Ironman Wisconsin Spectating Report

It's quickly becoming a September tradition.

Head down to Madison and spend all day running around cheering on a friend as they travel 140.6 miles. In the process? Get inspired and have an amazing day.

I went back down to Madison last weekend for Ironman Wisconsin spectating. Last year it was to cheer on my good friend Jeff as he completed his 10th Ironman (a number he's since increased to 11). This year I was there to cheer with my friend Myriah as her husband Josh tackled his first Ironman.

I headed down to Madison on Saturday after I finished my 13 miles run. I met up with Myriah and her family at their hotel and then we proceeded to hatch a plan on for spectating. Myriah and her Ironman-to-be would be leaving the hotel super early, I was responsible for making sure their families - I bet there was close to 20 of them - made it down to the Monona Terrace in the morning for the swim start.

I'm happy to report I did it. And no family members were lost!

We staked out a spot on the helix by my friend Jeff - who had come up to Wisconsin that weekend to do a triathlon and watch Josh at Ironman. It was hard to see the actual swim since we were in an area with a bunch of people. But if I stood on my tiptoes, I could catch a few glimpses of the swimmers. Of course, the swim start was just as cool as I remember it. About an hour after the pros started swimming, we could hear a roar coming up the helix and all of a sudden the first swimmer out of the water was running past us into transition.

Let me say, what I couldn't see of the swim was more than made up for by the spectating spot I had to watch athletes run into transition. For those going to spectate at IM Wisconsin in the future, I definitely recommend staking a spot out on the helix. So cool.

We gathered our group up and headed to the bus to go back to the Alliant Energy Center. Then it was time to hop in the car and head out to the bike course. Josh was flying on the bike, as in we weren't going to make it to the first planned bike spot in Verona at Mile 15. We decided to head out to Timber Lane instead. I thought we were going to the big hill on Timber Lane where I was spectating last year, but I was a poor navigator and took a wrong turn. So we were on Timber Lane, just AFTER the crest of the hill. Oops. It's OK though, we still saw Josh and then headed out to a location just west of Verona (around Mile 62) where we saw him again. Back to Timber Lane - the right spot on Timber Lane - for one final chance to see Josh on the bike.

Like last year, the energy on Timber Lane was amazing. Tour de France-like. Crowds lining the road. People in costumes. Drummers running alongside the athletes as they biked up the hill. So cool.

Once we saw Josh, we piled back in our cars (to give you an idea of the size of our group, we filled three cars) and headed back to downtown for the run. They jumped back on the bus. I jumped in my car to find parking near the Capitol Square so I could jump on my bike. My plan was to meet back up with Jeff and chase Josh around the run course.

First I waited right around the run out point for Josh to come through. While waiting, I caught a glimpse of the lead male, who had a huge lead on second place. And you know what? He kept increasing that lead throughout the rest of the afternoon on his way to a new course record. Amazing. He never looked tired. So fluid. So fast. Looked fresh.

Anyway, soon Josh came through and I was off. I made a pit stop by Myriah and told her my plan and that I'd be sending her updates throughout the afternoon. I met up with Jeff and we were off. With Jeff having done this race multiple times and both of being UW grads, it's not a surprise that we had a good idea of where to go and the shortcuts to get there. I think we ended up seeing Josh 5 or 6 times per 13 mile loop. And by the time he got to the second loop, we needed to know where those shortcuts were! I swear Josh was getting faster because we would barely beat him to the viewing points! He went through his cycles of good and bad, but overall, Josh looked strong on his way to a 3:35 marathon. Seriously. Guy is fast. Josh ended up finishing Ironman in 10:42ish. Not bad for a first Ironman, huh?

The Ironman-to-be that I was chasing all day, on the right.

Once again, it was a long day. It was a hard day of spectating. But it was so worth it. Watching the athletes, many of them just like you and me, put out the effort to travel that 140.6 miles. Some of them hurting, but all of them moving forward. And once again, when I'm at Mile 11 of my next half marathon and I'm hurting and just want to quit, I'll think back to those Ironmen. Chances are, they were hurting a lot more. And they kept going.

So congrats to all the finishers at Ironman Wisconsin! I'll be back in 2013 to cheer again. And next year? I'm pretty sure I'll think ahead and take Monday off so I can experience that final hour at the finish line. See you then!

Three Things Thursday

1. Running has been a bit sporadic since the Green Bay half marathon. Ideally I'd like to be back to my 5 days a week running schedule by this point, after all I do have events coming up to train for, but I'm slowly easing myself back in. See the last 6 miles of the half marathon my Achilles area and calf on my left legs were tender. I went an had an AMAZING massage the day after the race and the Achilles area started to feel fine, but my calf was still a bit angry with me. I took a few days off and it felt better, so I tried Run No. 1 post-half marathon. Run felt pretty good. But afterward the calf was angry again. Took another few days off. Same thing. Repeat one more time. Thankfully the angriness of my calf has diminished each time, so I'm really crossing my fingers it's going to go away for good this time. Let's just say the foam roller, stick and ice are my BFFs right now.


2. It's almost the end of May and I can tell you right now there will be no reading recap for you. Why? Because I'm STILL reading Les Miserables. Yes. The book I started on March 9. I know the book is 1,260 pages long - that's a lot of pages - but I never thought it would take me this long. I'm almost to page 800 right now and I'm setting a deadline for myself. This book? It must be done by June 9.

3. It feels a little weird not having any triathlons on my race schedule this year. I decided to concentrate on running races this year and try to do some events I've never done in the past but have always wanted to try. And considering I have yet to get on my bike yet this spring, that's probably a good decision. But still. I kind of miss getting ready for triathlons. Which is why I'm considering volunteering at the High Cliff Triathlon in June. It's a great event, one I've done the last two years, and is close to home. Besides, what else do I have to do on a Saturday morning?

YMCA Indoor Triathlon Race Report

It's the end of January, which means it was time for the first indoor triathlon of the year at my YMCA.

Honestly, there was a part of me that was considering not doing the event this year. For starters I haven't been in a pool since July. I haven't been on a bike since early December, and that was only for a very short post-run cool down (and mainly to finish watching a basketball game). Running? Well I have been doing that.

But when I have the race director sending me an email earlier in the week reminding me registration is due, well the guilt sets in. So I registered. And originally intended to spend some time in the pool last week and at least get one decent bike session in. But that plan flew out the window.

Add in the fact that I subjected myself to a very very chilly 3-mile run that morning in barely above zero temperatures and got to the YMCA 10 minutes before my wave was set to start (and still had to change into my swim suit) and you could say I was completely winging this event.

I got down to the pool with a couple of minutes to spare, put on my swim cap and goggles and got in the water. It was wet, just like I remembered. And cold. Just like outside. After what seemed like forever it was finally go time.

The swim was a bit different this year. Instead of 8 minutes like in the past, it was a 10 minute swim this time. Given my lack of swimming, I didn't have any expectations. I mostly wanted to survived. The first 100 yards went fine. Took a quick little breather and swam another 50 yards before doing 25 yards of the backstroke. There was one more length of the pool done with the backstroke before time was up. 10 minutes. 400 yards. I'll take it.

A quick change from my swimming suit to bike shorts and a t-shirt and it was off to the bike studio.

Nothing too exciting to report from the bike portion. Although it was here that my legs started to grumble a bit. The five other people in my wave all looked like they were pedaling a lot faster than I was. And at times I felt bad. But then I remembered I had already put in 3 very cold miles this morning, I haven't spent a decent amount of time on the bike in a long time and I was mostly doing this event for fun. So I was pretty happy with my effort, which was hard enough to make me sweat buckets! After 20 minutes on the bike I ended up with 9.1 miles.

Then it was upstairs to the elementary school sized gym where I would get to run in circles for 15 minutes. And to give you an idea of the size of this gym, 18 laps equaled a mile. Yeah. Literally running in circles.

I must have been in a super speedy group of folks because they all took off when the starter said go. I started running and what felt like a decent pace for me. But since they were all clipping along, I felt like I was walking. I didn't have a watch on, so I wasn't sure how much time had passed. I only knew how many laps I had completed. And that was only if I remembered how to count correctly.

I hit the 18 lap mark shortly before the starter yelled that there was 5 minutes left. That would put me at just under a 10 minute mile. Which is what I've been running lately. So even though I was getting passed left and right, I was OK with it. Especially given my legs had miles on them from the morning and this was the run portion of a triathlon. In the end I finished 28.75 laps, which if I can do the math right is 1.6 miles. I'll take it.

After I was done I did a bit of stretching before heading down to the locker room to change out of my sweaty clothes. I stopped by the race director and found out I finished just outside of the top three (the 30-39 year old age group is always stacked). But I was OK with how I had done.

Overall it was an OK event. A couple of things that bugged me:

• Why do we need to put down our shirt size on the registration forms? Because obviously you didn't order shirts according to those forms. When I got there to register? I had a choice between an XL and an XXL. Not the medium I indicated on my registration.
• No post-race snacks left? I realize I was in the last wave possible. But a yellow apple and a really cold slice of pizza isn't appealing. Especially since that pizza was piping hot an hour earlier when I signed in and the first waves were finishing.
• I realize I sent my photographer from work there to shoot photos for a story I'm working on. But that doesn't mean you need to have your camera in my face the entire afternoon. Because guess what? Photos of me are not going to be running in our newspaper. I hope you took some photos of other folks who were doing the tri.

Three Things Thursday

1. Didn't really want to go for a run tonight after work, but I forced myself to go. At first the run stunk. But surprise, surprise, after a mile I felt good. So my 3-mile run turned into 4 miles. Which turned into 5 miles. Which ended up being 6.2 miles because honestly I was feeling pretty good.

2. I need to sit down this weekend and try to come up with a training plan. While the Green Bay Half Marathon isn't until May, I'm toying with doing the Oshkosh Half Marathon in mid-April - use it as a training run. In years past I've always done the 5K in Oshkosh, but I figured one of these years I should really do the half marathon on the streets of the city I call home.

3. Speaking of training, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be doing an indoor triathlon next weekend on a complete whim. No training whatsoever. I haven't been in a pool since July. I haven't spent a considerable amount of time on a bike in a long time. But I have been running. I was thinking of skipping the event next weekend at the YMCA, but it'll be the last chance for me to do a race as a 30-year-old. Going in under-prepared? Could be fun. Or scary.

Showing off my bling

There is a possibility that I'm the last person in Blogland to do this. But on this steamy Sunday in August, I'm taking a few moments to show you folks the bling I've collected. I believe Marlene started off showing us her medal collection and I'm pretty sure every blogger I read has followed suit.

I'm just a little behind.

But my collection. Here it is. I don't display my medals anywhere special. They hang off the edge of the bookcase that sits in the hallway between my living room and bedroom hallway. If people know to look for them, they spot them. Or sometimes the ribbons and medals will catch their eye. Otherwise the medals just kind of hang there. Although I might have to figure something else out since I'm running out of room.

Since the collection is a bit small, I'll take you on a quick tour.

First up, my favorite. It's the medal I got after crossing the finish line at the Green Bay Half Marathon in May 2010. Yeah, the half marathon where I almost cried as I ran the lap around Lambeau Field. The half marathon that marked the end of my battle with The Monster.

And since we're talking about the end of The Monster, we've got to go back to the beginning too. This is the medal I got after finishing the Fox Cities Half Marathon in September 2007. My first half marathon. And it was about 2 months later that The Monster invaded my head.

The Danskin Sprint Triathlon and two Trek Women's Triathlon medals I've collected over the last three years. The one on the left with the green ribbon, that came from the Danskin Sprint Triathlon in July 2008, my very first triathlon. The two Trek Women's Triathlon medals were from 2009 (center) and 2010 (right).

And these are the few age group medals I've gotten my hands on. Three are from the indoor triathlons my YMCA has put on over the last two years, but the one with the skinny red ribbon? That's actually from a 5K, Run for the Paws, that I did last Labor Day with my friend. Granted, it was a really really small race (like 30 people tops), but I was still proud of my age group award.

So those are my medals. Like I said, it's kind of a small collection, but I'm proud of each one. And I'm hoping to add some more bling to bookshelf in the coming months. In fact, stay tuned this week. I'll have an announcement coming up.

Trek Women's Triathlon Race Report

I almost crashed. I walked a few times during the run. And let's not forget the fact that I've been slacking in the pool this year. But I ended up being unstoppable, just like Sally Edwards told me I was.

I headed down to Pleasant Prairie to the site of my first triathlon three years ago. Even though it's switched from a Danskin event to the Trek Women's Triathlon, it still holds a special place in my heart - same weekend, good cause that it supports and it's always nice to go back to the location where your first happened.

Waiting on the beach for my wave to start, I did have a moment where I freaked out a bit. But realizing you've spent limited time in the pool and seeing exactly how far it is across Lake Andrea will do that to you. Next thing I knew it was time for me and the other women in my wave who were wearing yellow swim caps to go.

After some high fives, words of encouragement and Sally Edwards, the Chief Inspiration Officer, telling us we were going to be unstoppable triathletes the gun was sounding and we were off.

The Swim - 1/2 mile

I mentioned it before, but I was most worried about the swim. I haven't been in the water since High Cliff a month ago. And my preparation for High Cliff? Minimal. So suddenly having to swim a half mile across a spring fed lake (which gets really deep really fast) was a bit daunting. But I took a breath, positioned myself near the back and outside of the pack and prepared to swim.

Of course the beginning was chaos. Always is. But I just found a somewhat less chaotic place in the water and started to swim. About a 100 yards or so into the swim I flipped to my back for a moment or two, but that was the only time I really paused. The rest of the swim I just kept a fairly relaxed, steady pace. Not really having any expectations, I wasn't worried about the time. So let's just say I was surprised when I got out of the water, glanced at my watch and saw the time.

Transition 1: Swim to Bike

Nothing too exciting in transition. Biggest chunk of time is spent running from the swim exit to where my bike is racked. And from there to the bike out. It's a huge transition area.

The Bike - 12.4 miles

I found out moments before my wave started that they had changed the bike course this year. And since I didn't realize it, I had no idea what to expect. The bike course in previous years has been fairly flat, with the only real hills being a highway overpass over railroad tracks. But this bike course? Not flat. Full of rolling hills along country roads.

Granted I almost didn't see a good chunk of the bike course since my bike and I got into a fight about 2 miles into the ride. Maybe my bike was mad at me for having to stay outside in a pretty hefty downpour Saturday night, but I was riding along and all of a sudden I'm not quite sure what happened, but I was almost falling off my bike. I didn't actually fall off the bike, but I did end up bloodied and bruised on my calf where my pedal gouged me.

I kept riding though. Had a little bit of a headwind to contend with early on, but at least it was early. Tackled the rolling hills (and highway overpasses) and soon it was back to the race site.

Transition 2: Bike to Run
Again, nothing exciting to report. I momentarily considered grabbing my iPod for the run, but decided to go sans tunes for my second triathlon in a row. And you know what? I think I like going without music every once and awhile.

The Run - 3.1 miles
When I glanced down at my watch at the beginning of the run, I knew it was possible to hit my goal time. But it was going to be close. So I started running.

Mom kind of cut my head off, but I like this one.

I ran through the first mile and when I got to the first water station, I decided to walk through it. It was sunny - not a cloud in the sky - and temps were near 80 at the time. It was starting to get warm. So I grabbed two glasses of water - one to drink and one to dump - and started running again when I was done.

Took advantage of the firefighters around Mile 1.25 who had their hoses acting as a sprinkler. I hit the turn around and started to head back, knowing the end was near. Took another short walk break, took advantage of another firefighter's hose and walked through the second water station. At this point I've got just under a mile to go. I glance at my watch. It's getting awfully close to my goal time. And at this point I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it. But I decide regardless of how hot it's getting, I'm running the rest of the way.

I start to run. I make the last curve and it's just one, really long straightaway to the finish line. The crowds start to line the course, they're so close and cheering the athletes on. It feels like what I expect the riders in the Tour de France experience when they're riding the mountain stages. Amazing. I kick it into a higher gear. Run a bit faster. Almost there. Get my second high of the day from Sally Edwards and then I'm crossing the finish line.

Make a quick stop in medical just to clean up my battle wound, grab some water and my medal before meeting up with my Mom. Even though I was wearing my watch, I managed to hit the wrong button and didn''t have an exact finishing line until I waited around and get my official race results.

1 hour, 47 minutes, 23 seconds

Not quite the 1 hour, 45 minutes I was shooting for, but it's still a PR over 2 minutes, 14 seconds over last year's time. I'll take it. Especially given my preparation. And my swim time? Totally not expecting to pull that kind of number.

2010 Trek Women's Triathlon

Swim: 19 minutes, 8 seconds

Transition 1: 4 minutes, 36 seconds

Bike: 49 minutes, 11 seconds

Transition 2: 2 minutes, 2 seconds

Run: 32 minutes, 25 seconds

Total: 1 hour, 47 minutes, 23 seconds

Just for giggles, let's compare that to 2009 and 2008 (when it was a Danskin event).

2009 Trek Women's Triathlon

Swim: 20:35

T1: 5:20

Bike: 45:41

T2: 2:32

Run: 35:26

Total: 1 hour, 49 minutes, 37 seconds

2008 Danskin Triathlon

Swim: 20:42

T1: 6:29

Bike: 54:06

T2: 4:00

Run: 40:59

Total: 2 hours, 6 minutes, 19 seconds

So another year down. Looking forward to seeing what 2011 brings.

Three Things Thursday

1. I'm heading down to Milwaukee tonight after work to go to Summerfest. A friend and I are going to see O.A.R. play on one of the side stages. It's a band we both really like and we you factor in the fact that I got my hands on a pair of free tickets for admission and I don't have to be to work until early Friday afternoon, it's something I can't pass up.

2. I need a vacation. Actually I just need some days where I don't have to go into the office. Good thing it's a 3-day weekend. And my actual vacation? It starts July 9 when the clock strikes 5:30 p.m. Not that I'm counting down the days or anything.

3. This weekend starts a string of 3 races in a 13-day period. I've got the Firecracker 5K on Sunday, the Trek Women's Triathlon in Pleasant Prairie on July 11 and the Scheels Sunset 5K on July 16. Should be a good stretch of races. Although it's always been blistering hot for the Sunset 5K.

High Cliff Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Whitecaps. And headwinds. And cliffs. Oh my.

And all of them? They played a role in my second attempt at the High Cliff Sprint Triathlon on Saturday. And while I didn't have quite the race I was hoping for, I'm pretty happy with the result that I turned in.

I headed up to the race expo on Friday after I got done with work. I picked up my number, got my wave and while I did a quick walk through the expo vendors, I didn't stick around long. I drove over to my parents' house, dropped my stuff off and made quick trip out to the park to check out the water. Not too cold. Then it was time to head back to Mom and Dad's have some dinner, get my gear ready and relax.

RACE DAY
Because the 4:45 a.m. alarm went off really early. I got up, took a really quick shower and Mom put two French braids in my hair. Then it was time to head off to the park. Driving to the park, I actually go down the last 4 miles of the bike course and part of it runs right alongside Lake Winnebago, where the swim course is. As I rounded that curve and I saw the water for the first time, I swear my stomach dropped.

Whitecaps.

And not little ones. We're talking waves 3 to 5 feet tall. Oh boy. I went into that whole denial phase. The race isn't starting for another 2 hours and my wave won't start for almost 3 hours, those waves will be gone by then. Yeah.

So I got to the park, set my transition area up and headed out for a visit to the port-a-potty. After that it was one last glance at my transition area and then I headed down to check out the water. Still whitecaps. Not good. I got wet, swam a little bit of a warm up and realized this swim was going to be tough. I went back ashore, chatted with my Mom and sister-in-law for a bit and pretty soon it was go time.

THE SWIM
The Half Ironman waves went off first and I was in the fifth or sixth sprint wave. While standing on the beach, waiting for the course officials to tell us go, I noticed something. The people in all the waves before me? They were pretty much walking. And not just to the first buoy. Nope. Walking past the turnaround point back towards shore.

No way. That's not going to be me, I thought. Yes, I didn't get a lot of time in the pool but I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be one of those people who walked the swim leg of the triathlon. Whitecaps or not.

I was wrong.

When the gun went off, my wave took off running into the water, hoping over waves. We got to the first buoy, still running. On a calm day, the water is probably about waist deep at this point. Not on this day. With the waves, the water was almost over my head.

So I found myself doing exactly what I thought I wasn't going to do. I was doing more walking than swimming. I'd try to swim, but I'd take a few strokes and sight and I'd be totally off course. Or the waves would keep me from actually going anywhere. I ended up doing a combination of walking and attempting to swim the last half of the swim and let me tell you, I was never so glad to be done with a quarter-mile swim.

TRANSITION 1: SWIM TO BIKE
Transition went well. I threw on my shorts and a tank, exchanged some "man that swim was brutal" with other folks in my wave, grabbed the helmet and shades and I was off.


THE BIKE
I got to the mount line, jumped on my bike and I was off. Ready to tackle the cliff road. I got to the base of the road, shifted down to a pretty low gear and started pedaling. I just got into a zone really quickly. There were folks passing me, but I wasn't worried. I just kept pedaling. And I actually did pass a few people. Which made me happy.

Pretty soon I was at the top of the cliff and out on the road. The first three-quarters of the 22-mile bike were pretty nice. I kept a pretty steady pace, around 16 or 17 miles per hour, which kind of surprised me. But all of a sudden, around mile 13, I make a right turn on to a country road to head west and BAM! The bike begins to suck.

I'm heading west, 9 miles from the end of the bike, into a steady 25mph headwind. And it was brutal. As brutal as those whitecaps I tackled during the swim. For the next 4 miles or so, I felt like I was working so hard, yet going absolutely no where. At a few points I seriously struggled to keep my speed above 9 mph. And at that point I briefly thought about throwing my bike in the ditch and crying, but I kept on pedaling.

And eventually I was at the end of the road. Let me tell you, I was never so happy to turn south and ride those last miles into the park.


TRANSITION: BIKE TO RUN
Transition went smoothly. Racked my bike, got rid of the helmet and tried to put on the visor. But the French braids weren't allowing me to wear the visor. So I threw on a head band thing, debated briefly about whether to grab the iPod (ultimately decided to go without tunes) and I was off.

THE RUN
I got to the base of the road and started to go up. I made it up the first uphill segment and a portion of the deceivingly flat looking chunk before taking a small walk break. Started running again just before the killer climb at the top of the cliff. In all, I'd say I ran just a little more than half of the cliff road, which was better than last year. Once I got on the trails I felt better. I took a short walk break around the Mile 1 aid station, another around the Mile 2 aid station and a third short break somewhere around Mile 2.5. In hindsight I probably could have gotten rid of one of those breaks, but oh well. Even with the breaks, I was passing people on the run, and no one was passing me. Made me feel pretty good.

After that last walk break in the quarry area, it was a right hand turn and I was going down the cliff road that I'd worked so hard to bike and then run up earlier in the day. And going down? So much easier than going up. I felt good going downhill. Strong. I had a pretty nice kick at the end through the chute into the finish line.

I was done. I'd tackled High Cliff a second time and this year I felt pretty good with how I did. In my mind at the beginning of the day I was hoping to finish in 2 hours, 15 minutes. And I just missed it this year, but given the whitecaps and headwinds, I'm OK with it. Aside from those few moments on the bike where I just wanted to curl up in the ditch and quit, I felt strong during the race. And know that if I wasn't dealing with the whitecaps and headwinds, I could have gotten that 2:15.

So let's look at numbers:
Total Time: 2 hours, 23 minutes, 48 seconds
Swim: 7 minutes, 58 seconds
T1: 3 minutes, 32 seconds
Bike: 1 hours, 33 minutes, 36 seconds
T2: 2 minutes, 13 seconds
Run: 36 minutes, 27 seconds

And for comparison's sake, here's 2009:
Total time: 2 hours, 26 minutes, 28 seconds
Swim: 8 minutes, 28 seconds
T1: 4 minutes, 52 seconds
Bike: 1 hour, 26 minutes, 33 seconds
T2: 1 minute, 59 seconds
Run: 44 minutes, 34 minutes

That's an improvement of almost 3 minutes this year. And considering my bike was 7 minutes slower this year due to the winds? I so could have had the 2:15 I was aiming for. Especially since my transitions were faster, my swim was just a little bit faster (even with the whitecaps) and I shaved almost 8 minutes off the run. Darn wind slowing me down.

Next year.

Three Things Thursday

1. I woke up with Lady Gaga's "Alejandro" in my head. And it stayed in my head. All. Day. I could blame it on the early hour that my alarm went off. But I blame it mostly on my Dad, since that's what was blaring from his garage stereo last night when I left their house.

2. I picked up the copy of Dean Karnazes' Ultra Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner that the library told me was waiting for me. I want to read it so bad, but first I've got to finish up Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption, a memoir a cocaine addict wrote about his addiction and path to recovery. He's just had his first big relapse, so I'm thinking I'm getting close to wrapping it up. Hopefully this weekend.

3. Was going to go for a short run tonight, but the legs are feeling a tiny bit sore after last night's bike ride. So I opted to take the day off and rest up for Saturday's race. Instead I'll spend some time tonight gathering my gear and stuff I'll need for this weekend so I don't have to do it tomorrow night after work.

Hello Cliff Road. Nice to see you again.

Funny how things can change in a year.

After work I headed up to my parents' house to get in one last bike ride before Saturday's triathlon. It actually worked out great since my parents live 5 miles from the park where the tri is. So my plan was to bike from their house, go through the park and loop back.

My main goal for the night wasn't to just put miles on the bike. Nope. I was set to reacquaint myself with the cliff road. It's the road I have to tackle within the first mile of the bike. And just in case that wasn't painful enough, I also get to run up it - but at least I also get to run down.

I haven't downloaded data from Gus yet, so I don't have any elevation numbers. But just trust me. You go up. A lot.

Last year the cliff road scared me. It was hard. But I kept pedaling and eventually made it up. The running part? During the triathlon it wasn't pretty. And since I haven't seen the hill since last summer and really haven't been doing a whole lot of hill training, I was a bit nervous to tackle it tonight.

I set out from Mom and Dad's. It's about 7 miles of relatively flat roads from their house to the park entrance. Kept it easy. Didn't push myself too hard. I got to the park and it was go time. That hill? It was going down (or I was going up). I switched into some low gears and started pedaling. I wasn't going fast, but I wasn't stopping either. And I wasn't really struggling. While it was hard, I didn't feel like it was impossible. I knew this hill wouldn't get the best of me. Kept going. Passed another biker who lost the battle with the hill and was walking her bike up the steepest portion. Got to the top and didn't even rest. So much better than last year's experiences with it when it was hard and tiring.

Kept pedaling and pretty soon I was out of the park and at the end of the first road of the bike course. That was my turn around point. I stopped. 9.5 miles in 42 minutes. Not bad considering it felt like it took 5 to 10 minutes to get from the park entrance, up the hill and onto the country road. I stopped, popped a few Sport Beans and I was on my way back.

And as slow as it seemed I was going on the way up the cliff road? Yeah, I was speedy on the way down. I believe I broke 30 mph on the way down. And let's just say the speed limit for cars on that road? It's 25 mph. Can you get a ticket for speeding on your bike? I dunno.

Ride back was uneventful. In all I felt pretty good. Finished 19 miles in 1 hour, 22 minutes. Not really tired when I pulled into my parents' driveway. Makes me feel a bit more confident about this weekend's triathlon. Especially since I know I can tackle that hill and it will seem easier than it did last year.

Riding into the wind doesn't scare me

Last night the focus was getting back into the pool.

Tonight it was putting some decent miles on the bike.

Unlike the pool, I haven't totally been neglecting my bike the last few months. I just haven't been showing it quite as much love as I should be. As in, my longest (outdoor) ride to date this year? 11 miles. Not bad. A decent post-work ride. But not quite up to the 21 miles that I'll be riding when the High Cliff Sprint Triathlon rolls around next weekend.

So today after work I hopped on the bike, intending to get a fairly decent ride in. I wasn't completely sure how far I wanted to go, I just knew I wanted to ride until I started to feel it. So I headed south out of town along the lake. I was flying. Feeling good. Got to my turn around point and soon discovered why the first 6 miles felt so good.

I was riding with the wind. And not just a gentle breeze. Nope. More like steady 20 mph winds with fairly frequent gusts around 30mph. And all of a sudden, one little turn and I was now riding into the wind.

Not as easy.

But I kept pedaling. Avoided being blown over. While my speed did drop, it never fell into single digits. And although it was hard, I didn't seem to be getting too tired. So I kept riding. Added on some extra loops around some neighborhoods. Kept turning away from my house. Because remember, I didn't have an exact route mapped out. Just wanted to see how far I could go and still feel good.

I ended up pulling into my driveway after 17.15 miles. Probably could have managed to tack on the extra 3 miles to make it an even 20, but it was starting to get late and my tummy was starting to growl. I was hungry.

So 17.15 miles in 1 hour, 13 minutes. And remember, there was wind to battle. Not bad. I'll take it. And after tonight's ride, I'm not so worried about the bike leg of the triathlon. I always knew I could do the distance, I just needed to get one longer ride under my belt before race day to reassure myself.

Tomorrow? I run.

Yup, I can still swim

The good news: I can still swim.

The bad news: Today was the first time I dipped a toe in a pool since early March. Which wouldn't be too bad. Except I've got the High Cliff Sprint Triathlon on June 19. In other words, less than two weeks away.

Yeah, I'd say I might be winging the swim portion of High Cliff a bit. At least I've only got to swim a quarter-mile. And I wish I could say the race snuck up on me. But it didn't. I remember writing on this very blog way back at the end of April that I needed to get back into the pool. But I didn't.

I did today though. Actually planned the trip to the pool out. See we're having kind of cruddy weather this week. And today? All it did was rain. Non-stop. And it was windy. And if you didn't know it was in the upper 50s (what's with the cold temps Mother Nature?), if you looked out the window, it actually kind of looked like it was snowing since the rain was coming down in sheets.

Given the weather forecast, I packed my gym bag. Complete with swimming gear. And after work? I hit the pool. I didn't have any huge plans or set in stone workout in mind. I just wanted to get in the water and make sure I still remembered how to swim. And lucky for me, I remembered.

Did a easy 400 yard warm-up, which included 200 yards with fins. And then I lost the fins and took off on a straight attempt at 400 yards, just to gauge how bad of shape my swimming is and how much I might be resting, floating or (possibly) walking during the High Cliff swim. The verdict? It wasn't awful. I took two short breathers during the 400 probably could have managed to skip them. Granted the swim? Kind of slow. I think about 10 minutes for the 400. Given how much time I've been spending in the pool lately, I'll take it though.

I'm hoping to sneak in two more swims before the triathlon. But swim No. 1 is in the books, and that's always supposed to be the hardest right?

Some randomness

I'm pressed for time tonight, so I give you bullet point style randomness. Because really, is there a better form of randomness?

• Thanks for all the well wishes on my 5K PR from Sunday. But I wasn't done once I crossed that finish line and met up with Running Diva Mom. Nope. The half marathon training plan called for a long run of 10 miles last weekend, and since I didn't want to do it the day before the 5K, I planned on doing it after. So I left the finish line area, headed out to the Wiouwash Trail and logged an additional 7 miles. And let me tell you. It was brutal. Hard. So hard I almost turned around at the 2 mile marker and turned it into an extra 4 miles. But I kept going. Even had a shirt change (in the wooded part of the trail) around the 4 mile point because I was getting too toasty in my long sleeves with a short sleeve tech shirt layered on top. So the run was hard. And there were so many times I wanted to quit, but I kept going. And when I was done? I was thrilled. And then was totally lazy for the rest of the day. I think I earned it.
• During the brutal 7 miles I finally got to try out the mint chocolate Gu everyone in blogland has been raving about. Fabulous! Might actually overtake the chocolate outrage as my Gu of choice.
  
• The legs were still kind of sore on Monday, so instead of a run, I went for the season's first outdoor bike ride. It felt so nice to be on my bike again. I took it nice and slow and only went 5 miles, but it was a nice change of pace. Now I just need to start incorporating more bike workouts because the High Cliff Tri? It's two months away.
• Speaking of the High Cliff Tri, I think I've forgotten what the pool looks like. Yup. Haven't donned the swim cap and goggles in I don't know how long. That's scary. Must get back in the pool. Pronto!
• Talking about the bike and swim reminds me I really need to sit down and try to figure out a training plan of attack for the next few months. A plan that incorporates not only half marathon training but also tri training. Suggestions?
• Tonight's 4 mile run went pretty well, but the legs were still a bit stiff. Thankfully they started to feel better during the second half of the run.

Three Things Thursday

1. I got an e-mail from the folks over at TriDisciple.com. Apparently my blog's been chosen to be listed in their directory of triathlon blogs, although I did spy a bunch of running bloggers in their directory that I read regularly. Made me feel kind of important when I read their e-mail. Go check their site out, pick out some new blogs to read. I know I will.

2. But given my lack of reading blogs this week, maybe I shouldn't find any new blogs to follow. Seriously. I've been a bad blog reader this week. My Google Reader? The number of unread posts is nearing triple digits. Heck, by the time I post this post, it probably will be triple digits. And since I'm not reading, I'm not commenting. Hopefully this weekend I can catch up.

3. My Dad signed me up for a race. The Sole Burner 5K is held the first weekend in May every year in my hometown and it benefits the American Cancer Society. I've never actually run it, although I have volunteered for it. I was having dinner with my parents last weekend when my Dad asked me if I was running it. I said I wasn't planning on it. Why? Apparently his work would pay for immediate family members who are running/walking the 5K and he wanted to know if I wanted to do it. Umm, free? You don't need to ask twice. So Dad signed me up. I tried to talk him into walking the 5K, since that's how far he walks a couple of times a week anyway, but I'm not sure if signed himself up. I'll let you guys know.

YMCA Indoor Triathlon - March Race Report

While I did not bring home any hardware with me from the YMCA Indoor Triathlon, I still was very happy with my performance.

A quick refresher: They started holding these indoor triathlons at my local YMCAs last year and in that time frame, I've earned a full set of medals - bronze, silver and gold. It's set up with an 8-minute swim followed by a 10-minute transition before a 22-minute bike. After a 5-minute transition the event ends with a 15-minute run.

So the swim. Yes, I admit. I've been slacking in the pool. Slacking as in today was the first time I dipped a toe in the water since the last indoor triathlon in mid-January. Oops. So I was winging it. And apparently winging it means dealing with goggle malfunctions during the first few laps and realizing how much swim endurance I've lost. Oh well. I took it slow, fixed the goggles and managed to finish 325 yards in 8 minutes. Not my best, but remember, winging it.

The bike went well. Nothing too surprising here. Legs were feeling pretty good and I was sweating buckets. Kept my cadence in the 120-125 rpm range the entire time and snuck in a bit of time in the 130 range. Finished 10.1 miles in the 22 minutes.

The run. Oh my gosh. Looking back I'm not entirely sure this was actually me running. Yet, this is why I'm happy with my performance today. Here's why. The seven of us in my wave lined up at the starting line and the timer yelled "GO." They all took off, leaving me in the dust. Yes, I was in a speedy group of folks. And remember, me? Not so speedy. So I ran. But I pushed myself. I wanted to run at my pace, but I also wanted to push myself and not get too far behind. I was running hard. But at the same time, I wasn't struggling. The faster pace? It felt good. A mile was 12 laps on the track we were running on, so when I finished that 12th lap, I glanced down at my watch.

9:29

Huh?

I just ran a 9:29 mile? During the first mile of a run during a triathlon? And I had already gone for a run this morning (more on this later)? Is my watch malfunctioning? Because I don't know if I've ever run that kind of mile?

I shrugged it off. Kept running. Kept running at that faster pace. And I still felt good. I was getting close to the number of laps I needed to log 1.5 miles and I glanced down at my watch again. I still had 2 minutes left. What was happening? Who is this runner and what did she do with Badgergirl?

I ended up running 18.75 laps in the 15 minutes. And assuming my math is right (math was never my strong point), that's just shy of 1.6 miles. As in, I was running at less than a 10 minute/mile pace during the run portion of a triathlon. And I wasn't dying. I felt good.

I like it.

So maybe I didn't walk away with any hardware this time (the organizer said my 30-39 age group was stacked and we were all right in that 11.5-12 total miles range), but I'm pretty happy with what I did during that run today.

Made me a happy Badgergirl and got me thinking, who knows what could happen this year.

Oshkosh Sprint Triathlon Race Report

When you're standing on the beach waiting for your swim wave to start and you can feel the sweat dripping down your body, you know it's hot.

And that's what I was feeling minutes before the Oshkosh Sprint Triathlon started Sunday. Dripping sweat. I know, I know. I should have been prepared. The weather man was telling me all week that it was going to be hot and humid on Sunday. And the fact that my sunglasses fogged up the moment I stepped out of my apartment should have given me a hint.

Call it denial. Maybe I was crossing my fingers during the 20-minute drive that the weather would suddenly change. No luck.

But I had a race to finish. So when they called Wave 11 to the water, I waded into the lake along with the 49 other people in my wave. It was time to start the Oshkosh Sprint Triathlon.

The Swim - 1/4 mile
I stayed towards the back and the outside for the start of the swim. It's what I normally do. And it usually works. This time? I should have found a middle of the pack spot and risked getting kicked.

It was an out and back swim. And midway through the out portion I found myself swimming behind a pack of swimmers who just decided to stop swimming and stand up in the lake. Right in my path. Which meant I had to stop swimming and find a way around them. And they didn't really care. After having to do this a handful of times, I opted to swim as close to the buoy as possible. And it was much clearer.

Once I had that figured out, the swim went much smoother. Got in a groove. But the swim still felt kind of long. Got out of the water, glanced down at my watch. Just over 10 minutes. Hmmm. I didn't think I lost that much time with the randomly stopping swimmers. Maybe it was long. Oh well. On to the bike.

Transition 1: Swim to Bike
You know how race organizers are always telling people that no one except athletes are allowed in the transition area? Well apparently some folks didn't get that message. I get up to the rack where my stuff was and I find a man and a woman standing right there. And these weren't athletes. They were decked out in casual shorts and T-shirts. Both of them had camp chairs slung over their shoulders and the man had a camera slung over his neck. Not competitors. If they had stayed out of my way I would have been less annoyed but the woman (camp chair and all), decided she just needed to get into a cooler that was sitting right next to my transition spot while I was changing into my shoes and bike gear. And she did this not once. But twice! I almost yelled at her. But grabbed my bike and ran off in disgust.

The Bike - 16 miles
After dealing with the non-athlete transition people, I was glad to get out on my bike. The course was mostly along rural roads surrounding Winneconne. Some rolling hills, but there were two semi nasty climbs in the second half of the ride.

I did have one "nutrition malfunction." I had stuck some Jelly Belly Sport Beans in the pocket of my tank. It's what I did for the Trek Women's Triathlon last month and it worked really well. For some reason, this time I decided to zip up the zipper on the pocket. And do you know how hard it is to unzip a zipper with one hand while riding a bike? Kind of difficult. And I really didn't want to run the risk of crashing by riding without hands to unzip it. So I pulled off to the side of the road about half way through, unzipped the zipper and was off.

Shortly after I was riding along and I heard a ton of sirens. Hmm, I thought. You don't usually get that many sirens in sleepy little Winneconne unless the town has blown up (not likely since I didn't hear any explosions), something is burning down or there's a major medical problem at the race site.

I kept pedaling. Little did I know what was happening.

Wind was pretty gusty on the way back in. At one point I felt like I was going to get blown over a highway overpass. And that wouldn't have been good.

Finished the ride feeling pretty good.

Transition 2: Bike to Run
Got back into transition. Thankfully the transition visitors were not around this time. Racked my bike. Threw off my helmet (which I noticed had a broken strap, looks like I'll be replacing it) and grabbed the visor. Took a swig of water, grabbed the iPod and was off to run.

The Run - 3.1 miles
I've never gotten to run with my iPod during a triathlon, but the race organizers were letting us use them for the run. I was glad. Because at some point between the last mile of the bike and the beginning of the run, I felt the weather starting to take its toll on me.

Feeling the affects of the weather, I didn't want to over do it and risk getting sick, so I stuck with an easy pace. Just kind of put one foot in front of the other. I had two girls within my sight that I felt like I was playing a game of leap frog with. They'd pass me before stopping to walk and then I'd pass them. Repeat continuously. I decided just to keep them within my sights or behind me. Worked OK. I think one girl finished before me, but I lost the other girl. I passed her at one point and she never came back.

Like I said, it was hot. The sun was beating down. I took full advantage of the water stops. I decided to walk through the water stops, grabbing a drinking and taking advantage of the sprinklers they had set up.

I knew I was running slow, but I still felt OK on the run. By the time I hit the turn around, I was glad the end was just 1.5 miles away. I was ready to be done. I kept running. Walked through that sprinkler again. Turned on to the bridge and the park was in sight. Kicked it up into a "sprint" and made it through the finish line.

Post-Race
Had my chip removed, grabbed some water and soaked up the water from a sprinkler the race organizers had set up in the finish area. I met up with my mom and found a shady spot.

She then filled me in on those sirens that I heard. Turns out a woman was pulled from the water unresponsive during the swim. Ambulances came. CPR was performed. She was taken away. I later found out that she died. They're still not sure what happened.

Time wise, I went into this triathlon with a goal just to finish given my lack of training the last two weeks and the weather Mother Nature decided to give up. While out on the course, when I started the run, I glanced at my watch and thought I might be able to finish in under 2 hours.

I was close. But I must have enjoyed that sprinkler at the water station on the run for a bit too long or walked a bit too slow through the water stations. I ended up finishing in 2 hours, 1 minute and 25 seconds. I'll take it though.

So the numbers? Let's have a look.

2009 Oshkosh Sprint Triathlon
Swim: 11 minutes, 37 seconds
Transition 1: 3 minutes, 11 seconds
Bike: 1 hour, 4 minutes, 15 seconds
Transition 2: 1 minute, 27 seconds
Run: 40 minutes, 54 seconds

Age Group: 33 out of 40
Women: 223 out of 291

It was brutal, but I survived

Just a quick update.

It was brutal out this morning. Hot. Humid. Hazy. The kind of hot where you can feel the sweat running down your back when you're just standing on the beach, waiting for your swim wave to start.

Add in actual physical activity, in the form of swimming, biking or running and it was brutal outside this morning.

But I survived. I finished the Oshkosh Triathlon today and turned in a time that I was actually kind of pleased with given the lack of preparation the last few weeks and the weather.

While I was able to cross the finish line, one woman wasn't quite so lucky. She died during the swim leg of her race.

You'll have to come back tomorrow for a race report. My 4 a.m. wake up called kicked me in the butt and I'm thinking I'll be sound asleep by 8:30ish tonight.

So this is what unprepared feels like

Newsflash.

The Oshkosh Triathlon is Sunday.

And for the past week and a half? My training? It's been non-existent. A lot of walking on the AirVenture grounds. A couple of bike rides. Running? Yeah, it was mid-July the last time I did that if you don't include the run/walk that I snuck in Tuesday night in The 'burg.

And to top off my lack of training? Mother Nature has decided to be nice and give us some summer weather this weekend. The Sunday forecast is calling for sun, a high in the lower 90s and LOTS of humidity. That's a bit of a change from the mid- to upper-70s and lower 80s we've had all summer.

This should be an interesting race. I think the race plan is to just finish without dying.

With race day a few days away, I'm hoping to sneak in a short swim either Friday or Saturday. Nothing much, maybe 1,000 yards, just to remind myself how to swim in preparation for the quarter-mile swim. And if I'm smart, I might throw in a short 2-mile run Friday, just to remind the legs what running feels like.

And maybe I'll get lucky and Mother Nature will hold off on the heat and humidity until Monday. Doubtful though. I'll just have to remember to push the fluids Sunday.

A year can make quite a difference

The thought of 16 minutes, 42 seconds is still swirling around my head.

In a way, I almost still don't believe it. I mean that's a good chunk of time to shave off. That's almost a half-hour TV show without commercials. That's almost like finishing the triathlon without stepping foot in the water.

16 minutes, 42 seconds. It's a lot of time.

And it's the time that I shaved off this year. I almost can't believe it.

But then I stop to think. And it doesn't seem so unrealistic to me. Because I'm a different person than I was a year ago. I'm almost back to the person I was in late 2007.

When I stepped up to the starting line at the 2008 Chicagoland Danskin Triathlon, it was six months after I learned The Monster was living in my head. Six months after living through an entire month that I honestly don't remember much of. Six months of treatment. Six months of lost energy. Six months of watching my fitness go down the drain. Six months after stepping on the treadmill for the first time after learning about The Monster and struggling through and almost dying while "running" a mile.

But even with all of the obstacles I faced, I still put the time in at the gym and got myself ready for the triathlon. I swam. I biked. And I even ran. I got myself ready for race day, not to finish with a super speedy time, but just to finish. To prove to myself that The Monster would not win.

And I did it. I swam. I biked. I ran. I was vivacious, just like Sally Edwards told me I would be. I crossed that finish line and I admit, I was half dead. I didn't have an ounce of energy left. But I was proud of what I did. I proved to myself that I could still do it and The Monster would not win. And I made others proud. I could see it in my Mom's eyes, tears glistening in the corners. She admitted to a few weeks ago that at that time, when I crossed the finish line that day in July 2007, others probably thought I was one of the cancer survivors, because that's what I looked like.

I was a survivor. Not of the cancer variety. But of The Monster variety.

Fast forward to last weekend when I lined up for the same race.

A year later I have beaten The Monster. He's no longer living in my head and I no longer have to take the medicine to get him to go away. I'm back to running regularly without dying, and have even started to increase my mileages a bit. Still biking - at faster speeds - and still swimming. But now, instead of feeling completely drained everyday, I have energy.

I keep going. I want to keep going.

I feel good when I finish. Just like I felt good Sunday when I crossed the line. I finished strong and could have kept going. And this year? I didn't look the cancer survivor part either. I look like me. The Badgergirl that existed in the fall of 2007 before The Monster took up residence in my head.

When I think about all of that, it doesn't seem so unrealistic that I shaved 16 minutes, 42 seconds off my time from last year. Because even though I'm the same person, I'm a different person. I'm a Badgergirl without The Monster in my head.

Guess it goes to show you a year can make quite a difference.

Trek Women's Triathlon - Pleasant Prairie, Wis.

Brilliant.

That's what I was told I would be on Sunday as I entered the water moments before the Trek Women's Triathlon started. A brilliant swimmer. A brilliant biker. A brilliant runner. And a brilliant triathlete.

I was ready. Donning my green swim cap, I was ready to return to the site of my first triathlon. A year older with two triathlons worth of experience under my belt. I was ready to tackle this tri and put up a smaller number than last year.

When I lined up at the swim start with the rest of the women in my wave, Sally Edwards, a former Ironman master's world record holder and the event's Chief Inspiration Officer, was waiting for me with her hand held out, ready to give me a high five.

As we stood there in the water, waiting for the gun to go off, Sally told us that our word was brilliant. We were going to be brilliant swimmers, bikers, runners and triathletes. And we would have a good time while we were doing it.

With those words running through my head, the countdown began. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go!

The Swim - 1/2 mile
Wanting to avoid the inital chaos of the swim start, I positioned myself towards the back of my wave and off to the side. Good choice. I was able to get into a decent swim groove fairly quickly. It sounds fairly simple - a straight 1/2 mile swim across Lake Andrea to the swim exit. But swimming in a straight line? Proved to be much more difficult that I remembered. Yes, there were some flags - white - and a yellow fence marking the swim exit, but when you're a half mile across a lake and swimming, it was kind of hard to see.

Somewhere around the midway point of the swim I realized I was completely off course. Heading to the shore, but unfortunately it was the wrong shore. So I paused. Got my bearings. Found the exit and started swimming again. Happened a few other times, and my swim was most definitely not a straight line, but eventually I made it to the exit.

I got out of the water, pulled my goggles off my head and promptly almost did a head first dive into the sand. If not for throwing my hand out to catch myself, I would have ended up with a face full of sand instead of having my hands and knees covered in sand. Bet ya any money the race photographer caught that graceful move on film.

Transition 1: Swim to Bike
Since I was covered in sand, I took a few seconds to wipe off my feet and my hand. Luckily my transition spot happened to be right by a grassy boulevard, so I had a little bit of extra room and a concrete curb to sit on while I put on my shoes. Threw on the shorts, tank, socks and shoes. Strapped on my helmet and grabbed my sunglasses and bike and I was off.

The Bike - 12.4 miles
The bike course took us out of the park and onto Kenosha County roads. Once you made that first left hand turn out of the park, you were greeted with an uphill climb over a railway overpass. Last year I think I struggled. But this year? That overpass - and the handful of other hills that were on the course - were nothing compared to the cliff road I tackled at High Cliff last month.

I felt good on the bike. Passed a good number of folks. Felt like I was making pretty good time. I glanced at the clock on my bike computer and based on an estimation of my approximate start time, I was posting a pretty decent time a few miles into the bike. But I wasn't going to let myself get too consumed with the time.

I kept pedaling. Kept passing a few folks. Remembered to eat the fruit punch package of Jelly Belly Sport Beans that I had shoved into the pocket of my tank. Even managed to open the package and not crash on my bike.

Soon the overpass that started the bike course was looming in front of me again. I tackled the uphill, passed one or two people and got ready to ride into the park and hit the road for the run.

Transition 2: Bike to Run
Quickly racked my bike, not once but twice. First attempt was close to my spot, but actually wasn't. So I unracked and re-racked my bike in front of my transition spot. Unbuckled the helmet, grabbed the visor, had a quick swig of water and I was off.

The Run - 3.1 miles
I had flashbacks to High Cliff when I felt like I was making good time and then completely died on the run. I was mentally ready for the concrete feeling to take over my legs.

It never happened.

My legs felt good. The run felt good. From the beginning until the end. About a quarter-mile in, I saw my Mom standing near the fence. I smiled. Waved. Kept running. The run went around the lake I had swam across a little over an hour earlier. I passed the swimming beach and hit the first water stop about a mile in. Grabbed some water, contemplated walking through the water stop, but I still felt good. So I kept running.

Somone had thought ahead and set up a sprinkler around the 1.25 mile marker. I watched as some women choose to run around it to avoid getting wet. Me? I ran right through it. It felt refreshing. Shortly after, there were some very nice looking firemen standing guard at the turnaround. The shouted words of encouragement. I said thanks. Then I was on my way back along the lake, about 1.5 miles from the finish line.

I kept running. Came upon a girl who looked like she was struggling. Gave her some words of encouragement. She thanked me and started running with me. We ran side by side for a little bit before she had to stop for a walk break.

I passed the second water station. Grabbed some water and a bag of Sport Beans. Tucked the beans in my pocket, drank some water and threw the rest over my head. The finish line was in sight. Just run around the swimming beach building, a curver or two and then the straighaway to the finish line.

I was ready to cross that line. Not ready to be done because I was tired. But ready to kick it into high gear and cross that line full of energy and fresh. Show that line who's in control.

My pace got quicker. The crowds started getting fuller. People were lining both sides of the path, making it seem like the finish line chute was much longer than just the fencing near the flags. Bent down to give a little boy a high five. Followed that up with an adult high five. Kept running. Still strong.

Then the finish line chute appeared. And Sally Edwards was standing there. I heard my name come over the loudspeaker. Sally held out her hand, greeting me at the finish line with a high five.

I'd like to think it was the strongest one she got all day.

I was done. I'd conquered the Trek Women's Triathlon. I felt good. Felt like I could keep on running. But I got my medal, grabbed some water and went to look for my Mom. She eventually found me in the chaos of people and I grabbed a post-race bagel before checking out the race results.

If I didn't feel so good, I would have thought I was seeing a typo.

There next to my name was a time. A time that was almost 17 minutes faster than the time I logged last year at this event. Needless to say, I was estatic.

So let's look at the numbers, shall we?

2009 Trek Women's Triathlon
Swim: 20 minutes, 35 seconds
Transition 1: 5 minutes, 20 seconds
Bike: 45 minutes, 41 seconds
Transition 2: 2 minutes, 32 seconds
Run: 35 minutes, 26 seconds
Total: 1 hour, 49 minutes, 37 seconds

For comparison, I finished the 2008 event (known as the Chicagoland Danskin Triathlon) in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 19 seconds. That's a difference of 16 minutes, 42 seconds. Woah. What a difference a year makes - but I'll address that idea in a different post this week.

An added feel good moment dealing with numbers? The time I clocked for the 5K run - 35 minutes, 26 seconds - is my fastest 5K time this year. If that's what I can do at the end of a triathlon, think of what it could be if I'm just running a 5K? Guess I'll get to see on Friday when I tackle the Sunset 5K.

Overall, I'd say it was a good day. No wait. Take that back. It was brilliant.