The meaning of race numbers. 10 days to go.

Race numbers just came out for the October 26 PPD Beach2Battleship race. Isn't it funny how excited we get for our race number? It makes it all legit!! Most people automatically try to find some meaning or inspiration among the digits. My bib number is actually the year my youngest was born - 2002 - so I like it a lot!

Getting our race number reminds me of this scene from "The Jerk" where Steve Martin gets soooo excited to see his name in print in the new phone book!!

I just started packing for this race, mainly because I need an outlet for the already growing "heebie-jeebies" of taper time. Packing for this race feels different from my usual sprints and olympics because (1) it's a point to point race with different T1 and T2 locations and (2) with a longer race, comfort becomes a little more important.

We check our bikes and T2 bags in the day before the race, and the T1 bag the day before or morning of.  We'll all be watching the weather forecast closely to fine-tune what goes in those bags (mainly T1) depending on expected temperature and precipitation. Come on 10-day forecast....show me what ya got!

Now I'm down to one workout a day and am trying something new - NO gym time, no strength training, for the two weeks prior to this race. My energy had gotten fairly low from a higher training volume on top of family/work life that seemed to have exploded to "11." I didn't need my limited energy further sub-divided and Coach Jim thought this was a good idea. I agreed to it, but it's hard not to feel a bit like a slacker. The upside is, I can definitely feel my energy rebounding, as it is supposed to do.

I'm starting to fret a bit about life post-race. It's a long time until the new triathlon season begins and all year I have had goals to focus on. After 4-1/2 years in the sport, and 43 races in the last four years,  I know I need some real honest-to-goodness healthy "out-season" time this year to recharge my batteries, change things up, and work on weaknesses, but it's a little scary not to have a looming race goal, or spring marathon.

This is what the day-after-race-day, October 27, feels like to me....YIKES! Okay, and a little exciting too. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Right now I'm just looking forward to my second ever half iron and having some fun in Wilmington!

What I am most proud of this race season

You might be expecting me to cite some specific race, some result, some outcome, some PR.

Well I'm not.

What I am most proud of is making the most of what my body gave me this year -- perhaps more precisely, what my left quad did not (discussed here under 'Body'). After a pretty stellar year in 2012 it was frustrating to find myself struggling so much on the run and never running to potential all summer.

So I am proud of persevering, bringing the best I had to each race, managing the doubt, listening to my coach, and adapting and finding work-arounds. I was fortunate that I could train through it to an extent, and I am happy to know that a season of rough running did not detract from my overall enjoyment of triathlon.

This week I finally felt truly back to normal for the first time in months. I ran 11 happy miles on Tuesday and when I finished the tears flowed unexpectedly and uncontrollably as months of pent-up frustration were released. The last time I ran more than 10 miles was June 9 -- nearly four months ago. Most of my runs this season have been in the 2-5 mile range, on a treadmill, and often with unplanned stops. As with any injury or setback, there are days you wonder if it will ever pass, or if it is just part of the "new you".

What prompted this blog post is that I found out recently I finished third overall female in the Virginia Triathlon Series. While I was pleased, yes, it did cause me to reflect on what I felt best about this year, and those feelings were not tied to any number, but just pushing through a frustrating time.

I also received my Boston Finisher's certificate in the mail this week. Nice to see that PR in print, even if that race was probably a contributing factor to the summer's "body detour". It was still worth it ;-)

Part of what makes triathlon so meaningful are the struggles through times when we are not 100%. It teaches us patience, acceptance, and faith. And that moment when you realize you have emerged....priceless!!

My racing year is not over. In two weeks I head to Wilmington, NC for the PPD Beach2Battleship half iron distance. I intend for that to be a celebration of the year (read=no pressure) and my return to happy running!

Triathlon certainly teaches us to make the most of ourselves. 

"Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Filming RIDES: Virginia

On Saturday I got to do something pretty cool -- to be a part of the newest installment of the Endurance Films RIDES indoor cycling video series. These are on-screen coached bike trainer workouts that feature intervals and cadence work set on beautiful routes throughout the country. The series includes Florida, New York, Texas, Hill Country (KY/IN), North Carolina, Southern California, the Rockies, and Las Vegas. So rather than riding and staring at a wall in your house or watching reruns of Breaking Bad, you can actually experience varying topography and landscapes of the US. This one was filmed on my absolute favorite route, one that I have ridden and run on hundreds of times, so this project is really special to me!

We rode on behalf of Runwell, the Linda Quirk Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping those with drug or alcohol addiction utilize sports in their recovery.  We were outfitted with Runwell kits by Champion System, provide with helmets from Rudy Project, and sunglasses from XX2i. Solar Connexion provided lunch and Woods Family Heating and AC stocked our bottle holders. Ed Shepherd, one of our area Pro-Am cyclists, did a lot of the organizing and planning, and kept us all in sync on the workout.

We put in a full day and logged about 60 total miles for a workout that will be about 22 miles or one hour in duration. It was funny to see a tripod and camera poking out of the minivan sunroof, with Eric and Danny hanging out of the open hatchback to film us from the front. It was a lot of work to film us, and to be filmed!

This workout is NO JOKE. I was busting my butt and at one point after my partner Tim and I led two consecutive intervals, I had to drop off the back and recover. Some of the guys had pre-ridden the workout on trainers in advance and they said it was even tougher! This will definitely be a RIDE that will push you and help you to grow! (This should be available around Thanksgiving at Endurance Films for holiday gift orders.)

The morning after filming, I slept in until 7:30 am. That is extremely unusual for me, so that tells you something. After breakfast, I was out the door for a 2-1/2 hour brick workout. It was a great weekend of cycling and running, but I am glad now for a day off.

Scenes from the day:

This is my first Rudy Project helmet, and I have to say, I am pretty delighted with how comfy it is.
It's officially my new road helmet. And the Runwell kits included bib shorts which I had not ridden in before, but I like them!!

Laura and Ed during our mid-way lunch break to refuel and rehydrate on an unseasonably hot day.

Thanks to fellow riders Ed, Gordon, Tim, Emily, Rick, Tyler (who is only 12!!), and Laura.

Bryan brought a replacement rear wheel for Ed. He was the unofficial SAG wagon!

Tim wore a helmet cam for part of the ride to give a real riders perspective.

The final regrouping before the last few cooldown miles.

RUN, don't walk!

Yesterday morning I had a track workout (yay!) and shared the track with the usual suspects - the semi-serious runner, the shuffle runner, the women with dogs, and the "let's meet up and walk" moms. Luckily no kids on bikes (which annoy me to no end, we have plenty of giant empty parking lots for that), and no guy-on-skateboard-pulled-by-his-husky.

Between mile repeats I found myself studying a group of four women walkers who were probably mid-30s to mid-40s. They all looked perfectly capable of running even just a little. Perhaps that was a big assumption, but I could not stop wondering, what kept them from running? Had they tried? Would they try?

Walking is fine and all, and certainly I recognize that not everyone can physically run. But if you can do it,  running is freedom and strength and capability and belief!! Just typing that I get excited thinking about running!

So finally as I was cooling down with some easy aerobic stuff at the end, I blurted out as I passed them, "why don't you all run a lap with me?"

And without hesitation all four broke into an easy little run! I was so shocked! I ran backward for a while and some rambling encouragement fell out of my mouth, and then I ran back to them and said, "you know, I started this way, running to a mailbox and then walking to the next. You all should mix it up and run a lap and walk a lap. You'll be ready for a 5K in no time!"

They lasted half a lap or so, and I let them be, but I soooo wanted to follow up, to coach, to encourage, to challenge. I hope maybe I planted a seed.

I fear that after a childhood of hearing "WALK, don't run," we've just beaten the RUN out of people. I want to tell people "RUN, don't walk" (if you can).

I think adults get so far removed from running that it just feels foreign, strange. And we can't think of where or why we would run, so we don't. But we should!!

I love the expression of "running is a dance that covers distance." It is that indeed.

We need signs like this at the track:

Yes, walking is better than not. But if you can run, it's worth a try.

Running is playing. It's breaking the "rules". It's freedom from the expected.

Don't walk. RUN!

Review: XX2i France 1 Pro Racing Optics

I am the happy recipient of a pair of France 1 Pro Racing glasses from XX2i as part of an upcoming project.

I would argue that my current cycling glasses, that are probably circa 2010, are just fine. Maybe not "fine" but comfortable enough. OK, maybe not comfortable at all but "serviceable." By "serviceable" I mean they do not fall off my face and do not leave too large a dent in the right side of my nose where the rubber pad has fully disintegrated.

It seems I have become one of those people who hesitates to buy new things. So it was good these came my way when they did!

When I opened the box with the glasses it pretty much exploded with accessories...extra lenses, cases, extra screws, screw driver, different color temples and nose pieces, holder, pouches, etc. They pretty much thought of everything.

So here are some of my impressions of the France 1 Pro Racing Optics. These glasses are comfortable for cycling and running (they are not quite so useful for swimming). They are lightweight, they stay put, and are comfortable. I like the frameless bottom, and the tops don't obstruct my vision when I am in the aero position on the bike.

They are also customizable with different colored lenses, nose pieces, and temple covers. There is one other way they are customizable, perhaps a way XX2i had not really thought of. The temples (side pieces) felt long for me, so I removed the interchangeable rubber covers (they require some twisting to take off and put on), trimmed a bit off the metal with wire trimmers, trimmed the cover, and reinstalled it. Voila...perfect fit!
 

I'm still partial to a photo-chromatic lens that changes automatically, but they don't give you the clarity on foggy days like you get with the yellow lenses.

I'm off to ride in my functional and comfy glasses! It's still a sport, not a fashion show ;-)