Training Log Archive: kissy

We had our Victory party last night with the tri training group. The coaches gave out 3 awards, and I got one of them...The Scaredy Cat award. This award goes to the person who most overcame their fears (usually of the open water swims) and persevered to have a successful race. I guess I meet that description. :-)

I'm really going to miss these ladies. There were quite a few tears shed last night, of course. I'm hoping to find a good tri training group in Reston.

Task #2 accomplished. Denver house is on the rental market, ready to be rented after Sept. 1

Body Pump. I didn't wimp back to lower weights since I hadn't been for awhile; I stuck with heavier weights, and I managed just fine.

I also had to cancel my gym membership because you need to give them 30 days notice. This way, it will end perfectly at the end of August.

Task #1 accomplished. Condo secured for Graham in Ft. Collins in time for school to start.

C • how much... 3

Best part of the triathlon? I woke up today with not one ache or pain. #winner

C • Next day 6

The swim. I was completely ready for this; I was even dancing to the music as our wave waited to start. But, this was a running start vs. an in-the-water start, which I've decided I like much more. With a running start, it's much more frantic and chaotic and heart pounding. I tried to stay towards the back of the wave to make it calmer, but that didn't really work...initially.

We started at 7:55 a.m., and the first leg of the swim course headed east, so, much like when I'm running in Laramie Range in the evening, heading west, I couldn't see a goddamn thing. Not the buoys, not the many helper boats that were in the water, and barely the other swimmers. And the far shore was one smooth landscape, with nothing to sight on. So, I was being swum into, over, and under, and I couldn't see a thing. Panic!

I had only made it about a quarter of the way to the first buoy when I pulled up to look for a helper boat to either just rest on to calm down or to bring me in. It was horrible. But...when I pulled up, I heard a familiar voice..."Kris, can you see anything?" And then another, "I think we should follow the other swimmers." It was Colleen and Sasha, two of my training buddies!!! And then I felt calm again. We had swum so many times together, it just felt like another training swim. So, we made it to the first buoy together, and as soon as we turned around that buoy, it was sooooo much better. We could see things, and site on things. It was wonderful. After that, the swim was beautiful.

T1 = 3:24. This was a slow transition, but there were no helpful wetsuit-puller-offers, so I had to tackle it on my own. Plus, it was a long distance from the reservoir to the bikes. Plus, I was wobbly from the swim. Plus, I didn't want to forget anything. So that.

The bike. I have to say that I totally rocked the bike! This is my most favorite part of the tri, and I was so happy with the result. I was passing a lot of folks, especially on the downhills. My Garmin track says my top speed was 30.4 mph, which I can believe. I bomb down the hills and love it, although I'm sure one day I'll pay the price.

I had a water bottle of Vitalite on the ride, and I had a Gu halfway through. I think that was the perfect amount of boost that I needed.

T2=2:11. This was a little better than T1, but still pretty slow. I didn't forget my race belt this time!

The run. This actually went better than expected, mainly because it was cloudy, so not so hot. I kept with my 1/3 routine, and that worked fine. There was a guy who I kept leapfrogging with...he would pass my on my walking section and I would pass him while I was running. We started encouraging each other each time..."You can make it!", "We're almost there!", "Looking good!" That helped me so much, that at the end we gave each other a big hug, and for those of you who know how much I hate sweat, that was a big deal!!

And so my foray back into triathlons has been successful. I am so happy with how both of them turned out. There is one more I might do in August at Cherry Creek State Park, but if I can't make that one, I might do the Reston triathlon in September, since it looks like I'll be moving back East soon.

C • You rocked! 6

C • since it looks like I'll be... 14

Since swimming was cancelled on Wednesday due to storms, I wanted to get in the water one last time before Sunday. So, I went to Bear Creek and just swam some nice, easy laps. It felt fine.

A walk/run through the park to loosen my legs and catch some Pokemon.

Today's outing was a trip to Diamond Bay and most of the Red course. I had 2 disasters at #3 and #7 (parallel error), two near disasters at #1 and #9, and the rest were right on. I stopped at 9 because my knee was a little sore and my toes hurt. I've decided that the Inov-8's I have are too small and I'm not going to wear them anymore. Time to order some new ones.

This was the trip from #9 back to the car.

I spent Friday in Ft. Collins buying a condo for Graham to live in while he goes to CSU. Then, instead of heading home, I headed north to Laramie for the weekend. And, since I was missing the last tri-transition training before the race, I thought I should at least do two of the disciplines, so first up was cycling. This was a leisurely ride around Laramie, with a first stop at the Griller's Cup for some free smells.

Then we did the standard Laramie River tour. Mikell wanted to head north on 287 for a bit, but that is probably my least favorite place to ride here, so I broke away to ride through campus again, and then home. On the way, though, I took a walk through the cemetery, something I've been meaning to do for awhile. Many very old gravestones, some very sad children gravestones.

Then it was off to Laramie Range, for a wonderful run at Happy Jack. I went out HQ trail and back on Summit trail. It was a beautiful evening, but the trails were very dusty. The Jack needs some rain! There were some beautiful wildflowers.

Ok, I got around the big scary course and felt absolutely great. I am ready for the race. (It was really just .5 miles.)

C • Yes, you are ready! 3

And just for good measure, I made one more trip out to the first buoy and back. I felt as zig-zaggy as my route looks.

I was going to call it a day, but Colleen really wanted to go for a short run just to stretch out her legs, so I said I would go with her. It is definitely more enjoyable when you run with someone; at least when it's someone who runs your pace.

An impromptu workout session. A couple of us from CWW found out that it was the 5th anniversary of Sasha (on the team) having a double mastectomy and dealing with breast cancer, so we decided to acknowledge it by doing a brick workout and then heading to the Morrison Inn for margaritas.

So, the first part of the brick was a swim, of course. And I adjusted the time a bit because I forgot to stop my watch when I got out of the water.

And then the run. This actually felt wonderful...so much better running with other people than running alone. It was also a beautiful evening, not hot. What a great way to end the day.

Then it was off for margaritas and some good girl talk.

It was still very hot, so Lisa, Colleen, and I did a fast-walk loop of Wash Park. I can't wait for it to cool off tomorrow.

I was feeling better this morning, but not good enough to do the full triathlon practice, so I decided to just do the swim part for more practice. And, I'm so glad I did. I finally swam the full race distance without stopping, and it felt perfectly fine. Not sure what was going on on Wednesday, but it looks like I'm back on track.

I was all set to go swimming after work for some more practice, but my stomach started feeling a little funny, so I thought I would just wait a bit until I felt better. Well, four hours later, I'm still in bed except for the sprints to the bathroom to throw up. Not sure what caused it... maybe food poisoning of some sort.

Open swim. Not so great. I swam a few half laps and then out to the first buoy and back. Next Wednesday, I must swim the entire thing.

Hanging controls for Day 1 after Graham Baird, the course setter, broke his ankle today. Yikes!