So - I understand that it's 'cold' here in Florida and tri season is pretty much over for me until 1/2 IM New Orleans. But I really really wish there was at least one tri somewhere around here! I'm so tired of just running races! I just think back to those weekends where I had 2-4 races to choose from. I would even take a YOLO board race (www.yoloboard.com) right now!
Ok. I'm done bitching. I'm going to google to see if there is something going on in Southern Florida I might be able to make. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!
Running with a bottle of wine.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Christmas Came Early!
Santa was very good to me this year -
I think it's funny that the older we get - the harder it is figure out 'what you want for Christmas'. Back in the day I could probably rattle off millions of toys, games, etc. But now - it takes some real digging. I always want something that I know I will use, and use often. So a trainer was on the top of my list this year. Also, every year since I was 6 my stocking would be filled with at least one speedo, a cap, and new goggles. Bless my mom for keeping that tradition going!
With this in mind - what do you want for Christmas this year?
I think it's funny that the older we get - the harder it is figure out 'what you want for Christmas'. Back in the day I could probably rattle off millions of toys, games, etc. But now - it takes some real digging. I always want something that I know I will use, and use often. So a trainer was on the top of my list this year. Also, every year since I was 6 my stocking would be filled with at least one speedo, a cap, and new goggles. Bless my mom for keeping that tradition going!
With this in mind - what do you want for Christmas this year?
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Draggin Tail 18 Mile Run
A very random distance, but a very good race. Last Saturday was the annual 18 mile Draggin Tail run in lovely Sunny Hills, FL. Sunny Hills is such a small town, that I could not find it on weather.com to find out what the temperature was that morning! I'm also pretty sure the only things in this town are churches and golf courses. Literally. Anyway, you could either do the race as a relay (6 miles each) or the full 18. Since we all have upcoming marathons, mostly everyone opted for the full 18.
The morning started out at a blistering 27 degrees - but at least it was sunny. The night before the race I was kind of stressing out what to wear, tights or shorts? Turtleneck or tech shirt? So I ended up rocking shorts, long sleeve tech shirt, ear warmers and visor. (hey, it was sunny and I was running 18 miles - so I figured that I would warm up!) I picked up Kelly around 6:15am and headed up to Sunny Hills. It was about a 45 min drive north of Panama City. We get the the race and met up with the rest of our training/triathlon group. Our main goal was to use this as a training run - not to push it to hard and just enjoy the run. And all of the hills that came with it.
The race was on county roads that lead through beautiful forests with rolling hills. EVERYONE was freaking out about the hills - but to be honest they where not NEARLY as bad as the Atlanta race the weekend before. Not even close! I felt like a seasoned hill runner :) Anyway - I stuck with a good 9 to 9:30 min mile pace and just cruised along. Fueling myself with GU's and water every 4-6 miles kept me going and feeling strong. I completed the race in 2:51 which was under what I was expecting! Also, everyone in our training group placed! I rocked out a 2nd in my age group which I was pretty proud of - since I took it as a training run!
To be honest - I was not sure how I would feel towards the end of the race. But I felt amazing. So in two weeks we are heading up to Huntsville, AL to run the Rocket City Marathon! What's another 8.2 miles?
On a side note - non race related - my whole family is down here at the beach for the holiday! They are in an amazing condo that overlooks the gulf right down the street from my condo. I'm so excited...that they are not staying at my place :)
The morning started out at a blistering 27 degrees - but at least it was sunny. The night before the race I was kind of stressing out what to wear, tights or shorts? Turtleneck or tech shirt? So I ended up rocking shorts, long sleeve tech shirt, ear warmers and visor. (hey, it was sunny and I was running 18 miles - so I figured that I would warm up!) I picked up Kelly around 6:15am and headed up to Sunny Hills. It was about a 45 min drive north of Panama City. We get the the race and met up with the rest of our training/triathlon group. Our main goal was to use this as a training run - not to push it to hard and just enjoy the run. And all of the hills that came with it.
The race was on county roads that lead through beautiful forests with rolling hills. EVERYONE was freaking out about the hills - but to be honest they where not NEARLY as bad as the Atlanta race the weekend before. Not even close! I felt like a seasoned hill runner :) Anyway - I stuck with a good 9 to 9:30 min mile pace and just cruised along. Fueling myself with GU's and water every 4-6 miles kept me going and feeling strong. I completed the race in 2:51 which was under what I was expecting! Also, everyone in our training group placed! I rocked out a 2nd in my age group which I was pretty proud of - since I took it as a training run!
To be honest - I was not sure how I would feel towards the end of the race. But I felt amazing. So in two weeks we are heading up to Huntsville, AL to run the Rocket City Marathon! What's another 8.2 miles?
On a side note - non race related - my whole family is down here at the beach for the holiday! They are in an amazing condo that overlooks the gulf right down the street from my condo. I'm so excited...that they are not staying at my place :)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
ZOOMA Hilly Ass 1/2 Marathon
Saturday morning I left the beach to head up to Atlanta. The drive was fine thanks to the great sunny weather and my book on cd (make fun of me if you wish - but long drives by your self it's a life saver!). I made it to Karen's condo and we took off to go shopping. Oh the damage I would do if I lived in a large city again! The first place we went to was a consiment store where I made it out with 2 pairs of $200 each jeans for $66. Love it. Went to a few more places and then headed back home to meet up with Karen's hubby and went out to dinner. Got home early and hit the sack.
Sunday morning we got up around 5:30am (430 my time) and checked out the weather channel. Well - the wind chill was about 27. Ugh. I live in Florida! I'm not used to weather like this!! So after about 20 minutes deciding what we would wear we where out the door. Thanks to Karen's husband - we where dropped off right at the race site in Atlantic Station. After the bag check and a quick trip to the port-a-potty we where off. Not sure what pace we wanted, we had to pace bracelets on and pretty much stayed in between an 1:50 and a 1:55 finish time pace. Karen is a great person to run with because she just chats away and makes sure take your GU (which I forget about sometimes!!) She is kind of like running with your own coach! Anyway - hill after hill after hill I wanted to shoot myself. And normally you would think if you go up a hill, you'll go back down. Well, not in Atlanta. It's up one hill and then up another! But the pace was good, the weather was perfect, and the course was very scenic. The end came and we ended up coming in at 1:56:31. Pretty good considering the hills - but I know my next 1/2 I will be pushing to be under 1:55 :)
*Sorry, had to add the picture of the hot twins from Ironman Florida*
At the end of the race, came through the shoot and got a wonderful silver necklace! Well worth the hills! ***I'll post pictures tomorrow!!*** We didn't linger to long at the after party - sweat and cold do not mix to well!
Here are my overall results:
Total: 113 out of 770
Sex: 90 out of 711
AG: 16 out of 113
Sunday morning we got up around 5:30am (430 my time) and checked out the weather channel. Well - the wind chill was about 27. Ugh. I live in Florida! I'm not used to weather like this!! So after about 20 minutes deciding what we would wear we where out the door. Thanks to Karen's husband - we where dropped off right at the race site in Atlantic Station. After the bag check and a quick trip to the port-a-potty we where off. Not sure what pace we wanted, we had to pace bracelets on and pretty much stayed in between an 1:50 and a 1:55 finish time pace. Karen is a great person to run with because she just chats away and makes sure take your GU (which I forget about sometimes!!) She is kind of like running with your own coach! Anyway - hill after hill after hill I wanted to shoot myself. And normally you would think if you go up a hill, you'll go back down. Well, not in Atlanta. It's up one hill and then up another! But the pace was good, the weather was perfect, and the course was very scenic. The end came and we ended up coming in at 1:56:31. Pretty good considering the hills - but I know my next 1/2 I will be pushing to be under 1:55 :)
*Sorry, had to add the picture of the hot twins from Ironman Florida*
At the end of the race, came through the shoot and got a wonderful silver necklace! Well worth the hills! ***I'll post pictures tomorrow!!*** We didn't linger to long at the after party - sweat and cold do not mix to well!
Here are my overall results:
Total: 113 out of 770
Sex: 90 out of 711
AG: 16 out of 113
Friday, November 14, 2008
I love youtube
This is just too funny - I don't know if it's just me, but I think the dog is trying to tell me to get off of my butt and get on my damn bike!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
ZOOMA 1/2 Marathon
This weekend I'm heading up to hot-lanta for a the Zooma Women's 1/2 marathon. The be honest, the only reason I signed up for this race is because you get a silver necklace at the end instead of a metal. And the race tech shirts are pretty awesome. I'm staying with my friend Karen who did Ironman Wisconson a few months ago. It will be a very fun weekend!! Sooo looking forward to getting out of town and getting away form the beach.
Karen is a very good runner and she is going to bandit the race and pace me to hopefully get under a 1:55 - but we'll see. This course has some hills and my right hamstring has been bothering me a bit. Wish me luck!!
Karen is a very good runner and she is going to bandit the race and pace me to hopefully get under a 1:55 - but we'll see. This course has some hills and my right hamstring has been bothering me a bit. Wish me luck!!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Ironman Florida - from a draft marshal's point of view
Wow! What an amazing day! It started bright and early at 5:15am picking up Lisa W and Missy and the boyfriend dropped us off pretty close to the race site (thanks Jason!). There where people everywhere. We helped Lisa take her special needs bags to the designated places, got her body marked and then she ran off to get her drinks mixed and her bike ready.
Missy and I headed over to the draft marshals breakfast to get ready. Once we got started, we found out that the camera crews where going to take 1/2 of our motorcycles. Hmm. Thanks for the warning guys - we could have easily gotten more bikes if needed. But it was too late. So we where down to 5 draft marshals. Please note that this course is KNOWN for being a high drafting course due to it being fast and flat for the 112 mile bike. Awesome. Anyway - we got our helmets, stripped ref jerseys, cards and note pads and headed down to the swim.
Luckily the gulf was nice and flat. Could not have asked for better conditions! Everyone what we knew who was racing where all in the same place with family and friends. It was so great to see everyone all pumped up and ready to go. Just looking around the beach, you could see thousands of people ready to cheer everyone on. The swim portion consisted for two laps of a buoy marked 1.2 mile circle. Once the swimmers got done with one lap - they had to get out of the water, run about 100 yards and then get back in for the 2nd lap. They had to run over the chip mat to make sure they did the two required laps. While we where standing there cheering everyone on - we saw a guy with FINS!! WTF!?!?
So about an hour into the swim - we had to go up and to meet up with the other marshals and get on the bikes. Luckily, my driver was a local who does triathlons as well - so we where a force to be reconded with. We knew exactly what to look for and how to hopefully break up the packs. Once we got going, it was amazing to see the drafting that was going on. Intentional and non-intentional. After being yelled at by some riders (who knew what they where doing was illegal) and cheered by others who saw who we would give out penalties to - we put a good amount of people in the penalty tents.
But the craziest thing was - was that while we where heading back to the transition area, the last 12 miles was when we saw the worst drafting. The "I'm going to ride this guys back wheel until I finish" vicious age groupers kind of drafting. It was so frustrating not only for the riders they where drafting off of, but for us as well. So once again, we foiled quite a few peoples plans of doing that by making them stop at the penalty tent for 4 minutes. One guy was drafting off of a female pro 2 miles into transition - once we gave him the card she was ecstatic. He argued. Come on now. Put on your big boy pants and get over it.
It was great to hear that the penalty tents where full. Please don't get the idea that we where out to get everyone - but IMFL is known for drafting. We just wanted to try our best to make the race fair for everyone. It can be so frustrating when you know someone is behind you using 45% less energy - but keeping the same pace as you. And there is nothing that you as the rider can do but speed up and hope they can't catch up or drop back.
After we where finished - we where all over the place cheering on everyone completing the final marathon leg. Not to mention sitting in the VIP tent watching the top pro's finish as well. It was such a great experience and I'm so proud of everyone who raced. So inspirational.
Now I have to make the decision - Louisville Iroman in August? It's a hard decision to make. Most of the people I train with are doing Louisville, so naturally I'll be training with them if I'm doing the race or not. And if I don't do the race, I'll be a draft marshal. Decisions decisions.....
Missy and I headed over to the draft marshals breakfast to get ready. Once we got started, we found out that the camera crews where going to take 1/2 of our motorcycles. Hmm. Thanks for the warning guys - we could have easily gotten more bikes if needed. But it was too late. So we where down to 5 draft marshals. Please note that this course is KNOWN for being a high drafting course due to it being fast and flat for the 112 mile bike. Awesome. Anyway - we got our helmets, stripped ref jerseys, cards and note pads and headed down to the swim.
Luckily the gulf was nice and flat. Could not have asked for better conditions! Everyone what we knew who was racing where all in the same place with family and friends. It was so great to see everyone all pumped up and ready to go. Just looking around the beach, you could see thousands of people ready to cheer everyone on. The swim portion consisted for two laps of a buoy marked 1.2 mile circle. Once the swimmers got done with one lap - they had to get out of the water, run about 100 yards and then get back in for the 2nd lap. They had to run over the chip mat to make sure they did the two required laps. While we where standing there cheering everyone on - we saw a guy with FINS!! WTF!?!?
So about an hour into the swim - we had to go up and to meet up with the other marshals and get on the bikes. Luckily, my driver was a local who does triathlons as well - so we where a force to be reconded with. We knew exactly what to look for and how to hopefully break up the packs. Once we got going, it was amazing to see the drafting that was going on. Intentional and non-intentional. After being yelled at by some riders (who knew what they where doing was illegal) and cheered by others who saw who we would give out penalties to - we put a good amount of people in the penalty tents.
But the craziest thing was - was that while we where heading back to the transition area, the last 12 miles was when we saw the worst drafting. The "I'm going to ride this guys back wheel until I finish" vicious age groupers kind of drafting. It was so frustrating not only for the riders they where drafting off of, but for us as well. So once again, we foiled quite a few peoples plans of doing that by making them stop at the penalty tent for 4 minutes. One guy was drafting off of a female pro 2 miles into transition - once we gave him the card she was ecstatic. He argued. Come on now. Put on your big boy pants and get over it.
It was great to hear that the penalty tents where full. Please don't get the idea that we where out to get everyone - but IMFL is known for drafting. We just wanted to try our best to make the race fair for everyone. It can be so frustrating when you know someone is behind you using 45% less energy - but keeping the same pace as you. And there is nothing that you as the rider can do but speed up and hope they can't catch up or drop back.
After we where finished - we where all over the place cheering on everyone completing the final marathon leg. Not to mention sitting in the VIP tent watching the top pro's finish as well. It was such a great experience and I'm so proud of everyone who raced. So inspirational.
Now I have to make the decision - Louisville Iroman in August? It's a hard decision to make. Most of the people I train with are doing Louisville, so naturally I'll be training with them if I'm doing the race or not. And if I don't do the race, I'll be a draft marshal. Decisions decisions.....
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
IMFL - Race report from a draft marshal's point of view
Report and pictures comming soon - but all I can say was wow. All of the athletes where so inspirational, not only my friends who competed (who took the race at made it their bitch!!) but everyone else. Loved every second of it. I can't wait to do a full IM myself!
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