and I'm back!

Holy moly it's been a while since my last post! So much has changed in my life since then and I've been trying to train when I can! Currently, my life is absolutely AMAZING, but it didn't come without a cost. I made the extremely difficult decision to give away my favorite thing in the entire world -- my dog Jack. It makes me teary eyed whenever I think about him, or see his pictures but I gave to him away to a great home. He's loving life with his new family and making others just as happy (if not happier) than he made me.

At the end of June, I started my big-girl job working 3 days a week in addition to my on-going research with UMASS. I found that I was home less and less, and therefore my dogs were getting less and less exercise and attention. So Jack has been adopted, and Otis is still being fostered by an amazing family in Salem, MA. Other than training for this triathlon, having 2 jobs and being dog-less, I've also rather unexpectedly acquired an absolutely amazing boyfriend. My last post was actually a couple of hours before our first unofficial date . I have not stopped training because of my recent acquisition, but the time that I had spent on blogging was replaced with spending time with him. The short story is this: when I thought my life couldn't get any better, it did.

Ok so how about my training?! I had a slight mishap involving me on a bike and a car. I was in Methuen, riding with my new favorite training partner and riding in the shoulder, and the car made a left hand turn right in front of me. I wasn't going very fast, but I still ran into the car and fell. Other than a banged up and bruised knee, I was fine and my bike is still currently still rideable. The driver and passenger of the car basically got out to make sure that I was still alive, and then took off. Awesome.

I am getting REALLY nervous about this race which is ONLY 32 days away! This past weekend, I competed in a time trial Sprint Triathlon (1/2 mile swim, 12.7 mile bike, 4.4 mile run) and finished in just under 2 hours. It was not my best performance since there were many things that went wrong, but it was definitely GREAT practice and a way to get the kinks out before the big race. I think my biggest pitfall was that I played in a doubles volleyball tournament with my pal Zack the day before. I knew the race wasn't going to be a breeze for me and figured I would finish no matter what condition I was in, but I just wanted to get some open water and transition practice in. I may not have done well in the race, but we still won the open level tourney!

Here are the pros and cons of the race:
Pre-Race
- Ate bowl of oatmeal and drank a protein shake and 1/2 of an Iced Coffee on the way
- Had to pay for a one-day USAT membership card because mine had expired
+ Arrived early, set up transition area in a jiffy, and didn't forget anything!
- Got in the water to warm up, and wished I had a wetsuit. Water temp was 77 degrees, but since it was only 7am, the air temp was around 60-65 degrees and I was FREEZING while standing there waiting for my wave to start.
The Swim
- Started at the front of the pack, got trampled on by all the stronger swimmers and choked on some water. Next time, I'm starting in the middle so it's not as hectic for me.
- It took me a while to convince myself to calm down, and I felt like I couldn't get a full breath of air. I finally relaxed after I rounded the first buoy (there were 3 total). I don't know if it's because my lungs were constricted from the cold water, or because I started the swim too strong, but I couldn't hold my breath for more than 2 strokes. In the pool, I can easily breathe every 3, sometimes 4, strokes but that was not happening. I settled into this rhythm, and kept looking up to see where I was going to make sure I wasn't completely off course.
-My goggles fogged up, so it was hard to see where I was going.
Transition 1
+ Without a wetsuit, this went pretty quickly.
- I spent a minute or so wiping the sand off my feet, so next time I will bring a dishpan and fill it with water so I can rinse off before putting bike shoes on. I didn't have my bike shoes for this particular race though, so I had to make sure all the sand was off before putting my shoes and socks on.
+ I grabbed a package of Clif Shot Blocks, threw them in the back of my jersey and put on my helmet.
- Forgot to bring my chapstick.
The Bike
- Burning quads for the first 2-3 miles.
+ Drank accelorade after mile 1
- At around mile 5, I was following a group of people who didn't turn where they were supposed to. By the time we realized it, we were a mile or so off course and turned back. I ended up biking 14.8 miles instead of 12.7 like the rest of the racers (ugh.)
- I was told that the course was "fast and flat". That was a lie. There were sooooo many rolling hills, and therefore, my legs were burning for the entire 14.8 miles.
- This was my longest bike ride of the year thus far. I'm a slacker, i know. But I definitely felt the effects of not training for this ride!
- I finally dismounted my bike and headed into T2.
Transition 2
- Had trouble putting one foot in front of the other when I got off the bike. My thoughts: "&^%$%!!! I can't hardly walk. I probably look like I'm hammered right now. How the @*&$# am supposed to run?? It's okay, my legs will loosen up and stop burning when I jog it out a little."
+ Didn't spend very long in here. I dropped off my bike, put on chapstick, grabbed my race belt, drank some water, and headed for the run while fixing my hair.
The Run
- The first mile was really slow and SUPER painful. Like someone had ripped open my calves and poured acid into them. I had to convince myself that it would stop as soon as I worked out some of the lactic acid.
- I have to pee! Pulled off and peed in the most secluded spot I could find -- in some shrubs.
-My legs didn't stop burning until after the THIRD mile.
+ After the third mile, I felt like my pace was picking up. My legs were feeling like themselves again and I was actually passing people that had already passed me!
+ After I hit the 4 mile mark, I felt great!! I sprinted at the end and finished strong!


So obviously there is much room for improvement. I've recently bought a pair of clipless shoes and pedals for my bike, which will be installed this week. I've also purchased a new Xterra wetsuit that was delivered today! So the next few weeks will focus on getting long rides in, practicing swim-bike and bike-run transitions, and as much open water practice as I can.

This morning was my first morning training session and it went really well!! I ran 8 miles in 72 minutes and felt like I could keep running for hours! I'm going to try and do as much training as I possibly can in the next few weeks -- and I will definitely be blogging about it on my lunch breaks (like I am now). I've already been super focused on nutrition, but after tonight's celebration of my roommates birthday, I'm not drinking a drop of alcohol until after the 70.3!

Until next time.....