Not much to say about this one.  Very little training going in.   Basically a couple of long runs, 2 or 3 pool swims, 2 short bike rides and 1 brick.  Based on that base of almost nothing, I'm glad I made it through the swim and put in decent time on the bike (my best segment in this race), then completely fell apart on the run.  I killed my legs on the bike and had little left to run up those rolling hills. 

I might like to do this race again 1) because it is all women, which is nice to see, and 2) the cheer support along the course was really awesome.  My experience at the finish was poor.  The finish chute was very crowded with spectators.  I managed to get my chip to one of the volunteers, but completely missed the volunteer handing out medals and had to go back after i got my cup (?) of water.  I think I've been doing so many run races where there's pretzels, fruit and cookies at the finish, plus full bottles of water or gatorade!  I have to remember for tri races that we're more on our own.  Note to self: pack goodie bag for afters. :)

Swim Details:
Distance: .62 miles
Place: 313/359
Time: 33:12

T1:
Place: 347/359
Time: 6:46

Bike Details:
Distance: 17.5 miles
Place: 238/359
Time: 1:14:01
Rate: 14.2/mile

T2:
Place: 310/359
Time: 3:26

Run Details:
Place: 305/359
Time: 42.26
Pace: 12:29/mile  (what?)

Overall:
Place: 287/359
Time: 2:39:48.60

Ok, for lessons learned.  Need to train more.  I really suffered in the transition times and had nothing left in me for the run.  That's all conditioning and practice.  Getting my nutrition under control would be a big help too, since I have gained about 15 lbs since my last tri race.  Much like swimming, biking and running with a set of encyclopedias strapped to my back. LOL
 

Tags: triathlon race report
Current Location: Columbia, MD
Current Mood: contemplative

I'm toying with the idea of running to work a couple of times a week.  I have my gym back in the car, so if I get motivated this afternoon and bring it in to the office, I'll be good to go for showering in the am.  Unfortunately, this also means I have to haul a change of clothes, shoes and my lunch in my backpack.  Yucky sweaty back, here I come.  Unless I bail and drive in tomorrow.  Assuming no rain, the temperature certainly is right.  Maybe won't be that sweaty...

Tags: motivation, workouts
Current Mood: intimidated

Wow, can't believe its been so long since I've posted here~!  And so long since I biked to work!  Awwgh.

The race felt good.  The hills were rough, so my pace varied wildly.  Kathi had to keep telling us we were going too fast.  I took a Crank gel out on the flat loop (150 cal) and surprisingly did not have any digest problems.  My nutrition seemed to power me well to the last.  I didn't really have any muscle pain on the hills and my feet were fine (unlike my midweek treadmill run where my calves and feet where hurting).
 
My quads have been sore the last 2 days, so clearly I did do some work on those hills!

I think this got me out of my rut after Ragnar.  I feel like running again.

Tags: rut race baltimore
Current Mood: contemplative

Quick note: First bike to work was mostly successful.

Only got lost once and had to turn around after climbing a massive, heart breaking hill.
Threw my chain twice (I think I need to clean that chain and gear!)
And a bit of rain besides.

Hopefully I am successful on the return route and do not get lost at all! 

Tags: bike commute
Current Mood: hungry

Ok, this is going to be a lame first post, but before my selective memory kicks in and I start to forget how this bike ride went, I decided to post my first 'race report' here. :)

First and foremost, I will never do this ride again.  There it is.  No turning back now.

Not that there aren't pluses to this ride.  When you are riding, it was fun to ride really fast and not worry about traffic.  Riding across the bridges was fun since you could see up and down the East River (no stopping to take photos, tho a significant number people ignored this rule).

For the cons, there are many.  The ride starts at 8am, however at our position nearly a mile back, we didn't get moving until easily 8:45am or later.  That wait was agonizing.  After about 4 miles, and passing the start where they were already tearing down the stands, we came to another halt at 50th street.  This wait was the merge into Central Park.  The wait was pretty long, but we extended our wait a bit by hitting the Starbucks for bathroom and something to eat.  Bathroom was out of order (conveniently for them), so Cathy went back down the street to find some public restroom.  I got in line and ordered sausage, egg and cheese sandwich and the bacon, egg and cheese.  We all scarfed those down and biked up to Central Park.

Once leaving the park, the bike back down through the city was pretty smooth, with a couple of stops for cross traffic or turns.  The next major stop was the Queens borough ramp.  We were probably stopped there for 45 minutes (diverted here so did not get the out and back in Queens).  From here we biked to the Narrows and took the bridge to Statten Island.  From the finish we went biked to the ferry, there waiting 30 minutes for the ferry to arrive, then another 15-20 minutes to load the ferry.  Finally arriving in Battery Park at 4:40ish.  So this was a long day, taking us approximately 7hrs to go 40 miles.

I'm sure if our expectations had included the numerous waits, we might have been able to relax and enjoy the day.  However, we had hoped to finish by 12 or 12;30pm, so once that was not possible, we were somewhat bitter. :) 

Current Location: NYC
Current Mood: annoyed