Coeur d' Alene Half Marathon

My day started early... 3:30 to be exact, but I
had slept well and I was ready for what lay
ahead. My body felt good, nothing hurt, and the
only real question in my mind was if my sprint
distance triathlon training would be enough to
pull me through the 13.1 miles that I would face
later that morning.

It was an hour drive to Coeur d' Alene, and I
arrived at the race venue, North Idaho College,
at 5:30 for packet pick-up.

Coeur d' Alene (pronounced Core duh Lane) is
a really cool little town. It cuddles up to the shore
of beautiful Lake Coeur d' Alene and is the
setting for one of only 5 full Ironman
competitions in the continental U.S. It seems like everywhere you look, there are beautiful
buildings, sculptures and fountains... a sign that this little town is prospering... and growing up.

Coeur d' Alene is a special place for me. It's filled with memories from a "previous life"... one in which I was a little younger (ok, a lot younger) and a tad on the wild side. I spent a summer living in a cabin on this lake, driving the ski boat in and leaving it tied up at the public dock while I worked in town. Ahh.. what a life that was! When I parked the car and walked up to the Student Union Building at North Idaho College, it brought back the memory of how proud I was the first day I attended that school, it's buildings covered in ivy. I thought I was at Harvard! Life was so much simpler then!

Sorry about the reminiscing. Back to the race.

The race went off promply at 7am, with the half and full marathoners all starting together. The pack ran a loop around the college, then past "city beach" where the Ironman swim commences, then down the main street of the city. At each corner was a different artistic fountain, each one now filled with detergent, which caused bubbles to cascade into the street. At the end of the main street, the Marathoners headed North for a lap around the outskirts of the town, while us halfers turned South, for a quick run through an older residential area, which turned into the Idaho leg of the Centennial Trail. We followed this paved trail along the shore of the lake until we hit our turn-around. Even though it was raining, this large lake, which tends to have white caps with the slightest provocation, seemed calm and comforting.

It was an out and back route, 7 miles of which snaked along the lake. The turn around point was at the top of a mile long hill. I wasn't quite sure I was going to make it to the top, but I willed myself to shorten my stride and keep plugging along. If I made it to the top, I could rest. NOT! It's all downhill now! Time to make up for lost time! I motored down that hill and clocked my fastest mile ever! (7:38 baby!) While there were some other shorter hills, they only felt significant because they came in the later miles.

I really enjoyed the out and back course. After the turn-around, we got to yell encouragement to the full marathoners who were passing us on the way to their turn-around. Many of them had the energy to yell encouraging words to us! Lets see, they would have been hitting mile 19 at about here. Incredible!

I pretty much ran the race on cruise control. I went out a little faster than I had planned, but it felt good and I just stuck with it. I watched my splits, and seeing that I was performing better than I had expected, gave me confidence and strength. I am especially shocked that I could maintain an average heart rate of 172 for 13 miles, with very little discomfort.

At one point I realized that if I added a mile swim and a 56 mile bike, I'd be doing a Half Ironman!! I think I could do that..... someday! :)

My first goal was to finish. Since I had nothing to base my performance on, I figured at the worst, I could finish in 2:30. But when I hit mile 10, I started calculating whether I could beat my blogger friend JC's time of 2:06. I thought I could! I cranked it up a bit, and again at mile 11. Ok, only a 5k to go! No problemo! Mile 12 was also at a decent pace. Ok... I've got this one in the bag!

I don't know what happened on mile 13. I never saw the mile marker, but hit the split on my watch at the 25 mile marker for the marathoners. The last mile went on, and on, and on... for freakin' EVER! I kept pushing the pace, and really had to dig deep to keep it up through the last half mile. I don't know what happened to my mile 13 split. I didn't turn my watch off after crossing the finish line, so maybe I've figured my last split incorrectly? Maybe that last mile REALLY WAS longer than 1.1 miles! (It lasted forever!) It looks as though I blew up after pushing miles 10, 11 and 12, but it sure didn't feel like I had dropped my pace! I guess I'll never know!


Ok... here are my splits! Drum roll please......

1. 9:46
2. 9:32
3. 9:34 - missed the mile marker -
4. 9:34 - averaged with mile 3
5. 9:54
6. 9:40
7. 7:38 - down the big hill after turn around - hills are free speed - wheeeee!
8. 9:45
9. 10:56 - potty break
10. 9:25
11. 9:19
12. 9:29
13. 13:21 - What? Go figure!

Total time....... 2:08:12!!! JC's record stands by 2 minutes!

What a great day! Now... time to quit playing around and get back to triathlons! :)

The Taper

Ok, so I'll admit, it hasn't been so much of a taper as it has been a down right halt! I haven't had a decent workout since last Sundays 25 mile bike ride.

I always find myself injured the week prior to a race. I figure I must have committed some ill somewhere along the way to create the pre-race Karmic revenge that I always encounter. (This began with my first ever race where I tripped off the treadmill the week prior and sprained my ankle!) Fortunately for me, it must not have been too grievous an action, as my pre-race ailments only serve to shake my confidence leading up to race day. Come the actual event, I feel healthy and ready to go. Why should this event be any different?

Last week I was practicing my swim stoke (in my living room) and pulled a muscle in my shoulder. (I know, I know! I don't want to hear it!!) It still hurt at Mondays swim and I had to stop after 600 meters. Tuesday was the bike clinic. Awesome! Didn't even crash! Wednesday saw me digging a little ditch to move a piece of sewer pipe at an RV site. Somewhere along the line, I ended up with what felt like an ice pick in my hamstring! Ice, ice, ice, ice... ok, that's better.

Enough already! I know better than to be doing this stuff before an event! Only rest and relaxation for me from here on out! Geeze, I can't even do that right!

Yesterday morning I woke up and couldn't even turn my head! The muscles on the left side of my neck and shoulder were all bunched into a tight knot. I applied heat all day with little effect. This morning was a little better, and after a really hot shower, I could feel where a disk had slipped out of alignment in my neck. After more heat, massage and stretching, everything feels like it's back in place and aside from some residual pain, my neck has acceptable range of motion.

So... today, the day before the actual event, I am doing NOTHING! We finished watching season 2 of L Word and will be starting the final season of Six Feet Under. I'm hydrating and snacking on saltine crackers. I've cruised everyone on my "Blogs I Stalk" list (some twice!) and I've made my way through some of Their blog links lists! This is the third time I've retyped this post, as the Blogger Save As Draft button seems to be on the fritz. Ok, this is really starting to get Boring!

The question is: What do I have to do to reverse the bad karma that befalls me before every race? Maybe help someone along the course? Maybe I need to volunteer more? I don't know... but I'll surely keep it in mind as I run tomorrow!

Ironman Videos

Here are a couple of video links for Ironman fans. www.boss.streamos.com/wmedia/ironman/317media/shawn/history.wmv

This is a trailer for the soon to be released movie What It Takes.
.boss.streamos.com/wmedia/ironman/317media/shawn/what_it_takes.wmv

Fish Lake Trail

Thought I'd post a couple of picture of the Fish Lake Rail Trail where I often ride. It is a 130 mile long rail bed that starts in Spokane and heads South/West to the Columbia River. It's official name is Columbia Plateau Trail State Park. Only 4 miles of the trail are paved with the remainder in gravel or railroad ballast.

The trail head for the paved part is two miles from my house, so an out and back ride gets me a quick 12 miles with near perfect conditions. This is great when I don't have a lot of time and need to get in a quick and hard ride.

As you can see, the railbed was cut through basalt rock. In some areas, the walls of rock go straight up on both sides of the trail.

I've meet up with all kinds of animals through here, most memorable being the time I caught up to a deer that had nowhere to go. So he just had to run along in front of me until he found a low area to escape.

I often scare up ducks who are lounging in the creeks that run on either side of the trail. They tend to fly for quite a distance right in front of the bike at about my head level, before finally flying up out of the way. Duck Butt!

There has been talk of paving the 10 mile section between here and Spokane, and then linking it up with the Centennial Trail. The Centennial Trails is a Really Beautiful paved rail trail that follows the Spokane River 36 miles to the Idaho border, and then follows Lake Coeur d' Alene for probably another 20 miles. (Most of my half marathon coming up in a few days will be on this trail)

North Idaho has some fantastic Rail Trails. In fact, a couple of years ago, a friend took me mountain biking on a trail that had something like 10 tunnels and 15 tressels. I think it was 15 miles long and all down hill! That excursion is what really got me into cycling and now, triathlon. I've got some cool photos from that ride. I'll post them one of these days.

The Return Of.... Flatman!!

Flatman's blog got accidently deleted! I'm helping to spread the word that he has a new home!

http://fl4tm4n.blogspot.com/

He can run, but he can't hide!


UPDATE: Flatman has his old site back. Disregard previous. Welcome Home Flatman!

http://flatman.blogspot.com

Bike Skills!

Last night I attended a free bike skills class sponsored by my club, WOW. (Women On Wheels) The clinic was put on by Marla Emde and her husband, Michael. Marla is a retired competitive cyclist and an expert coach with USA Cycling and USA Triathlon, while her husband is one of the top Cat 1 cyclists in the state. The two also promote numerous cycling, duathlon and triathlon events in the area, including Valley Girl Tri, which is my A race this year. The two share a Ton of experience and coaching skills!

The purpose of the clinic was to become more comfortable riding in a close group, getting bumped around, touching wheels (which we talked about but didn't get to practice) and, god forbid, what to do if your handlebars become locked with another rider bars. Mostly it was about gaining the confidence to not panic in these situations. The clinic took place on the grass at a city park, and while it made the bike handling somewhat difficult due to the bumpy terrain, the knowledge that if we fell we would only get a grass stain, improved our confidence.

First we did some shoulder bumping. This required us to ride very close to each other and bump our shoulders together. This was to simulate the bumping that sometimes goes on in large groups of riders. More importantly, if someone steers their bike into you, you can put your shoulder into theirs, stabilizing them and preventing them from sending you flying.

Second exercise: How to ride in a tight group and look behind you. This is meant to stabilize you and your bike. Riding close to your partner, you reach out and put your hand on their back at the base of their neck or between the shoulderblades. With your hand here, you can now turn and look behind you without your bike veering off course. Regardless of whether you are on the left or right, you always want to look to the center, between you and your partner. Looking to the outside will cause your bike to veer right into your partner!

Ok, this moves us into the next cool skill. This allows two cyclists riding side by side to stop at a traffic light together, balance each other so they don't have to put their foot down, and then take off together. Not only is it really cool to see in action, but it comes in handy when two cyclists want to take up their space in the center of the lane, and not allow cars to sneak by at a stop light.

Here's how it goes. Riding close to each other, one person puts their hand on the upper back of their partner. (just like we did in the last exercise.) The other person lightly reaches out and touches the other persons handlebar, just for balance. You need to be going slow to pull this off. With a slight lean towards each other, you feather your brakes (one will be doing their front with their left hand while the other brakes their rear with their right hand) and slowly come to a stop together... perfectly balanced, pedals horizontal, ready to take off together when the light changes green. Wow! Doesn't that sound easy?

I have to admit, as much as I wanted to try this, I didn't step up quick enough, and the two people who did try were having such difficulty, that the instructor broke the skill down to it's root and had people practice doing Track Stands. This is the art of balancing on your bike without moving, or moving Very slowly. It's a very handy mountain biking skill, but works well when you pull up to a traffic light that is about to turn green. It prevents you from having to unclip or put your foot down.

Next we did some slalom stuff and practiced turning from the hips instead of from the bars. We also took to the street and made a couple laps around the park, practicing what we learned... bumping and turning to look.

My favorite part of the evening was where we learned to pick items up off the ground while riding by. When Marla first told us we were going to be doing this, we all laughed and said "Ya, right!". Being rookies, we used water bottles (the tall ones!) filled with water. There were two lines of bottles with 5 or 6 in each line, so we had several to aim for. We started by just riding by and trying to touch the top of the bottle. You want the pedal of your reaching hand to be in the down position or hoizontal track stand position. This gets the knee out of the way and allows you to bend over your leg to get at the bottle.

After several passes, touching the bottles became fairly easy. Next was to actually pick the thing up! Going slow... coasting... pedal down... bend at the waist.... Reeeeach... Got It! Yea!

I really enjoyed the challenge of this skill. To go from "no way I can do that!" to "cool, I picked up another one" was very fulfilling. More importantly, I liked the fact that I was more skilled on my bike and gained confidence in my riding skills.

At one point, I was riding at the back of the pack with Michael (and his dreamy Austrian accent) and he told me that the faster you go, the more stable you are. All the skills we just learned were a lot easier to execute on the road when we would be going a decent speed. I thought to myself how much sense that made. A gyroscope is most stable at high speeds, as it slows down, it becomes less stable, just like the wheels on our bikes. The faster the wheels are spinning, the more stable the bike is.

We happen to be going down a hill at a pretty decent clip. Michael was riding without hands, and without really thinking, I let go of the handlebar and sat up. I felt more stable than I had any other time I've ridden without hands. In fact, previously, I had to remain peddling to maintain my balance, but the speed we were moving made me feel quite stable. Michael then swerved back and forth to show me that if you steer with your hips, you don't need to hold onto the handlebars. I wasn't quite ready to do that, but instead, threw my hands up in the air as though I had just won a stage of the Tour d' France. If for no other reason, learn to ride without hands so you can throw your arms in the air like you just won something.

Viva la Victoire!

Sunday

It was a fairly quiet weekend in Blogland. Spring races on tap for many, I guess.

A relaxing Sunday morning seemed to be the fare for me when I came across an early morning blog post by Iron Wil. www.throughth3wall.com It was 1:30 AM and she was not able to sleep as she replayed last weekends 80 mile torturous bike ride in her head... and contemplated the 80 miler that was on tap for tomorrow... uh, today.

Ok, so much for a relaxing Sunday. How could I take it easy when Wil was bustin' out 80 miles through Amish Country?

I didn't exactly go over-board, but I did get in 25 miles. It was a nice day for a ride, and the first half I averaged about 20 mph. I tried to keep it up, but fatigue and a couple of 8 mph hills in the second half dropped the average mph down to 16.2. Ouch! Next time I'll do the loop the other direction. That will put the hills in the first part of the ride when I'm a little fresher.

Tomorrow is swim day. I think I'll do another swim/run brick on the EWU tri course and call it good until after next weekends 1/2 marathon. It's actually a perfect week to taper since there is a track meet at the University and we will be very busy and get lots of business.

So, I'll be wishing I was running and riding, but instead I'll be mowing lawns and scrubbing toilets.

I know, it's a glamorous life. :-)

Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

So... I've begun my taper and started carbo loading. Translation: I slept in and missed Fridays swim and then gorged myself at Taco Bell. Ya know... it's all in your perspective.

What is very real and true is that for the last year (or so) I've not slept well. I am pulled out of bed at least once per night, often times three or four. But, as we all know too well, we often do things for love, that we might not do otherwise. And when you've been in a relationship as long as the two of us, you put your own personal needs aside.

Let me introduce you to the bane of my slumber.... Precious!

Precious is my 2 1/2 pound 20 year old baby. They say that 95% of small dog owners allow their pets to sleep with them in their beds. Ok, so it's nice to know I'm part of the norm. Poor little Precious is blind, deaf, toothless, has a bad ticker and failing kidneys... but she still gets around pretty darn good! She knows her way around the house and uses her ears as feelers to navigate.

Her teeny little bladder causes her to get up several times a night, and since she is blind, she can't get on or off the bed by herself. So mama has to help. This is usually at midnight and three in the morning.

I knew that I would have a very whiny baby should I try to break her of the mama bed habit, but after a year of this, I had to try.

The whole process has actually taken about two months, starting with making her sleep in her dog bed for a few hours, then back in the big bed. Then hanging out in the dog bed all day, before getting back into the mama bed after dinner. She was not always thrilled about this process, but she finally (FINALLY!) gave in. I was victorious! I trained The Dog! She is now all set up in her little Chihuahua kingdom in the laundry room, and living a dogs life. Translation: Sleeping 23 hours a day.

And her mother? Four days in a row! Count 'em! Four... Days... In... A... Row... I have slept the night through!

I don't know who this process was harder on... me or Precious... but it's getting easier every night!

Had to throw in a pic of "the other kid" Pandora. Pandy was suppose to be 3 pounds. She has surpassed that by about 15! For that matter, so have I! So I guess that's not so bad! :-)

I Think I'm Gettin' It!

Boy, did I ever have a good workout this morning! Started with a swim. First 500 meters @ 12 minutes. (Last year I swam only 400 meters at 12 minutes) Second 500 meters was at 11 minutes. Threw in another 250m for good measure.

Here is what I think I discovered today. I know when you run, supposedly, there is a pace at which you should be able to "go for ever". I'm still still working on that one, but I have been there a couple of times, and I understand how it feels to get into that groove.

As I swam today, I became aware that my heart rate wasn't elevated and my breathing was controlled. Even though I could feel some fatigue from the effort, I felt like I could go on and on. I think it applies to swimming as it does to running. You get into the groove that works with your physiology and fitness, and you can go for long distances with with relatively little effort.

It felt really good to reach yet another milestone. My kick was back like it should be and I know I must have had at least somewhat decent stroke form, since I could feel it in my Lats later on.

Out of the pool and into my running clothes. I ran the 5k route of the Tri coming up in a couple of weeks. Man, the whole thing is hills! I just kept a decent pace and shortened my stride and kept right on truckin'! Average HR was 166. Not bad considering the terrain.

When I finished the route, I shut off the timer on my watch, expecting it to say the usual 29-31 minutes. How about 25:09? Holy crap! I'd take that any day! Now, it is possible that my measurement of the course was short (I used the car to measure it) and I didn't run the last 200 yards up the sidewalk into the Field House where the actual finish line will be... so add another minute, and I'd still take it!

Are we having fun yet? Oh, you betch ya!

Triathlon Links

Here is a link to a free Multi-sport screen saver. It has some really nice triathlon images on it. I really like it!

www.transitiontimes.com/content_screensaver.cfm


This is a great video of how to practice for a triathlon swim. It takes a little bit to download, but it's worth it! :-)

www.weshobsonperformance.com/images/video.mpeg

Summer In The City

Ok, so this isn't the city, but I've had that Lovin' Spoonful song stuck in my head since yesterday.

Hot town, Summer in the city,
Back of my neck gettin' dirty and gritty,
Been down, isn't it a pity,
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city.

All around, people lookin' half dead,
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head...

There... now you can have it stuck in your head, also! :-)

It hit 90 degrees here yesterday and today. What's with that? We usually don't get hot temperatures until mid-August. I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come this summer. Hot and dry always means massive forest fires, water shortages and the fear of my wells running dry. I'm not even going to think about it!

On the good side, I LOVE summer! I love wearing shorts, and once I start wearing them in the spring, I don't put on a pair of long pants again until sometime in late September. And while I don't seem to be bothered too much by the heat, 90 degrees is way too hot to be out cycling or running. So the one drawback to the summer heat is that it is going to take away my flexibility and spontaneity to be able to finish the chores of the day and go for a run or ride. Getting all my workouts in, which I never seem to quite accomplish anyway, will now take even more planning. Mornings look to be the premium opportunity for exercise. I know, no one else in this world gets to sleep in every day... time to join the crowd. (This is where I insert "Suck it up, Buttercup!") :-)

Speaking of "sucking it up", this is three weeks without my computer. Short version: Battery wouldn't charge. Service center replaced the Mother Board. (Part of the charger is on the Mother Board) Didn't fix the problem. Service Center figured out that the original battery was totally dead and the new battery we bought directly from Toshiba, was the wrong one. So the SC orders a battery. Works great. Get it home, computer won't even turn on. Back to SC. In goes another Mother Board. Works great. Go to pick it up, won't turn on. We ask for them to put the original mother board back in, since it worked fine when we brought the computer in to them, and the problem was really just a bad battery. Original mother board had already been shipped back to Toshiba. So, third new mother board is going in it today. Each time they do this, the cost is $750 (covered by warranty) So far they have put $2350 into a computer that cost us something like $250 after rebates. At this point, I wish they would just give me a new one, since I have a feeling that even if they get it running, it will be problematic forever!

Update: SC claims my add on memory card is causing the new mother boards to short out. (Although it has worked fine for 8 months.) They removed the extra memory and claim everything works fine. Uhhh, ya right.

Also on the TU list is my40 gb Ipod. The little hard drive is starting to rebel over all the drops and running jars. It freezes up at least once on every run, which requires it to be rebooted. Urs is getting me a new Nano today. (She's such a dear!) Not only will it be much lighter to run with, but the little flash drive in it should be quite a bit more resilient to shocks.

Workout log for the day: I'm going to be doing a little triathlon in a couple of weeks based at the University up the road. (How can I not do this? It's right in my back yard!) Kind of cool, the bike course goes right by my property, so my 85 year old Aunt will be able to see me whiz past. (Although, she sees me ride all the time, so I guess it's not that big of a deal) Anyway, I got the directions for the bike and run course today. It cooled down somewhat after dinner, so I went out and hammered the short 10 mile bike course.

Besides one short, but steep hill near the start/finish, the course is flat and fast! Most of it has about a 1% grade, and I hoping to make good use of my gears and take advantage of these really minor grades to pick up speed. My top speed tonight was 22mph with my average speed being 17.4, average cadence 81. Going up the grade I dropped down around 16mph. Gotta work on that!

That reminds me... here is another triathlon tip. Always inspect the run and bike course before the race. It's optimum if you can actually train a little on it, so you know exactly what to expect. I was thinking about that tonight as I was riding and noticed the start of a little grade. "Here I can mash the gears a little bit and really pick up some speed." I'll be ready to do that come race day.

Tomorrow after I swim, I'm going to run the run course. It is a 5k, and the first mile is all downhill, half mile on the flat, then the turn around and a mile back up the hill. I've only ever had run down this hill, so now it's time to start turning around at the bottom and running back up it. Sounds like fun!

Catch ya'll later!

Camp Excess

Today was a tough morning for me. I hit the snooze at least once before convincing myself that I really wanted to get up and go swimming. The fatigue didn't pass, even once I got into the pool. My super steady flutter kick was inconsistent at best, and I didn't even try to practice my new Gorilla Arms technique. I just swam to get the laps done so I could get on with my morning. At 1025 meters, I climbed out of the pool, excited to get on with the next part of my morning.

It was Brick day! Yea! Drove home, changed and went out for a 3 mile run. Everything felt really good. The shin felt 99% good. The pain that appears after the run has not materialized. I'm pretty optimistic. I will stick to the plan of taking it easy and all will work out. (Literally!)

Mother's Day was a success. We set up a 12x20 party canopy and parked several picnic tables under it. All the "oldsters" sat under the canopy and enjoyed each others company, while we fed them burgers, hotdogs, chips, cheetos, Dixie cups and fresh, hot sugar cookies. Peaceful Pines was renamed Camp Excess.

Now, maybe I felt poorly this morning because I didn't sleep soundly enough, or the phase of the moon was wrong, or blah, blah blah. It could also be all the freaking chips and puffy cheeto things and, damn, how many of those hot sugar cookies did I eat? Uhhh... lets not go there!

Triathlon Tips

Here is a list of tips that helped me through my first triathlon, and a few that I've learned along the way. It seems that no matter how proficient we are at something, there is always something new to learn. I'm always looking for new tips to add to my repertoire. Hope there is something in here that is useful to someone. Please feel free to add suggestions!

Set Up & Pre-Race

*T1 & T2 - Get there early and know where the entrance and exit to the transition area is. Place your bike/shoes close to the entrance or exit. Know how to get to your bike/shoes from the entrance. It's easy to become disoriented, especially after the swim.

*Even a bright yellow bike can get lost in a crowd. Placing a bright colored hand towel over the saddle can make your bike easier to pick out.

*Put your sunglasses in your helmet. That way you will put them on first. When you remove your helmet in T2, the sunglasses are under the helmet straps. You pull off the helmet and go!

*Set up your transition area on a towel. This gives you something to wipe your feet on.

*If you aren't going to wear gloves in the race, do at least one practice ride prior without gloves.

*Practice your nutrition and Never, Ever, Ever change anything on race day. (I can't seem to remember this one!) Duh!

*Do lots of brick workouts.

*If you aren't going to wear socks, practice without socks.

Swim

*If the swim is really cold, you can double up on your swim caps or use a silicone cap under the race cap.

*Always get into the water and acclimate before a race. Swim a little if possible.

*Some people like to pull their swim cap over their ears to help block out the sounds of thrashing people.

*Put your goggles on first before your cap. If you get kicked in the face, you won't lose your goggles.

*Body Glide is your friend. :-) Use it around your neck and underarm where your wetsuit could chafe. Using it on your ankles should help your suit come off easier. Body Glide also works good on your butt or on your chamois before a long bike ride.

*After practicing your open water swims, practice getting out of your wetsuit quickly.

*Don't start in the center of the swim pack. Try to get to the outside or you will be held up by slower swimmers or be swum over by the faster ones.

T1

*To make it easier to get your socks onto wet feet, roll them down to the toes. When you put them on, just put your toes in and roll them up!

Bike

*The bike is the best place to rehydrate and take in some fuel.

*Make sure your bike gears are set low enough to get an easy start out of T1. Most people are in too hard of a gear, and have difficulty getting going.

T2

*Yanks or elastic shoelaces are Awesome! Very, very fast!

*Helmet off, bike shoes off, running shoes on, grab race belt with number and put it on while you are running.

Run

*Run, Forrest, Run!

*There is absolutely nothing I can offer here! :-)

In Addition:

*Don't wear your goggles on the bike ride or your helmet on the run. HaHa! I've heard of lots of people who forgot to remove one or the other on their first tri! It's hard to look cool running in a bike helmet! :-)

*Best way to avoid this is to practice your transitions. It should be methodical and habitual.

I'm sure I've forgotten some really basic stuff, but that's all I can remember at the moment.

Training Totals - Week Ending 5/13/06

I think I'm beginning to realize that no matter how dedicated I am to sticking to the plan and committing myself to my training schedule, something is always going to get in the way. It used to really frustrate me, mostly because I got so focused on the goal, that I'd lose my flexibility. I truly am thankful for the time I do have and the physical ability to complete it.

Today I will remind myself that while I may have been short a run and a bike ride, I had two great swims in the pool. And for that, I am very pleased.


Swim - 2 days - 1600 meters each - Total 1.99 miles

Bike - 2 days - 11.19mi & 18.64mi - Total 29.83 miles

Run - 3 days - 7.46mi & 4mi & 4mi - Total 15.46 miles

Core - 1 day - 200 sit ups

Rest - 1 day

The Other Woman

Here she is. Very refined and well mannered. Much more so than I. (I'm talking about the bike!) She is a Giant OCR c3 dressed in (my favorite!) nude carbon fiber! It was love at first sight. The geometry is pretty relaxed, which I'm thinking will suit my cycling needs long after I'm done with triathlons. And even though I am a little stretched out when in the aero position, I'm very comfortable. She doesn't have a name... maybe someday.

Today was suppose to be my "mental" run. This 10 mile run was not necessarily to build fitness and endurance, but just to prove to myself that I could do it. I was looking forward to the discomfort, knowing that afterward, another milestone would be accomplished.

After my swim on Friday, I felt that old and too often present, stabbing pain in the front of my right shin. I've felt this pain on and off ever since spraining my ankle last year. (The two are probably not related.) My self diagnosis has always been that I am on the verge of developing shin splints, which could really put a damper on my races this summer. Several days rest has always seemed to resolve the problem.

So here I am, with a painful shin, and a 10 mile run planned. And not just any ten mile run, but The One that would prove that I can measure up. While the run was as important to me as any paid race would have been, I chose to DNS... that would be, Did Not Start.

I know it was the smart decision, but it just drives me Crazy to not be able to do this run. My overly orderly Virgo mind had this one planned and written in the training log, exactly two weeks prior to the Coeur d' Alene Half Marathon. Perfect timing for some confidence building, some recovery and then the real test. I think the thing to do now is just bag it, heal for a few more days, and be happy with some 5 or 6 mile runs, alternating between road and treadmill.

Any advice from anyone regarding care and feeding of a nagging shin? (Besides not to up your mileage too fast. I would Never do that!) :-P

Livin' In The Wild, Wild West

I just had to share the headline with you. This from the weekly Cheney Free Press, which is not free, by the way. Top story... Squirrel knocks out power to city, again! Yes, two months ago a squirrel (I assume a different one) shut the lights off for several hours. Now, this is actually new and different. In the past, we would lose electricity every time it rained! The slightest drizzle would set us back 100 years. I guess there were cracked insulators on the light poles that would short out with a little rainfall. Who knew a city's electrical grid was so fragile. Go figure!

Actually, it does figure... at least for this little town. The city budget has been in dire straits for the last several years... so much so, they had to close down their park and rec dept. I think they had to have volunteers mow the parks and promise to clean the bathrooms and provide their own toilet paper, just to get the city to unlock them for events like kids soccer and softball.

Now comes the worst of news. The darn Seattle Seahawks, who did me the greatest of favors by holding their summer camp just up the street at EWU, are building a new practice facility and will not return to Cheney after this year. That puts a 1 million dollar hole in the already meager budget. Ouch! I hate to imagine the effects of this over the next couple of years.

You can usually tell by driving through a town, whether it's thriving or dying. Cheney, even with a major University here, looks like it's on it's last legs. Part of that is due to just downright poor planning. For example, a small restaurant (which is in a house) on the main street wanted to expand. So they put up a pole barn next to the house! Gawd! This sooo belongs on Spence's list! You know you're a red neck when "fine dining" is eating in a new pole barn!

I probably sound overly critical, and ya know what? I am. It's because this is a really cool little town with a ton of friggin' potential. In the three years that we've lived here, we've seen some really bizarre decisions made within the city regarding zoning and the comprehensive plan. It seems that who ever yells the loudest, gets action. Then they change the policies, laws, zonings, whatever to make everything lawful.

But I tell ya what! Ya'll come visit, and I'll take ya out to the nicest sit-down pole barn this side of the Mississippi! Ya Hear?

___________________________














Here is a photo of my pole barn being built. This is quite a bit smaller than most. Pole barns are built with the least amount of lumber possible. There is no framing for wall cavities. There are no footings or foundations. The "poles" are stuck in a hole in the ground with some concrete poured in. Not much different than building a fence. Doesn't quite meet Commercial Building Codes.

Rocket Man

Yesterday I did a nice little 4 mile run on the treadmill. It wasn't that long ago that I struggled to reach 3 miles, and lately (probably because I've been mostly running on the road) I feel so good at three miles, I just have to go for four! I'm really glad to see some kind of improvement in my fitness. It is nice to know that I am getting stronger and more physically fit.

This morning I swam another 1600 meters in the pool. I was late getting there, so I really pushed it to make sure I got all 1600 in before my time ran out. Now I'm kind of doubting the wisdom of that since I had planned on plodding out a 10 mile run tomorrow morning. I could put it off til Sunday, but that being Mothers Day, and we are having 15 people out here for a BBQ, I'd better get it done tomorrow. Swimming being upper body and running being lower body, I should be ok.

On to life in the Campground. A lot of our customers are retired folks, here either to spend the summer, attend an event at EWU, visit their kid who is attending EWU, or people passing through on their way to or from a vacation spot. We have 28 RV sites and a large area for tents. So, we get a wide variety of customers, most of whom we welcome.

Every once in a while, the occasional transient will wander in. We've had one here for the last two nights, sleeping in his car. I named him Harry due to his wild curly mop of hair. Sometimes it's hard to tell a persons "situation" by their car, clothing or hygiene. But it never fails, within an hour of their arrival, their behavior gives them away.

Harry, when he's not walking laps around the campground road, spends most his time sitting at picnic benches in sites other than his. This is actually preferable to his walking around, since he has a large hole in the back of his pants. He's gotta go.

We once had a guy living in a hole in the ground on the property next to us. (Which happens to be a cemetery. We should have filled the hole in, he would have fit right in with the other residents of the property!) He had spent a several days hanging out here and then we'd send him on his way. Next day, we'd see him back, and we'd send him off again. Come to find out, he was using our restrooms and then going back to his little nest in the ground. We finally had to ban him from the property and then called the Police when we caught him back again. After all that, the cop tried to talk me in to letting the guy camp under a picnic table if he promised to pay. What? Get him out of here!

The best though, was Rocket Man. We caught this guy in the shower room one night. It was very cold out, so when he propped the door open and cranked on the hot water, the steam billowing out of the room was pretty obvious. When I went to investigate, I noticed he had pulled out the rug, the bathmats, the deck mats that line the shower floors and the garbage can and had it all sitting outside the shower room. He told me later that he couldn't be near anything plastic. Ummm, ok... whatever!

I decided to sit at a picnic table and keep an eye on him since the campground was pretty full, and there were several children in the close vicinity. When he finished his shower, he dressed partially in the shower room and partially outside the door. (I guess the plastic fumes were getting to him?) I proceeded to watch him wrap his body with tin foil prior to putting his clothes on. Stomach, chest then head. Over the foil on his head went a milk jug with the bottom cut out. I remember it being a plastic gallon jug. I guess the tin foil must have protected him from the plastic? I didn't ask. Over the milk jug went a stocking cap. He had kind of a cone head which must be why I named him Rocket Man. After putting the shower room back together, he left.

I think it was after that that we quit allowing the "general public" access to our showers. The owners before us allowed it, and we never felt the need to change it, until Rocket Man. The few dollars that we made was never worth the hassle or headache.

Now the restrooms and showers are for Camping Customers Only... but yes, we still get the occasional Harry.

My Running Playlist

Here is some of the songs from my Running playlist.

Walk Of Life - Dire Straits
The Reason - Hoobastank
Running Away - Hoobastank
Running on Empty - Jackson Browne
American Girl - Goo Goo Dolls
It's My Life - Bon Jovi
Boys of Summer - Ataris
Around the World - ATC
AM Radio - Everclear
Story of a Girl - Nine Days
To Be A Love - Billy Idol
Proud - Heather Small
Let It Ride - BTO
Squeeze Box - The Who
It's All Been Done Before - Barenaked Ladies
Rapid Roy the Stock Car Boy - Jim Croce
Radar Love - Golden Earring
One Week - Barenaked Ladies
I know a little - Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Futures So Bright I've Gotta Wear Shades - Timbuk 3
Women - Foreigner
Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
Paper In Fire - John Mellencamp
Human Wheels - John Mellencamp
Authority Song - John Mellencamp
Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins
Who's Your Daddy? - Toby Keith
Maniac - Michael Sembello
Mony Mony - Billy Idol


Going through this list makes me want to run! I'm always looking for new songs to add to my list. Hope you see something here that you like. (I've probably dated myself with some of these!) :-P

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

I swam my first 1600 meter set today. Not without resting here and there, and not without a length of breaststroke thrown in here and there... but, it was my first real mile in the pool. Just like the day I ran my first mile, I feel like I have reached another milestone.

One of the reasons I get so much out of this sport is that because I'm so new to it, it is filled with a multitude of new experiences for me. My first mile, first 1600 meters, first 12k, first time on an awards podium, lots of PR's, first spandex! HA!

And, I have so much to still look forward to! First 1/2 marathon, first Olympic Tri, first run in the rain, in the snow, after dark on a hot summer night. Oh, I can't wait!

My excitement is tempered by Ursula's precarious health situation. She has not been able to have the experimental drug, that we credit with reversing her liver and bone tumors, for over two months. This is due to her kidneys not functioning well. After being off the drug for so long, we were certain that the kidney function would have improved, but that was not the case. She is still on a regular weekly schedule of chemotherapy, but I think if her health doesn't allow her to continue with this clinical trial, she will want to stop treatment all together and take a break.

Now, I'm sure I don't need to tell you that two plus years of chemotherapy is no picnic... and while I know she would give just about anything to feel "normal" again, even for a month or two, I'm not sure it's worth the risk. No one knows what will happen to those tumors once the chemo is stopped, even for a short time. I wish I could trade places with her so she didn't have to go through this.

I have to say, she is very strong and very intelligent. She will consult with the docs and myself and we will all come to some kind of decision. She did just have a CT scan which showed no tumor growth. Next will be a PET scan which shows if the remaining tumors are still alive. While my greatest fear is that we are about to enter the next stage of her disease, for all we really know at this point is that she could be one of the 2% that actually go into remission.

Enough.

Back At It

Just finished a nice little 4 mile run. Took yesterday as a rest day and ran on the treadmill today to give my legs a little more rest from Sundays Bloomsday pounding.

Ran 4 miles, three of which were negative splits.

Treadmill = 1% incline
Mile 1 - 12 minute mile
Mile 2 - 10 minute mile
Mile 3 - 9 minute mile
Mile 4 - 12 minute mile

43 minutes - average heart rate 151

My goal for the next three weeks is to practice finding that pace and heart rate at which I can go for long distances. I feel like my legs are heavy and slow for the first couple of miles, but then some kind of a break through happens, and it gets easier... at least for a while. Next week I plan on doing one 10 mile run in preparation for the 1/2 marathon. Mostly just to build confidence and monitor heart rates. I'm really looking forward to it. It will be my longest run to date.


Oh, by the way... I heard a great song while I was running. It is The Reason by Hoobastank. It's probably been around forever, but I've been really stuck in the 70's and 80's. When I get a moment, I think I'll post a list of my favorite running songs. I'm always searching for new songs to add to my play lists. I know most of the people who read this blog are also into music, so what do you say? How about you post your list also, either here or on your blog. I'll find it. I'm always looking to expand my horizons a little.

Gawd, I Am So Impressed!

Ok, I'll admit, it doesn't take much to impress me, but check this out! Yesterday I ran Bloomsday which had over 40,000 finishers. Before I even get out of bed, there is an e-mail waiting for me with my results and links to race photos! Maybe that's the way it is with all the large, well run races? I figured I'd have to wait until they printed the results in next weekends newspaper to get my final time. Ahhh, technology!

The last 5k I ran used a timing chip, but they couldn't seem to get the results correct. The first printout had me finishing first. Then they took that one down and later posted a hand written one that had me in second and third, with the third place crossed out and another name written it. A week later when the "official" times were posted on the web site, the time was different from either of the first times posted at the race.

So, the fact that Bloomsday can get results to over 40,000 people overnight impresses the hell out of me!

Here is what they sent:


Results for Bloomsday 2006
Barb Gilger
Race Photos
Finish Time: 1:40:31
Overall Place: 15,215 out of 40,585
Ran with a pace of 13:28 per mile
The average pace for 41-year-olds was 14:25
Placed 319th among people the same ageTop 25
Placed 339th among people from Cheney, WATop 25
Placed 11,647th among people from the State of WashingtonTop 25
Placed 1st among people with the same last nameTop 25
Placed 6,973rd among femalesTop 25
Placed 146th out of 415 among 41-year-old femalesTop 25

That is more statistics than anyone would ever want to know! I do question why the average pace for 41 year olds was 14:25. Why is everyone moving so slow??

Since this was to just be a nice walk, I did not wear a watch or pay any attention to my start or finish time, so finding my race photo would be like looking for a needle in a haystack! Too bad. Rebecca and I had such a good time that we both had our arms raised in victory as we crossed the finish line. Would have been a cute photo.

Bloomsday 12k Race Report and Pictures

Bloomsday is one of the largest 12k races in the country. It is located in Spokane, Wa. This was the 30 year anniversary which brought out 45,000 runners!

It was a chilly, overcast day, which in the end, turned out to be perfect. Temperatures at the 9am start were in the mid 40's. The wind blowing between the downtown Spokane buildings, made it feel even colder. But the crowd was in a festive mood, and no one seemed to mind.



My friend Rebecca and I jogged the race together. This was her first organized road race!



The race starts in the downtown core and follows the Spokane River to the outskirts of town. There is a nice downhill section right before Doomsday Hill. It is a real bugger of a slope! In the first photo, you can see the hill off in the distance!



You can see where we came from... just crossing the bridge in the distance. If you make it, The Vulture greets you at the top of Doomsday Hill! Everyone "High Five" the vulture!


The race proceeded up the hill, through a residential area and back to the bluff overlooking the river. From this bluff, we could look across the valley at all the people still climbing Doomsday
Hill. (Click on the photo for a better view) Here is one on the waterfalls in downtown Spokane. The finish line was on the bridge.



The temperature had warmed up to about 52 with some light showers. It felt good.
Post race: Fountain in Riverfront Park and Rebecca celebrating a GREAT day!


As usual, the race was very organized and had lots of volunteers and support from the police and fire departments. There were 10 bands and lots of costumed runners and observers. Unfortunately, I think the cold weather kept a lot of the spectators at home. The usual crowds seems very thin to me. None the less, we had an exceptional day and are looking forward to next year!!

Training Totals - Week Ending 5/6/06

I thought this was going to be a stellar week for traning totals. Missed a swim and a long bike ride. On a good note, kicked up my mileage per run. Need to continue to focus on the run for the next couple of weeks, and then back off and hit the bike hard. Well... that's the plan at least.

Swim 2 days - 1050m/1200m - 1.4mi total
Bike 1 day - 14.34mi
Run 3 days - 6mi/3mi/6.4mi - 15.4 total
Core 2 days - 200/150 situps - 350 total
Rest 2 days

Somebody Turn A Light On!

I had planned a 40 mile bike ride with my under-utilized women's bike club this morning. I was looking forward to it, being that it was the first ride of the year. Overall, my few experiences with this group have not all been pleasant ones. Either everyone is really nice and inclusive or grouped in their clique and cold. I figure that I just need to meet more of the members so I don't feel like such an outsider at meetings and events. This was a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

I guess it was not meant to be. When I woke up, all the electricity was off to the rv park, and as I found out after a quick phone call, to the whole city. (This happens about every other month. Ahhh.. the joys of living in a little po-dunk town!) When the power goes out, our water system also shuts down, as we provide water to our customers via two wells. This usually results in a steady stream of phone calls, visits to the park office and groups of customers standing around wanting to know if it's our fault that they have no utilities and then theorize the cause. While skipping the bike ride and staying at the park solved nothing, it was not a good time to leave. Such is life.

Tomorrow will be a better day. I am walking Bloomsday, one of the largest 12k's in the country, with my friend Rebecca. It might rain... got my fingers crossed that it won't. I'll take some pictures to share here and on Triscoop.com. More tomorrow.

Swimming Along

Got in a nice 1200 meter swim this morning. Don't know where everyone was, but I had the whole pool to myself! The lifeguards turned up the rock and roll and everyone had a pleasant morning. I'm definitely motivated to make it to all my swims and not take for granted the use of this beautiful facility. I discovered a couple of days ago that the pool will be closing for the summer to complete renovations. Oh No! Now what am I gonna do?

I live in a small college town of 10,000 people. It's 20 miles to the nearest mass of people that can be called a city. And while I wasn't happy about having to drive 40 miles round trip three days a week to swim... what choice did I have?

I called health clubs and gyms, checked out the YMCA and YWCA along with the county pool schedules. Even found a "new" local Tri club, but their training schedule doesn't mesh with mine very well.

I couldn't help but think about how life challenges us... just when everything seems to be perking along so nicely. I think the reason for the challenge is partly due to karma, because it happens when we start to take things for granted. And then... life has a way of putting us back in our place. Just a gentle reminder of who is really in charge.

As it turns out, there is another pool here that I had forgotten about. The parks department has a small pool at the local park that they operate when the city budget dictates. Since a 2006 schedule is posted on the internet, I will assume that funds are available this year.

I checked it out today. Eight lanes (good) about 20 meters long (maybe not even that). I'm Not Complaining! Think how many more laps I'll be able to get in with all the time I save not having to drive clear into Spokane. Maybe I should work on my flip turns!

Sans Computer

My computer has been in the shop all week and it's driving me crazy! We discovered, after buying a new battery, that the internal charger is not working, so off to the shop before the warranty runs out.

I'm very spoiled, and not used to having to share my toys. Actually, it's Urs that is now having to share her computer with me! We both spend hours each day on the internet. Urs spends a lot of time helping people on her Breast Cancer message boards. I figure that if I'm going to waste time watching tv, I might as well multi-task and surf my own message boards and blog land.

More importantly, yesterday was my longest road run to date. 6.4 miles in 1hr 4 minutes. Having logged most of my miles on a treadmill, my bones aren't used to all the jarring, and I could feel it last night. Today, my legs feel much better. I often feel a twinge of pain in my right shin bone... like I'm on the verge of developing shin splints. Rest and stretching seems to resolve it. I'll proceed with caution to hopefully avoid injury.

50 Things About Me

1. The last jobs I've had are: Campground Host, Home Depot Manager, General Contractor, Prison Guard

2. The last places I've been on vacation are: Portland, OR., Olympic National Park, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park (Hope to one day see most of the National Parks and Monuments)

3. My favorite foods are: pizza, mexican, ribeye steak and just about any kind of chip

4. The last books I've read are: Becoming an Ironman, Total Immersion and Triathletes Bible

5. I usually read: True survival and adventure stories such as Everest, K2, sailing, kayaking, treking

6. Movies: I like movies based on true stories, especially sports or adventure related.

7. Sports I do: I swim, bike and run... don't have time for any others.

8. Sports I watch: I LOVE the Seattle Seahawks and NFL football. Really enjoy watching the Olympics

9. Pets I've had: snake, mice, rat, hamsters, hermit crabs, box turtles, frogs, chameleons, pirana, tropical fish, salt water fish, dogs, cats, finches, conure parrots, horses... hmmm, am I leaving anyone out? I currently have a 20 year old blind, deaf 2 1/2 pound chihuahua and her plump 15 pound sister.

10. My partner and I have been together 13 years! How does she ever put up with me??

11. The hardest job I ever had: Retail Manager... having to work really long hours and dealing with irrational pissed off customers.

12. The easiest job I've ever had: My current one... owning Peaceful Pines RV Park www.cheneyrv.com

13. Places I would like to be right now: Hawaii, Sedona, AZ., Olympic Nat. Park

14. My favorite tv show is: Survivor!! ...and LOST. I used to be a reality tv junkie, but it's all gotten so corney that I don't watch it anymore.

15. Music I listen to: Classic Rock, Baby!! It's the best! Also like most 70's, 80's and 90's pop/top 40 stuff. Same stuff I listened to in high school!

16. Newer artists I really like: The Goo Goo Dolls, Macy Gray, Ashley Simpson, Alanis Morissette, Barenaked Ladies, Jewel, R.E.M., Hoobastank, Coldplay, U2

17. I came out as a lesbian when I was 20 years old.

18. I own 3 bicycles. One short of the optimum amount.

19. I was a cigarette smoker for 24 years.

20. I have bought 12 homes and have lived in 10 of them... one twice.

21. I was a competitive swimmer from age 7-15.

22. I was "into" bodybuilding in my 20's... that was the mid-eighties when Cory Everson ruled the Miss America crown!

23. I love Dibs ice cream bites.

24. After never being a soda pop drinker, I got addicted to Vanilla Coke. Switched to Diet Vanilla Coke to cut back on the empty calories. They quit making it!!! Now I drink an occasional Diet Vanilla Pepsi.

25. I have an AAS degree in Administration of Justice.

26. Both my older brother and I am adopted.

27. I have found and have met my biological parents.

28. I have a strong relationship with my biological father.

29. I don't wear make-up, but would probably be more attractive if I would.

30. My favorite blog to read is Iron Wil/ Through the Wall. She is an inspiration and an exceptional writer.

31. I hate to cook (even though I was a cook for 5 years). My partner loves to cook, and is very good at it. One more example of how I'm SO lucky!

32. I would love to spend a year traveling the United States in our motorhome. I'd make do with 3 months.

33. Aside from all the pets I've had, I've never had any children.

34. My mom always said I'd be a veterinarian. I thought I'd be an archeologist or work in forestry. Ended up in Corrections and have owned my own business twice.

35. I received a college scholarship in music and never went.

36. I've taken piano, percussion and mallet keyboard lessons. I currently only play the Ukulele.

37. I was on the drumline in highschool.

38. I ran my first mile at age 40

39. I'd love to get a tattoo... but i want it to be special and I've just never come up with the "right" thing.

40. I was in Drum and Bugle Corps for 2 years. I played marimba.

41. I wish I had a running and biking partner.

42. I feel very, very fortunate to be healthy enough to swim, bike, run and do triathlon.

43. Swimming in open water scares me. I tell myself to deal with it and "suck it up".

44. When I retire, I'll probably live in a motorhome full time.

45. I like to sleep on my stomach, but it makes my back hurt.

46. I love warm places that have palm trees.

47. My biggest supporter in training, racing and life is my partner.

48. I am very thankful for the life that I have. I am truly fortunate.

49. I try to take nothing for granted.

50. I thank my lucky stars every day that I have my partner.