  :D

MASTERS AGE-GROUP RESULTS
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
   O'All No.   Name                    Age Time     Rank Swim  Tran 1 Rank Bike     T2  Rank Run     
== ===== ===== ======================= === ======== ==== ===== ====== ==== ======= ==== ==== ======   
 1   116   253 Kay Goodrum             44  1:41:43    4  19:17   1:35    4   50:17  1:12   1  29:23
 2   117   276 Kellie Arrant           41  1:41:55    7  21:03   1:57    1   47:49  1:02   2  30:06
 3   123   173 Lora Barkenbus Fox      42  1:42:13    3  19:08   1:29    3   50:17  1:06   3  30:15
 4   208   149 Melissa Gomez           41  1:52:00    6  21:01   3:39    2   49:10  2:50   6  35:23
 5   223   297 Julianna Waller-Swiebel 42  1:54:14    8  21:12   2:09    8   58:00  1:23   4  31:32
 6   237   337 Michele Coomer          42  1:55:56   10  24:13   2:30    7   54:39  2:17   5  32:19
 7   241    42 Dana Debardelaben       43  1:56:18    9  22:14   2:06    6   53:59  1:09   7  36:52
 8   267    73 Christine Schmalzer     43  1:59:55    1  15:57   1:53    9 1:00:01  1:16   8  40:51
 9   293   262 Joanna Whisenant        42  2:05:14    5  20:49   2:46    5   52:30  2:30  11  44:41
10   297   146 Janet Coffey            40  2:07:39    2  18:19   3:18   11 1:01:46  2:26   9  41:52
11   323   366 Cindy Miller            43  2:18:21   11  29:04   3:03   10 1:00:57  1:29  10  43:49 
 

I sure hope the results post the way I want them too because I copied and pasted them from the Mach Tenn site and then had to resize stuff...  Anyway...

First of all, for the first time in a race I've seriously analyzed results, there wasn't a Female Masters winner from my age group, so these 11 were it today.  (Small race.)

In order to have placed today I would have had to make up 14:06 somewhere.  When I look at my times compared to third place across all sections I can see where I think I could have used the most work (in today's race, in today's conditions)-where I would have gotten the biggest bang for my buck so to speak.

Category	My Time	3rd Place Person's Time	Delta For Me to Beat 3rd Place by 1 Sec
Swim	22:14 (9th)	19:08	3:07
Bike	53:59 (6th)	50:17	3:43
Run	36:52 (7th)	30:15	6:38
T1	2:06 (4th)	1:30	:38
T2	1:09 (3rd)	1:06	:04

So...if I had beat the third place person in all sections by one second I would have had an overall better time difference of 14:10...but the section I lost the most on was the RUN (as opposed to the bike or the swim as it usually is!!!).

Like I said in my last post, I'm going to devote a whole post to the swim but there's NO DOUBT in my mind I could have fairly easily made up 3 minutes in today's swim with some slight improvements.  I could have made up the difference in T2 (and part of the T1 time) with one minor change (not putting on SOCKS!), I would have also made up time if I hadn't been as careful with my wetsuit--something I'm sure I'll get over after I've worn it several times, but yesterday was it's race debut!

As far as the bike time goes....my average speed was 17.8 (if I did the math right), and I'm OVERJOYED with that speed given my past performances and that course.  It wasn't a hard course, it was just rolling.   I'm super excited to be seeing my bike speeds increasing!!  I can see a day in the not too distant future where I can make up that kind of difference on the bike....I think it averages out to just about 1mph.


Now...the run...  My pace was 9:14, the 3rd place gal's pace was 7:34.  That's a huge difference.  However...when I look at the female overall master's winners...the gal who won first place came in 4th on the swim, 5th on the run, but 1st on the bike.  Second place (Coach Karen, by the way) came in 1st on the swim, 3rd on the bike but 12th on the run.  Third place came in 1st on the run, 2nd on the bike but 12th on the swim.  That's what I LOVE about triathlon...you can have a "weaker" sport, but if you are able to make up the difference in one or two of the other sports you can end up on the podium.


My take-away from my data analysis is this--I have got to be more willing to SUFFER, but especially on the run.  I have room for growth in all areas.  I can actually see improvement on the bike and swim, but I'll have to put some VERY hard work in on my run to get it where it needs to be in order to be competitive.  ((Maybe I'll get this down by the time I'm 55 and the field will decrease by then!))

Thanks to my husband for writing the HTML code for my cool table!!

Thanks for hanging with me through the analysis!!  Come again soon for the full story on the swim and more about Pig Tails (the gal I raced to the finish line). 
:D

Mach Tenn

I want to write up my race recap before I have the chance to look at any numbers from the race.  (This would be slightly better if I didn't know my finishing time and place, but I'm going to forget about that for now and pretend I JUST crossed the finish line...well, about 15 minutes ago...)

THAT WAS A GREAT RACE EXPERIENCE FOR ME!!!!

Let me start at the beginning.

PRE-RACE

Given the fact this was a shorter distance race (for me), I didn't do anything different leading up....no changes in my workout, certainly no changed in diet.  I had a hard-for-me bike ride Wednesday night (one that I totally ROCKED), a long swim on Thursday (that I finished which was a good thing), and then taught a strength Spin class yesterday.  I woke up at 4:00, got my stuff ready and got my sweet husband to drive me over to my friend's house so we could ride together.

On the way there we were talking about the swim/bike/run distances; she said the swim was 1000ish.  I thought it was odd that I was thinking it was 600, but I've been looking at a lot of races lately so I didn't think too much about it.

After we got there and picked up our packets, I went to air my tires (using her pump since I figured there was no reason to bring mine since we had hers).  All pumps are NOT created equally...I ended up letting all the air out of my tire and neither of us could get the thing to work!!  So, we decided to get set up in transition and try again.  As I was putting my number on my bike, my friend asked in an astonished tone, "What time did you put down for your swim???"

(((Side note for my non-triathlete readers/friends...many races base your starting position on your swim time.  In a perfect everyone correctly estimates the time it will take them, they all start in the correct order, and everyone finishes in a straight line.  Now...that NEVER happens, but if everyone is close then at least it doesn't get bottle-necked or congested in the water.  The lower the number, the faster the swim time/swimmer.))

((Friend says in astonished tone, "what time did you put down for your swim??"))  It was only at that moment that I noticed my number was FORTY TWO!!!  (She is a faster swimmer and her number was 308!!)  OH MY GOSH...the swim was .6...which my brain saw as 600!!!  I started freaking out.  I didn't care about people passing me on the swim, but the thing was I didn't want to be an impedance to anyone.  I didn't want to be like a big log floating in the water as all the fish were trying to swim by! 

Coach Karen, and some other friends encouraged me it was no big deal because the faster swimmers know how to go around people better than the slower ones do.  I decided to calm down, not worry about it and finish getting set up.  Thankfully the pump worked and I was able to have a very short little warm up in the water before it was time for the race to start.  Just as they were about to sing the National Anthem I asked the starting official if I could let others go in front of me and she calmly said that was NOT a problem!!  Whew-crisis averted!

SWIM

Since I had warmed up (I think that's the first time I've done a pre-race swim warm up), I new how far out I needed to run before starting my swim.  I swam strong, straight and fast-for-me.  ...for about 50 yards!  I intend to write a whole post about the swim later so I won't go too far into it here.  Instead, I want to focus on the fact that I started in a better position than I would have if I had estimated my time accurately, and passed A LOT of people.  I felt good a decent bit of the time and, without looking at my time/pace, I think I had a pretty average-for-my-normal-swim-workout-times time.  I struggled quite about sighting on the way back because the sun was in our eyes.  Also, I got HOT in my wetsuit toward the end.  (However, I am VERY glad I wore it because that thing gives me a HUGE advantage compared to not wearing it.)  ((Now, once I look at me time I might pull out the baseball bat and commence to dis on myself for my performance, but purely based on how it felt, I think I did about average.


T1


I think that might have been the slowest comparative transition I've done.  I'm usually pretty fast but I don't think that was the case today.  In addition to taking off the wetsuit, I felt pretty dizzy and almost fell over when I put on my shoes.  But, I'm pretty certain I wasn't the slowest either and I know I didn't miss placing in my age group because of it, so it's okay.


Since I had completely scoped out the transition area/run in/bike out layout I knew exactly where to find my bike and exactly where to go once I got it.  Fantastic.


BIKE


My friend told me the course was rolling the whole time.  I didn't have a good concept of what she meant until I was out there.   None of them were steep or long, but as soon as one ended another one started almost the whole time.  I am NOT used to that.  I shifted A LOT today-more than any other race ever!  


My goal was to push the whole time-even if it meant I could not stand up when I got off the bike.  All things considered, I think I did that.  I passed more people than what passed me (a first), and I was only re-passed by 3 people (all three of whom I re-passed and stayed in front of-I think).  At one point I was struggling a little.  I said, out loud, "DIG DIG DIG".  (If anyone was close enough to hear me, that may be why I wasn't passed as many times as usual!)


I kept telling myself it was only 16 miles...less than an hour.  I've been teaching tough, climbing, Spin classes that last longer than an hour for a while now, so this should be old hat...piece of cake!  My goal was to not leave anything on the course and be able to say I gave ALL I HAD today.  Based on what I know right now, I think I did that.  Now...let me say I know that when I learn how to suffer really well I'm certain I will have more to give but I can honestly say I haven't learned that yet.  (More on that later, too.)


T2


Again...because of my pre-race recon, I knew exactly where to go once I got into transition and where to go once I had my running stuff.  Still not my fastest time in T2 (comparatively speaking) but, all-in-all, not horrible.


RUN


I'd like to only say one word:  ROLLING.  But, who am I kidding, there's no way I could only say one word!  


I ran out of transition with a gal wearing pig-tails and a very fit-looking 50 year old man. The man looked strong so I decided to try to stay with him.  It always helps me to have someone to pace off of, or to chase.  I think once I get better at pacing (and suffering) this might not be the case, but that's what it is today.  It turned out Pigtails and Fit-n-50 and I were pretty well matched in the run.  Fit-n-50 had to walk some hills (obviously watching his heart rate) but ran faster on the down hills so he did this back and forth thing with us a good bit of the time.


I didn't wear my Garmin but I'm pretty certain the first mile was slow.  After mile one I told myself I needed to pick it up.  About that time I saw Coach Karen who was of course on mile 3 about to finish.  She yelled out, "DANA!!!  ARE YOU OKAY????"   She sounded so concerned it made me wonder if I was bleeding somewhere or if I looked like I was limping!!  I yelled back "I'M GREAT!!"  I realized after a split second she thought I had started out 42d instead of 309th!!  She had been looking for me the whole time and had been worried to death.  I worried it might have hindered her performance until I found out she came in 2nd Masters (1st won bike several minute...I don't think the worry over my well-being made the difference--WHEW!).


As I neared the 2 mile mark I worried.  I entered the water with two gals who I know are MUCH better swimmers than I am.  One is MUCH faster than I am on the bike.  But, I figured I am a faster runner than both of them so I hoped to have caught them at some point...but the course was an out-and-back and I had not seen either of them anywhere.  Could they really have been that far in front of me???


About that time I saw one of them, she was about 1/2 mile ahead of me I'm guessing.  She kindly said, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU, YOU BIG WUSS???  YOU'RE A FASTER RUNNER THAN I AM, YOU BETTER CATCH UP??  YOU CAN RUN FASTER THAN THAT--SPEED UP!!!"   I love my hard-driving friends!!  I yelled back at her, "OH, I'M COMING ALL RIGHT!!  I'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER BABY AND I'M CALLING IT!!"...and promptly passed Pig-Tails and Fit-n-50 in my pursuit of catching up with (and passing) my friend.


About that time I came up to a gal with a star tatoo on each shoulder, I'll call her Rock Star.  She was running strong so I latched on to her.  We ran down a hill and then up a hill together.  I "knew" she was going to leave me as soon as she said, "good job" because I couldn't say it back to her.


My one real regret at that point was not trying harder to stay with her.  Instead I re-focused my attention on my friend who was only about 25 feet ahead of me, with one mile to go.  I hooked her and started reeling her in as we went up a hill.  She was holding her side so, with all the concern I had for her, I yelled out, "you better use that arm to get up this hill because I'm about to pass you!!  COME ON--WE ONLY HAVE ONE MILE TO GO!!!"  

We had talked earlier about willingness to suffer in a race.  A longer race is a little easier because you really don't hurt the whole time as much as you "should" in a shorter race.  The first time I heard a runner tell me a 5K hurts more than a marathon I though she was crazy.  But it's true...you run much faster the short the distance therefore you suffer more, albeit for a shorter time.  (So maybe the total "sufferage" is the same...but you get what I mean.)  We talked about those people you see who cross the finish and completely collapse, and how we really want that experience.  So, I added, "LET'S TURN IT ON, CROSS THE FINISH AND HAVE TO LAY DOWN!!"


I then passed her and proceeded to find a new target as she cheered me on.


My new target pair were both 40 years old-a man and a woman running together.  We rounded the corner and a volunteer in a wheelchair cheered loudly for us saying, "around the corner and down the hill to the finish!!"


DOWN THE HILL???!!!  Oh yeah baby, I can do this.  About that time I realized this woman in my age group was another friend of mine.  I yelled out to her that I was coming for her when, from out of no where, Pig Tails FLEW by me yelling, "COME ON!!"


OH YES!!!!  I LOVE IT WHEN I HAVE SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO RACE TO THE FINISH!!  She was a little ahead and we only had about 150-200 to go to the finish. 


My first thought was, "I can't sprint that far...she got me."  In a split second I remembered so many words from Macca's book "I'm Here to Win", coupled with the verse of the day I got this morning in my email ("I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil 4:13)...and my second thought was, "you will NOT beat me across that line" and I took off with ALL I HAD.


I'm pretty sure I heard some people cheering for me, but I didn't care.  All I cared about was getting passed her before that line.  And...I did!  Coach Eric was right there saying "GREAT JOB".  I couldn't talk!!!  He held his arms out for a hug and I darn near collapsed!!!  Now...it wasn't because I had gone hard the WHOLE time, but it's a start anyway!  It took me several minutes to recover enough to even make sound other than the involuntary guttural gasping for air sound coming out of my throat.  YEA!!  Success!!


I'm going to write up a whole post about Pig Tails because I had the good fortune to meet her later and get some of her story and I think it's pretty cool!!


POST RACE


After my friends came in hot on my heels, I went to load up my bike.  I told my the one I rode to the race with (the one who called me out for being a wuss and not running as hard as I could) that I wanted to say (before I saw any numbers at all) I felt I had just had one of my personal best races.  I figure the times wouldn't be that great given the rolling hills, but only speaking in terms of making myself PUSH and feeling like I had in fact done just that, I think it was fairly decent.


When we checked the results I saw my time was right at 1:56 and I had come in 7th place in my age group.  This is a smaller race so there were only like 11 of us...but that's okay.  this race has been around for 30 years, chances are high at least some of the others have done it and knew the course (which in my mind gives at least a slight advantage).  


I almost fell into the trap of allowing those numbers dictate my perception of the race, but I stopped because I remembered how I felt on the course.  I "know" I could have/should have swam faster, but that will come as I give more effort in my swim workouts.  I don't think I could have biked any faster today than what I did.  I may have been able to run a tiny bit faster, but I didn't feel like I left anything that I knew I had on the course...and I had not given up when I thought Pig Tails was going to beat me.


All-in-all, today was a grand victory.  


Now I'm going to look at my times! :D


Thanks for stopping in.  Come again soon for the rest of the story about the swim, Pig Tails and to see if I keep feeling as victorious once I look at the data!  
:D

NOLA Pics

I really wanted to make a slideshow, but I'll add that to my "when I have time" list!  For now...here are the professional pics from NOLA.  ((Some of them show how gross my thighs are, but I decided to post those too because I've seen a lot of people have gross thighs in race pictures!!  It is what it is, right?))   (Turn on the sound for the full NOLA effect!)

The day before the race...this water doesn't look SO bad...

Buoy out...swim cancelled...

Can you tell how hard the wind was blowing?

I love all the "end markers"-I didn't put the A there, but this was my row!

Seeing the pros start was more exciting that I expected it to be!  But seeing Mirinda running at the end was AMAZING!

1st run-should have worn my sunglasses!

Bike out!

Home stretch--NOT smiling

Smiling or just grunting?

early in the run

Still the first loop...I like the hitch-hiker look! :D

Okay..who wouldn't be smiling running next to ......Lake Ponchartrain.

Not smiling and no thumbs up...(terrible form-I'm "putting on the brakes"!!)

I need to have this determination THE WHOLE TIME not save it for the end sprint!

Gun time...chip time was 5:40:05.

AWESOME medal!

...and hat...that I somehow lost...but they were nice enough to send an even better replacement!

Yeah...it would have been better in a slideshow....but I'm on my way out the door to teach Spin class so this will have to do!!

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!  :D