Happy Race @ West Point

I LOVE race morning sunrise!

This might be the first time I finished a race and was really content - I had a great time racing and didn't beat myself up at the end for doing poorly. Perhaps I've grown....let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  West Point is a sprint triathlon.  But hell hath no fury like a race run by the Army that people call "just a sprint".  This race is not easy - there isn't one flat surface in the entire race, except the swim but even that  had a curve to it!  The swim was beautiful - I had the lovely but very fast Lesley in my wave so we got to hang in the corral while waiting for the start of our wave.  The water was calm and beautiful but the bike was hills, hills and more hills - at least some of them went down.  The downhills were awesome and a great way to pick up some time that I lost on the damn uphills.  Then saw the beloved Coach Beth at the bottom of the steepest hill, just in time to climb, climb, climb to transition.  Once out on the run you go straight up hill but I just chugged along.  Half way through this guy ran with me - no idea why, I think he was bored.  We chatted the entire time (no one tell Matt that I was able to talk during the run - I really was doing my best!).  At least with someone to chat with and keep me laughing it kept me from walking and I was able to move along, not fast but still moving.  The highlight of being in the second wave is that only Lesley finished before me and we got to watch the rest of the team finish.  Even though everyone races with a timing chip and they all beat my time it's still nice to not be the last athlete out on the course!  And even more fun to watch everyone else finish.

Custom Team Lipstick rainbow loom bracelets!

Being on a team makes a huge differene while racing - you see all of your friends that you normally see at the butt ass crack of dawn 2-3 times a week.  These are the peeps you see at your worst and yet they keep coming back. I'm not sure I know what these women look like outside of bike shorts and a hat - I might pass them on the street if I saw them in "real" clothes but on the course they are the best thing to see!  Thank you all for racing with me and making my race so much fun - I can't imagine racing without you!

Note the sign in the back "WITH HONOR WE LEAD"

Team Bonding in the City of Brotherly Love

Contrary to my review of the race on Travelete, I had a great time at this race!  The difference between this and that review is this one is about me and that one is about the race.  Any race, all races are always amazing when you are with a group of people that you love being with on a daily basis at the butt ass crack of dawn!  TriRocks Philadelphia was this past weekend and the first Team Lipstick race of the season - there is simply nothing better than racing with a team or training with a team.  If you aren't on a team, I advise you find one and get on it.  My goal for this race was to "Do Well" - I usually want to have fun and finish but I really wanted to push it and see how fast I could finish.  My goal was a 2:00 finish.

Race morning I showed up to a sea of orange - the team had a few first timers which is awesome.  I'm almost jealous of them as you never have your first race again and it's so fun, you'll always remember it - the nerves, the excitement - it was great to be apart of and enjoy their experience with them (see my first race here).  The swim was spectacular, calm, warm - at the end I was a little too warm which has never happened to me.  It is amazing how every time in the swim I think to myself, "I need to get in the pool more, I need to do more swim training - I swear I'll do more before the next race".  Does that happened to everyone or does everyone else actually train?

The bike was a little harder than I expected but still nice - it was a little boring but was way more exciting by looking for other teammates.  I found Roni but of course she was on her 2nd lap and then she sped right past me - seeing her speed is simply inspiring.  I love that she's older than I am as that gives me great hope that I can work hard to become her!  Kevin gave me a bike goal to maintain 17 MPH for the race - my watch read 16.9 average at the end, so damn close!

I've been working on my run for awhile - trying harder and harder to get faster, it's certainly not easy but when I started with a 12:00/mile pace there is really no choice but to get faster.  I can't possibly get slower.  I was hoping for a 30:00 5k but off the bike I knew that wouldn't be easy.  Since the run was out and back I was able to see every single teammate either going or coming with each hand slap it gives you a little extra pep in your step.  A little ice would have also given me a little more pep as hot water on a hot day doesn't make me all that happy.

The night before we decided Kevin would stay at his brother's house with the kids - the parking and walking to the race is such a hassle with the kids, they complain the whole time, it was hot, yadda, yadda, yadda.  I figured since the entire team was there this would be the race for the kids to stay home.  As I ran through the finish shoot (which was awesome!) I heard Charlotte screaming for me and I turned to see my whole family!  They are so damn cute (5 minutes after I finished they were whining to leave, they were hungry and then complained the entire walk back to the car...but as I finished it was cute for a whole 2 minutes!) and I have a picture to prove it:

As for my goals: finish under 2:00, actual finish time 1:55!  Goal run time was 30:00, actual was 31:38 - you win some, you lose some!  I was really happy with my overall time and can finally see that work in training it starting to show - finally.  

Can't wait for New Jersey State Triathlon in 4 weeks - time to get in the pool and do those training swims I promised myself!

Faster? Easier? Funner? Ever?

Do other people ask these questions about triathlon:

• will I ever get faster:
• will it ever get easier;
• will it ever be fun so I don't mentally quit the sport every step of the way?

I feel like I train pretty hard but I guess I really don't and I just think I do.  I'm soooo sick of being so damn slow but in today's race there was no way I could have gone any faster - just wasn't possible.  I left everything out there. So back to the question, "will I ever get faster?".  Saturday was the day of one of my favorite races Rev3 Quassy - it was an Olympic distance (.9mile swim, 25 mile bike, 10k run) and this distance is not my favorite - it's sadly too far for me.  I figured by this time in my triathlon "career" I'd love an Olympic distance - I thought this was going to be "my distance" but no such luck.  I'm going back to Sprints and once I master that distance I'll reconsider coming back up to the big boy table.  

My attitude should, in no way, take away from this race - Rev3 only does things top notch.  No detail is overlooked from check in, to transition right down to the course signs and the course itself.  The volunteers are like no other and the logistics are awesome.  The swim was spectacular, the bike and run extremely hilly.  It's just me that needs work.

Beautiful Lake Quassapaug Race Morning

I've ridden this course 3 times before yet each time I seem to be shocked by the climbing involved.  Last year this race was held during a monsoon which made the ride extremely difficult and dangerous.  This year the weather was perfect and the scenery is beautiful in Middlebury CT.  It was just hard - if it were easy everyone would do it - right??  I suppose but I'm always so hopeful it will be a little easier at some point.  I was able to take off 10:00 from last year and add 1.31 average mph but I was expecting more, aren't I always?  I was excited to see my max speed hit 40.2 - so far that's my personal high and I'm always trying to beat that, of course without trying to kill myself.

2013

1:50:07

1:50:07

13.99 mph

2012

2:01:32

2:01:32

12.68 mph

THE END of the bike!!

This run course I've never done before - in year's past I've done a relay with my sister-in-law who this year decided closing on her new house was more important than racing with me.  I figured I was ready for this 10k as I ran a 13.1 about a month ago, I did massive hill repeats with Matt his past week - how hard could it be?  Famous last words - it was beyond hard.  The only saving grace was that EVERYONE in front of me and behind me were walking and walking quite slowly.  Finally past mile 4 it was downhill so I was able to move but it was such a steep downhill that it wasn't as easy as I'd have liked it.  Of course at mile 5 we were going back up again but then I heard the announcer - the finish line was near.  After hitting mile 6 I saw my sweet Dylan and Kevin waiting for me.  They ran to the finish line with me to cross and the damn race was over!  I finished it.  They gave me the largest, heaviest finisher medal ever, a long sleeve tshirt and an ice cold, soaking wet towel.  Ahhhh I did it!  

Dylan finishing up with me

Past the finish shoot I went right to the NormaTec booth to sit in the boots for some recovery - I really need to get a pair of those.  To top off the race, the post meal is fab - hamburgers (my favorite meal of all time), hot dogs, mac and cheese, salad bar and a Pepsi machine!  

Love!

While the tempature was quite warm, the entire course was shaded so the heat wasn't a terrible issue.  The ice water and ice at the aid stations were awesome - just the landscape and the athlete that need some work.

Very large finisher medal!

Bring on Wyckoff - thankfully we're doing a relay and I"m only running but then the following week is Philadelphia Tri where I'm doing the whole thing.  But it's a Sprint - since now I'm a Sprint Kind of Girl.

Longest...to date.

Today was the day to prove to myself to myself- either you have it in you or you don't.  With the Nike Women's Half Marathon a very close 27 days away I had to see if I could go the distance, literally.  My goal was to run 9 miles today.  It's a lofty goal for me. The furthest I've ever run at one time is 8 miles.  However, that 8 miles was over a year ago and it was very slow and if I remember correctly, extremely difficult.  So today was the day - I was dressed to go straight from dropping the kids off at school, no excuses - just go.  As always the first mile sucked, the second mile sucked a little more.  Then I seemed to get into a rhythm - today I did 6:00/running-2:00/walking for the first 9 miles.  It turns out that I mapped my route wrong and went too far - something that never, ever happens.  I always underestimate and end up running less than my intended goal.  In order to hit my "must do" goal of the day I ended up going out too far which left me at my 9 mile goal, still 2 miles from home.  

4weeks to work on speed!!!

I was feeling good from mile 3-7 and then everything started to hurt: feet, knees, hips, glutes and I was starving - the ducks on the pond were starting to look appetizing and the sport beans I packed weren't cutting it.  Finally hit mile 9 and was so happy but still was 2 miles from home so I had to walk home and did it very slow.  The last 2 miles took a full 30 minutes and they were the worst of the miles.  I was so hopeful someone would drive by and pick me up - no such luck.  When I got to my front door my watch said 10.75 miles so I took another lap around the block to make it an official 11 miles.  

Now I know a few things:

1. I can finish a half marathon;
2. I won't be picked up by the sweep bus;
3. I can earn that Tiffany necklace;
4. I need to work on speed and pick up my pace;
5. I can run my own pace, my own race and feel great about it;
6. I need a new goal since my goal up until today was to finish before sweep bus picked me up and earn the necklace!

What will this year's necklace look like?

This isn't a feeling I have often but I'm so proud of myself - me, non-athletic-lots-of-lame-excuses-me, ran 11 miles at one time.  I walked a lot of it but I was out there for over 2:30 hours pounding the pavement and didn't stop or give up once and all that with no music or no friends to talk to - just me and the millions of dead trees of Bergen County (we have Sandy to blame for the massive amount of dead trees).  I DID IT. GO ME.

27 days until THE BIG DAY!

ATTITUDE is everything

The year of 2013 is off to a great start.  We rang in the new year with our amazing 3 kids and wonderful friends.  This morning I was able to kick off the  year with the 1st Day 5K.  I was not have been able to attend this race without the help of my friends as I was able to farm out my kids to avoid trying to find a sitter (and saving me quite a few bucks in the process!).  Today was the perfect day  for excuses: it was freezing, there was no sun, I had no friends to run with (actually went all alone - so lame) and I had no sitter.  But I'm determined to get   faster, get fitter and to keep improving athletically (I love  saying "athletically" in a sentence about myself!).  

Last year I bought the shirt on the left - I saw it on some guy at a race and went on a search for it.  I thought it was the most perfect shirt for me but then many people pointed out that a bad attitude is never going to help me reach my goals.  The old saying is, "Attitude is Everything" - that was the last time I  wore that shirt.  I vowed to change my thinking and to stop hating it.  The shirt on the right in my new shirt for 2013 and forward.  Based on my times between years - I'd say changing my attitude has made a great difference in  my pace.  Still not where I want it to be but going in the right direction.  

2012 T-Shirt vs. 2013 T-Shirt


2012 Total time-34:06 DEIHDRA MILLER Pace-11:00 (Official results)

(2012 Garmin watch results)



2013 Total time-30:11 DEIHDRA MILLER Pace-09:44 (Official results)

(2013 Garmin watch results)

==========================================================

 MoonJoggers Countdown: 3.1 Miles Run/996.9 To Go

Runner. I am a Runner.

Two thousand twelve was The Year of the Run and, for the most part, it went really well.  It inspired me to push through the days I didn't want to run and complete the races that I wanted to quit.  It also helped me to complain less about the act of running, less not stopped completely.  I can honestly say that I no longer hate it - sometimes I even enjoy it.  But I didn't run as much, as far or as fast as I had hoped so next year is time to kick things up. That brings me to 2013 - which I am deeming "The Year of I AM A RUNNER".  From this day forward, I'm going to say, "I'm a runner" without missing a beat (at least I'm going to try really hard).  When someone asks me if I run I often stutter, stall, try to change the subject or say one of the following:

• not really;
• I'm so slow, I might as well walk;
• I only run bc it's part of a triathlon;
• I hate running - it seems like a waste of my time;
• No - I'm not a runner at all.

With the new year coming, I'm going to set bigger, tougher goals for myself.  To kick off the year on the right foot I've joined a few Challenges.

• Run Your A$$ Off - lose 4% of your weight in 4 weeks;
• Moon Joggers - run/walk 1000 miles in the year 2013.

I've also set up my triathlon/run schedule for the year and it's looking fun, fun, fun with lots of work to do to accomplish.  Now only 3 days until January 1st...bring it on.

The Facebook Effect

This past month I've heard these things said to me:

• "that was before you were an athlete";
• "you're a marathoner, right?";
• "how do you fit in working out every single day?";
• "I wish I could workout as much as you do";

I attribute all of these comments to something I'm calling, "The Facebook Effect".  It's sort of like having a PR person for your personal life but instead of paying someone, it's just me talking about me (what else is there to talk about anyway?).  I find it really funny bc none of those statements are true - I've never said they were but people assume things bc I am constantly posting things on Facebook and on this blog about races.  The truth is that I only write about them bc I could not be more shocked at myself for doing any of them.  I talk about them bc I just can't believe it's actually me, actually doing them.

Never have I been an athlete, athletic, in shape or cared about any of those things.  I've always longed to be skinny, like my friends (I tend to only have really skinny, really pretty friends for some really dumb reason - I'm looking for some fat, ugly friends if you know of any I can interview).  Just to back up a bit - I played field hockey from 7th - 12th grade but after 9th grade I was basically just-on-the-team.  The younger girls were 100 times better than I could ever be and since I've always believed in, "I'd rather quit than fail" theory on life - I just quit trying and let them take over.  I sat on the bench for most of my field hockey career and was fine with that.  I didn't fight for a spot, didn't work hard, didn't work at all.  I liked the uniform (cutest plaid kilt - what's not to like?), liked hanging out with my friends with on the team and it got me an extra study hall for the entire semester (some really dumb rule that if you played a sport, you were given an extra study hall in place of gym).  But an athlete - NEVER.  Someone that tried to be better - NEVER.  A runner - NOT IN A BILLION YEARS.  Flash forward to now and I really do try.  I have a lot more downs than ups, I'm extremely hard on myself bc I know I could try harder, give more and get faster but life gets in the way and sometimes you have to go on a field trip and skip a workout.  And to be really honest, sometimes I need a manicure and it's between a run and a manicure - the hand massage wins every time.  

I truly love watching my kids love something athletic and getting better and better at it with each try.

This is my darling 10 year old that kicked my butt in this weekend's 5k - his pace 8:55/mile, my pace 10:17/mile.

No matter how many times I try to tell people the truth they think I'm being humble - I assure you, I'm not.  I can say I'm a TRIATHLETE, perhaps even a RUNNER.  But I can say that I try really hard.  I love triathlon, I love racing, I do not love the training, I love the gear, the magazines, I love talking about it, writing about it and meeting other people with the same love of the sport.  But be sured - I'm not good, I'm not fast, I don't ever podium.  I do all I can do not come in DFL (dead fucking last).  However, bc of Facebook and Blogger I get to paint myself in any light I wish and since my dream is to be an All-Star Triathlete that's the what I paint myself to be.  It's a nice life and it's great to write whatever I want about myself.  So keep assuming I'm a rockstar - it's great for my ego.

This is how I wish to think of myself while I'm racing!

The Cupcake Classic & Hamilton 5K

Making them run a 5k brings me great joy!

Sunday was the 4th Annual Hamilton 5k to raise funds for a local elementary school.  The weather was perfect for a run, cloudy and in the 50s.  I've never done this race because, as I've said before, I used to refuse to do local races for fear my local friends, neighbors would find out that I was a fraud.  But I have finally let that go and it turns out to have been a pretty great idea.  My sister decided to join us for the run with my 2 sons Dylan (10) & Maddox (9) along with our favorite friends Jack & Joel.  The amazing, Nicole Redmond, "volunteered" to keep Charlotte for the race so no one had to "deal" with her while we were running.  Running with Wendy was awesome (just don't tell her, I'll never admit it).  She asked what my PR was and what my goal was - my goal was to run a 5k under 30:00.  My last one I came close at 30:59 but knew I could have done better had I not stayed with Dylan at the beginning which slowed me down.  That's right - I just blamed my 10 year old son for slowing me down - I'll use any excuse I can get my hands on.  Telling Wendy my goal was either the best idea or the worst (hindsight is always 20/20).  We were cruising along - too fast for me but it wasn't unbearable.  She's way faster than me and I told her to go ahead but she insisted on staying with me as she had no goal for this race.  At the mile 2 water station I was hurting and dying of thirst.  I said, "I need to stop for water".  NO WAY - you are NOT stopping bc then you won't PR this race.  Again, not sure telling her was a good idea at the time.  But I listened knowing that at the end I'd be happy I did.  It was "only" one mile left but a long mile at that.  We got to 2.5 miles and she says, "OK now we're going to kick it" - sadly sister sledge, I AM kicking it.  I was giving it all I had - if it had been up to me I'd still be at the Mile 2 water station.  Then I turned into the parking lot and saw the clock 28:15 and I knew I had no only beat my goal time but crushed it by over a minute.  Then I kicked up as fast as I could for an official finish time of 28:51.  I was over the moon but hurting badly. 

Throughout the entire race we were waiting to see the boys on the side of the road crying, breathing heavy, crawling etc but we never saw them until the end.  They also killed it.  Not only did they kill their own PR times but they beat me by a lot - they are usually my excuse to go slow.  Dylan told me that excuse was now out the window - don't you just love kids?  They are so great.

The Boys!

We are all experiencing some leg pain today.  Yesterday the boys were pretty much wiped out since after the 5k they both had a football game to play, which nearly caused them to be punished until the end of time but once we got to the game they were fine (that's a story for a parenting blog that is too boring to even explain).
  

Wendy, Deihdra, Dylan, Jack, Maddox, Joel

This 5k coincides with the Virtual Cupcake Classic and I was able 
to wear this awesome shirt to the race.  You are supposed to eat cupcakes after the race but we were in such a whirlwind after that we never got to it.  We made up for it today - after school the 3 of us enjoyed these amazing red velvet cupcakes in honor of our awesome day yesterday.  

Let them eat CUPCAKES!

Let them eat CUPCAKES!

Thank you greatly to my beloved sister, Wendy, for pushing me beyond my comfort level.  To Nicole for housing Charlotte even after the race, Liat for being the best "holder of shit" there is.  To Holly for putting on a great event for me to PR.  To Run with Jess for the best tshirt which offered up many great comments.  And for my boys - nothing makes me happier than seeing my kids enjoy sport and working hard to achieve their goals (even when I told them their goals were insane - they proved me wrong).

Dylan Miller-Jones

M

10

Glen Rock

27:10.14

8:45

Maddox Miller-Jones

M

9

Glen Rock

28:18.25

9:07

Deihdra Miller

F

38

Glen Rock

28:51.68

9:18

There is a first for everything.

Thanksgiving is the best meal.  I wait all year for it. It's the greatest holiday - the festivities, family and  food but none of the pressure of the ever dreaded Christmas.  When I found out the Pumpkinman Triathlon offered a post race meal of Thanksgiving - I was IN!  To be honest the real reason for racing was that they were hosting this year's AquaBike NorthEast Regional Championship.  My beloved Non-Lesbian Life Partner, Kevin, works very hard with USAT on their AquaBike Task Force (yes, that is actually a thing and I make fun of him often for it but he's still on the task force).  Because of the work he does with this group we try hard to support AquaBike events in order to bring attention to them as a "real" & growing sport.  After we registered for the race, THEN I found out about the Thanksgiving meal and was not at all upset about the 6 hour drive to Maine.

GREATEST post race meal EVER, EVER EVER!

I was registered for the sprint race on Saturday.  The drive up wasn't pretty - turns out Romney and my other boyfriend, I mean Obama, were both in New Hampshire making the drive there difficult.  I say this as if it really afftected me - I was sound asleep for 90% of this drive but Kevin told me the traffic was awful.  Packet pick up was easy it was at the race location and the volunteers were kind and helpful.  This race is in a very small town in Maine and the whole town is behind this race - the location was beautiful, the lake was the PERFECT location for a triathlon.  The swag was really nice, even the stickers were nice!  Back to the hotel, bag packed ready for the morning.

Saturday morning I woke up with the worst headache of perhaps my entire life.  I get headaches but not terrible and not debilitating but this one was unlike any I've had before.  I had to turn off the lights, Kevin got me Tylenol, it hurt to brush my hair, move my head and even breath.  I just needed 10 minutes to close my eyes and I thought I could rally.  I was not willing to not race.  Told Kevin to wake me up in 10 minutes.  I woke up 4 hours later and did DNS the race.  For the first time since my very first triathlon 3 years ago, I've never DNS, DNF or DFL - I've come in very close to DFL but still managed to never be last.  The rest of the day I didn't move much bc I was still in a lot of pain but it got better - my ego however was very, very bruised.  Until I got some very wise words, "CRYING?  You are crying over a triathlon? Go have a beer".  Thank you Laura Cozik  for putting things into perspective!


Sunday was much better - no headache, tornadoes had moved out and it was Kevin's turn to race.  And race he did - he killed it!  Came in 2nd place male and crushed his expectations.  The weather was unreal - the perfect day to race: overcast, no sun, cool air - perfection!  Once Kevin finished (did I mention he was 2nd?) and we were all so excited it was on to the Thanksgiving meal - it was AMAZING!  The whole atmosphere of the race is exciting - I just wish it was closer or we'd go every year.

Second Place!

Moving past my first (and I hope last) DNS and now that the triathlon season is pretty much over - I'm moving back to the Year of the Run and am going to work my butt off getting my run times faster and faster - bring it!

US Army

Sunday was the West Point Triathlon - I wanted to do it but never got around to registering and then as it approached I knew I had not trained enough to swim a full 800 meters.  The week before I convinced Kevin to do a relay with me - he could swim/bike and I could "run".  The last time I ran one single step was July 19th with Team Lipstick and it was for 1.4 miles when I couldn't really breath at the end of that 1.4 miles.  It wasn't pretty to say the least.  Going into yesterday's race I was nervous about even being able to complete the 5k but had finally made peace with the fact that I would just have fun and be happy with a 14:00/mile.  I figured the absolute worst case scenario was that it would take me 45 minutes and I'd have to be able to live with that pace - if you can even call that a pace!

We left for the race early - it should have taken less than an hour from our house but clearly I didn't read the Athlete Guide in its entirety bc I followed the map to "The Post".  For those not in the know, like me, that means where the actual Army is - at least that's what I think it means.  I really have no clue.  All I know is a large man, holding a large rifle told me they didn't hold triathlons "On Post".  So off we went to find the actual race.  Walking from the parking lot to transition is quite a hike and those that got there after us had to hike even further and the hills are nothing to sneeze at!  Note to self: get there early next year, do packet pick up on Saturday and go to the actual race location the first time!

Once we made it packet pick up it went smoothly.  There were a ton of great volunteers moving things along and there were a lot of racers making a great morning buzz.  The greatest part of this day was the weather - it's not often that it's "chilly" on race morning but Sunday was the most beautiful day ever - I think it was my very first race without sunblock!  The weather stayed cool for the entire race, there was the perfect amount of cloud cover with perfect temps!  The only "issue" was this:

I put issue in quotes bc I wasn't swimming anyway so wetsuit or no wetsuit made no difference to me!  Kevin is an amazingly fast, competent swimmer and he's happy either way.  It worked in my favor bc that makes his T1 a bit faster (although something we REALLY need to work on - his speed on the bike makes up for the amount of time it takes him to put on socks).

He was out of the swim when I expected him to be there.  Then out on the bike we had discussed him taking 50 minutes.  I was waiting in the runners holding pen with my new "friends" - who knew that's where all the fun was?!  We had a grand old time trying to figure out who was racing in the co-ed relay category to see who we needed to run past on the course.  Kevin was back in :37 - lightning fast!  Gave me a great lead.  I was all pumped out on my run and within the first 6 minutes I saw 2 other relay runners sprint past me - damn speedy runners.  I didn't let it bother me at all as I knew there was no way I'd ever beat them but it was fun for the first 6 minutes to imagine myself on the podium!  The run ended up being quite great for me - it was the least flat course I've ever been on.  It was either going up steep or coming down steep - never a flat surface, never.  Since this race was held at West Point there were a lot of military racers and many of them were racing while holding a very large American flag.  I had trouble holding the Dixie cup of water let alone a giant flag on an even larger pole so I figured I really couldn't complain or at least not out loud!  I also knew that 95% of the people running had done the first 2 legs of this race where I was just running - they were way more tired than I.  I only walked twice for less than 10 seconds each time to get some water but ran the entire race which is a huge accomplishment for me especially after not running for so long.  Crossed the finish line in :31:42 which puts me at a 10:12/pace - lightning fast for me!  I was so excited - over the moon and put me in the right frame of mind for my next tri on Sunday - SheRox NJ.  Now I just need to get some swim training in this week and I'll feel much better.  Thankfully SheRox is only a .25 mile swim which I'm hoping I can complete without being DFL (yes, that actually means Dead Fu**ing Last).

My beloved coach, Justin, always says, "you can do any race at any distance.  It's just a matter of how you recover".  Well I learned that lesson AGAIN the hard way today.  I was feeling all kinds of invincible yesterday thinking I could run a solid 10:00/mile without really training and then I woke up this morning.  My legs are KILLING me as if I ran a marathon or at the very least a 10k.  Running a 5k should not cause me this amount of pain.  As much as it hurts to say, here it goes: JUSTIN, YOU ARE RIGHT.  YOU ARE ALWAYS RIGHT.  EVERY ATHLETE MUST TRAIN FOR EVERY DISTANCE IN ORDER TO PROPERLY RECOVER.  Blah, blah, blah.  This is what I wore to my son's appointment this morning under my jeans desperate for any help.

Overall, West Point is a GREAT race!  I truly enjoyed the venue, the people, the after food (ice pops might be the greatest post race treat EVER!).  There was some issues with wetsuits vs. non-wetsuits results/awards but since we came in 10th out of 23 that wasn't an issue we had to deal with so I wasn't paying all that much attention to that particular detail.  There is just nothing better than perfect weather, low expectations followed by great results to top of a great day of racing!  Another race we will certainly register for again next year.

Six short days to SheRox NJ!  I love an all-women's race =)

U.R. MY I.M.

Since I first entered into the multisport world I've always vowed to never, ever do a local race.  I never want people I know watching me race.  When I tell people that I do triathlon they are always impressed so I try to keep that mirage going.  Because if they actually saw me racing, they'd know I wasn't all that impressive. The no-local-race rule was broken this weekend at the extremely local Wyckoff Triathlon.  Everyone talks about this race all year but I've always been able to avoid it altogether.  The opportunity came up just last week to get into the race so I jumped at the chance, oddly enough.

I've been working hard to let go of my extremely high expectations.  I'm always disappointed when I don't come in first - let's be real here, I'm pretty much never going to come in first place unless I train hard all day everyday.  That means no bagels, no Starbucks, no lunch, no naps, no parent/teacher conferences, no fun, no life - coming in 1st is not worth giving those things up and I need to remember to just have fun (not to mention I'm pretty sure I don't have the DNA make up to be a world champ)!  This was my first race of just trying to have fun and it went well.  I had a really good time, I watched everyone that I know from my town fly past me and wasn't ready to quit.  My time is my time, my race is my race and I need to just enjoy the race, enjoy being active and continue to improve.  This race had a 5 mile run - not a freaking 5k which is what is should be - and I was really worried about the run but really tried to let go of that fear. 

A few days before the race, Kevin left me this note and at the bottom it said, "you are my ironman" and I wrote that on my wrist the morning of the race.  I used that to get me through the run - I never gave up, I hardly walked and averaged an 11:11/mile which is about a minute faster than I was expecting (and for those following this blog that is pretty impressive for me!).

Along with just enjoying the race, I made a few rookie mistakes.  Many triathletes will find a small, local race to do at the beginning of the season to work out all of the kinks.  This was my THIRD race of the season yet still mistakes were made - you know "People plan, God laughs":
-got out of the water and realized I had no socks so I rode without sock (I left them in the car).  Not a terribly big deal but only bc Kevin was there and I knew he could get me socks for the run (of course they were in transition when I got back to run!);
-went to put on my helmet and my hair tie snapped - snapped right in my hands so I had nothing to do with my hair (which if you know me is a  NIGHTMARE!).  I am never without at least 4 hair ties around my wrist at any given time, except this one time;
-then my helmet didn't fit, wouldn't stay on and was all over the place - I have no idea what happened as I had just wore the damn helmet a few days before for 6 freaking hours!  Had I fallen on the bike - I'd be brain dead as this helmet was serving me no purpose - take a look (notice the hair and helmet - a hot mess!):

This race ended up being so much fun!

• I got to race with Jenni;
• My sweet first born son got up at 4am to watch me race;
• Kevin wasn't racing which means he gets to be my full-time sherpa (which is awesome!);
• I did better than expected and had fun on all 3 legs of the race;
• And most importantly, I wasn't disappointed at the end - I was happy!

The only real downside was the finishers medal - very, very lame.

I am going to put myself in the lottery next year to get into this race again - I think this will be a good staple race to do every year to see if I can keep improving with each passing year. 

Bring on I Love The Tavern Tri coming this Sunday...

Rain, Hill, Family & a Great time!

Dianne & I were Team Kennedy!

Rev3 Quassy has come and gone - my new favorite thing about triathlon just might be the relay and/or the AquaBike.  What an amazing concept - skipping the part that sucks and hurts the most!  But since this IS the Year of the Run I'm not giving up on running altogether, at least not yet.  Saturday's race was a one time event in order to race with Dianne.  Out of the kindness of my heart, I "allowed" her to do my run portion so she could be a part of the day (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!) because I'm a really kind sister-in-law.

Stephen, Kathy, Dianne & Deihdra

We arrived on Friday for packet pick up and bike drop off - it hadn't started raining quite yet but the skies opened up over night.  The drive to the race Saturday morning was something out of a movie - it was raining so hard you almost couldn't believe it.  I was fairly certain they'd call off the swim bc there was no way lifeguards could see any swimmers in the water, it was that kind of torrential rain.  But no such luck - we got to the race and the rain slowed a bit, safe enough to swim.  While the swim was safe, it was not easy at all.  The crazy hard rain and wind made a usually calm and lovely lake into one with quite a strong current.  Said current was not going in the direction I wanted it to go!  My predicted swim time was 40 minutes.  It was hard and long but I got to the 2nd turn around buoy in 20 minutes and I was psyched that I was going to crush my PR time.  Then the current set in and it took me a full 20 minutes to go the last 1/3 of the swim.  Twice I looked up and was facing the wrong way - a few other times I looked up and didn't have a clue which way I was facing!  It was a big confusing and the turn around buoys just weren't big or bright enough to see very well.  I was excited that the rain had stopped - funny thing is that while swimming I guess you think it's no longer raining...not so.  I would have quit the swim and DNF'd but there is no way out of a lake other than to swim out so I kept on going.  There were many times that I could swear I was not moving one inch in any direction but eventually I did make it to the shore.  I finished in 41 minutes - piss me off.  Once out of the water I saw my sister Kathy 2 steps in front of me - she was also pissed at the strong currents and difficulty of the swim.  We both said that we had leg cramps from kicking so hard to try to just finish.  I pretty much never kick in the swim (no coaches comments here - I just don't kick I need all the legs I can get for the rest of the race) but this swim I had no choice but to kick as hard as I could.  I also knew I was not running in this race.

Even the pros have to deal with the rain!  Matty Reed

Once out of the water I realized it was still freaking raining but on to the bike I went.  I have ridden in the rain a few times and while not ideal, it doesn't scare me.  My coach constantly says, "Americans don't train in the rain that's why they aren't the best" or something like that.  I could just hear his accent in my head.  I rode this course a mere 2 weeks ago and it really didn't seem all that hard then.  I finished the preview ride in 1:50 - that ride was without police stopping traffic so I was hoping for a 1:40 finish.  Again, the rain makes the race an entirely different ball of wax.  This bike course is all hills - you are either going up or down.  You can never get into a rhythm, you are constantly changing gears and either climbing or descending.  Climbing in climbing no matter how you slice it but descending in blinding rain is not that much fun.  Going fast down hill is my favorite thing to do - makes the climbing all worthwhile but in this race it was nearly impossible.  I finally took off my glasses bc I couldn't see through them but then the rain was pelting me so hard I couldn't see anyway.  You had to sort of close your eyes and hope for the best.  Since I was in the very last swim wave I was alone on the bike course.  I passed about 5 people but other than that I was completely alone so that took out the scariest part of descending while with other people.  My max speed on the day was 38.8 which in hindsight is probably a bit too fast in those conditions!  I was able to finish the bike in 2:01 but I need to take about 3 minutes off bc some jackass guy asked for my CO2 shooter and it took him forever to use it and he made me wait to give it back to me - I should have either said NO I didn't have one or just thrown it at him while I was still moving.  Lesson learned.  The first 15 miles were awesome - I was alone on a closed road having a grand ole time but then I realized I had another 10 miles to go and it was hard, hard, hard.  Plus I was starving and couldn't even drink bc I couldn't' really take my hands off the handle bars to drink.  And the damn rain kept getting harder and heavier and hurting my body more.  If I had planned to run I'm fairly certain I would have DNF'd this race.  Kevin volunteered in transition for this race and there were at least 2 girls that came off the bike with hypothermia and had to quit right there.  I wasn't as cold as others but I did have nothing left in me to go on.




By the time I got back to T2 I had already mentally decided to tell Dianne she didn't have to run (I did say it out loud but she ignored me).  I felt so bad for her that I took so long and she'd have to be out there at the very end of the race all alone and soaking wet and freezing.  But I pulled it and she was excited to get going!  She finished in 1:03 a great 10k pace and was so excited!  We ran through the finish shoot together, got our medals and got what was the best post race food I've ever had!  I've said it before and I'll say it again - if you haven't done a Rev3 race you need to get to one ASAP!  It's the best organization out there - medals, tshirts, by far the most amazing transition!  But most of all they had the BEST volunteers ever!  I was at least moving on my bike - those volunteers stood out there in the pouring freezing rain for hours for nothing more than a free tshirt.  They were the best!


Another race...another medal...another victory!


As always I need to praise the best sherpa in Triathlon - sweet Kevin.  He saw many people come off the bike freezing so as soon as I came off the bike he took me to the car.  He had the heat blasted, dry towels and my dry clothes all waiting so I could heat up quickly.  I'm happy to let you hire him for your next race.... there is no one better in the Race Sherpa biz!


Next race - June 23rd - AquaBike National Championship...who's in??