Good Looking Folks

So, here are some photos that Doug's Dad took of us at the GA Veterans Triathlon in Cordele. The first two are Doug going out on the run and coming up the hill from the swim. I think he's the one who has already removed his cap. Then, there are our girls with Grammy, who is a champ for bringing them to the race - please note Annika's tutu-riffic race attire. The last one is me running up the hill from the swim. Here is where you can view the "official" photos - Doug is bib #12 and I am #163. I couldn't link to the separate searches. Aren't we beautiful? HA!

In better news, Doug found this cool site that lists the results from a million races. It revealed that I was first of ALL WOMEN in the run. : ) The link is for our race results, but the site is called "Athlinks."

I've finally gotten my Garmin software and our accounting stuff to the new computer, so that leaves only the photos to move over. Maybe next week . . .

Last week:

Sun: 11.89 mile ride at 13.9 mph in the giant thunderstorm. Yes, the same storm in which a high school student on his bike was struck by lightning and killed. Next time I'll check the radar.

Mon: 4.33 miles at the park at 8:40 pace. I got to go to the park and listen to the parade of horribles on the local news on the way home, see above.

Tues: Nanny's car broke and I overslept. No swim, no run, no bike.

Wed: 13.19 mile bike at 14.1 pace. This was my first ride with "clipless pedals" and I only fell once. Luckily, the guy in the car behind me did not run me over and was not laughing so I could hear him. The pace includes the fall, dropping my chain, and the big hill on Eves Rd.

Thurs and Fri: See Tuesday.

Sat: 6.24 mie run at 10.01 pace. This was to be a longer run, but I overslept AGAIN and had only this amount of time to complete my work. Which was fine, because my knees were sore. The pace includes a trip to the potty - didn't stop the clock because I had to know where I was on the ETA.

Totals: 0 swimming, 25.08 miles biking, 13.75 miles running.

The Good Mirror

Have you ever found a mirror that made you look really good? Almost like rose-colored glasses, but in mirror form? In the restroom at my office, there is such a mirror. In this mirror, I am tall (willowy, even) and never have a fat day. Sure, I still feel like I'm having fat days and can still look like an idiot with post-it notes stuck to my shirt or shoes that don't match, but I'm always buff in this mirror. I think that mirrors should be rated in this manner when you buy them. Wouldn't everyone be a lot happier with the skinny and buff mirror? Who wants to have a fat mirror or one with lights that shine on your blemishes?

In other news, I'm not going to do the race at Callaway Gardens. Not only is it the same day as the first Georgia game, it's really far away. And, I don't think I want to swim 1,000 yards in open water. Is that really lame?

Here is a summary of my recovery week this week:

Sun: rest - rode back from Cordele, washed dog and various other items in the yard

Mon: 1,600 yard swim, 800 yards in a row, which was not that hard except that my goggles fogged up. My shoulder issue appears to be not a swimming injury, but a computer issue. I lean into my left shoulder when I'm on the computer and it gets sore. How silly is that?

Tues: 3.13 mile run at 9:40 avg pace. This was to be a 5 miler, but my tummy revolted and I had to go home.

Wed: 6.28 mile run at 9:43 avg pace. I ran at 3pm and it was hot. I'm pleased with the pace, though, during the running portions of my workout (I stopped the clock for drinking and potty).

Thurs: 20 mile bike with the North Atlanta Multisport group at unknown speed, 1.5 mile run at conversational pace. I was going to do a 5K run, but the tummy acted up again.

Fri: Rest. I was up until 12am on Thursday paying the bills so getting up early to swim before work was a no go.

Sat: 7.4 mile run at 10:35 avg pace. This was the first run of my winter half-marathon training. I had planned to do an easy 7-8 miles (whichever) while listening to the end of my murder mystery. My legs/knees were stiff in the beginning but started to feel better after about mile 3. When I turned around at mile 3.5, though, my tummy revolted again and I did the old walk/run to the Starbucks and waited for it to open so that I could use their facilities and buy some water. Boy, did the scones look good! More run/walk on the way home so the combined 10:35 pace is not so bad considering all of the walking. It's weird that in distance training my limiting factor is not overall fitness but always something else (knees, back, tummy) Or maybe that's just a component of the overall, I dunno.

Totals: 1,600 yards of swimming, 20 miles of biking, 18.31 miles running. Not too bad. I hope to be able to add one more bike into the weekly mix during the winter, but we will have to see.

Dagny and the bike

Here is a photo of Dagny from our playground visit on Monday. For some reason, it only migrated from my phone through my email today, even though I sent it only seconds after taking the photo. You can see the shiner she got from running into the table in Grammie/Grampa's RV.

Dagny starts preschool next month. Because her birthday is in October, she is in the 18 month class instead of the 2 year old class - even though she will turn two right after school starts. So, I've been worrying that she will kick the asses of the other students. Have you met Dagny? She is delightful but very demanding and you won't ever take advantage of her. This is good but I've been very concerned about her running roughshod over a bunch of younger children who aren't the "second child." Dagny's teacher called last week and I told her my concerns. No worries, she said - all but two kids in the class will be two before the end of October. And, her daughter was similar in temperament at home but was an angel at school. I like this woman already.

Doug kept this girls this evening so I could go on the NAMS group ride. We rode 20 hilly miles after the rain (!) and then some of us ran a bit. I ran with one of the other women, but had to cut my run short because I had to go potty. Stupid GI tract. On the bike, I have no idea how fast we went, because I forgot my Garmin but I only dropped my chain once so it was a good ride. My front deraileur is still messed up (though it worked perfectly when Doug and I were testing it yesterday) so I stayed mainly in the small ring because it wouldn't jump up. Then, when I tried to wrench it up there, it fell right on over the edge - DOH! I learned that it sucks to be the slow one because while everyone waits for you at the turns (it's a no-drop ride), you don't get a chance to rest there. I don't rest on my solo rides, anyway so I don't know why I thought I would get to here.

Good news, I found the missing pad from my bike helmet! It was attached to one of my gloves - no more abraded forehead or kleenex in my hat. Whooo!

We're Trashy

This is the scene from our driveway on Sunday. Annika is dancing on the pack-n-play mattress to get the water out because I had to scrub and disinfect it. Then, we left it outside for many hours to dry in the heat. Dagny removed her diaper sometime during her nap on Saturday afternoon and smeared feces and urine all over herself and Grammie's pack-n-play, which necessitated the giant clean-up. We also washed Grammie's booster chair and our dog since we were out there. Annika also wanted her picture taken - so that is the next photo. The camera phone seems to take decent pictures, but the color is questionable.

The other two photos are of Dagny and Annika at the park on Monday. In the first, they are wearing the sunglasses they insisted on bringing with them. The same ones that spent the remainder of the park visit in my pocket. Dagny pronounces glasses "yakkies." In the second photo, Dagny put her glasses on her head like mine (Annika's were already in my pocket) and they both smiled - at the SAME TIME!

On Saturday, Doug and I raced in the Georgia Veteran's Triathlon in Cordele, Georgia. Doug's folks had taken their RV down to the park earlier in the week and the girls spent the nights with them while Doug and I stayed in the "villa" at the state park. It was really just a hotel room, but it had a coffee maker and a small fridge so we were thrilled.

I finished in 1 hour, 18 minutes, 13 seconds for 4th place in my age group (out of 17). I was 2nd out of the water in the swim, mid-pack in the bike and 1st in the run (!!) so it was a really good race for me. I missed beating my 5K personal record by only 6 seconds. We will do this race again, because it was very fun and the park was great for the kids.


Here is how my recovery/taper week stacked up:

Sun: Hansgrohe Acworth Race, 400 yard swim, 13 mile bike, 5K run in 1 hr 15 minutes. Great race, I had a blast.

Mon: 3.16 miles at 10:22 pace. Easy.

Tues: off

Wed: 12.18 mile bike at 13.7 mph. Hot, damn hot!

Thurs: 3.04 miles at 10:33 pace. Easy run - was starting to go faster after mile 1, but my tummy disagreed.

Fri: off

Sat: Georgia Veteran's Race, 400 yard swim, 13.6 mile bike, 5K run in 1 hr 18 minutes.

Totals: 800 yards swimming, 38.78 miles biking, 12.4 miles running. I actually probably swam an even 1,000 yards, if you count the warm-ups so I wasn't as big a lazy behind as I thought this week (I forgot that the racing counts in the mileage totals). Doug is trying to convince me to try the Olympic distance race at Callaway Gardens in September. I won't be at all competitive and the swim will be HARD, but I'm considering it. Nat, Jason, Wes - what about you?

More Race Photos

Here are the official race photos. You can search by bib number in the little box on the left. This link is for the search on my photos, but Natalie is 288, Dee Dee is 200 and I'm 257. I like the photo of us all on the bike - boy do we look professional, but my favorite is Dee Dee on the run.

Photos and Ironman

Here are photos that Ryan took from our race on Sunday. The first one is the part where we came up the last hill to where Doug and Ryan and the kids were standing before the sprint to the finish line. The second one shows my team Bachman shirt on the sprint.

In lieu of the photo of our race from my camera, which I'm having a hard time getting to my computer, please also enjoy the ones that Wes took here and here. You can see from the first link which clothes to look for in the second one. Nat is pink, Dee Dee is red and I'm blue.

Also, some of you might not know that my friend Jason did an Ironman some time back. I just got around to reading his race report here, and let me just say that Jason is a badassMF. Seriously.

I did it!

I'll edit to add the photos later, but here are the results from Sunday's efforts.

Swim 400 meters: 00:06:54, 17th in age group
T1: 2 mins, 30 secs
Bike 13 miles: 00:41:55, 16th in age group, 18.6 avg mph
T2: 47 secs
Run: 00:23:49, 6th in age group, 7:41 min per mile pace
Total: 1 hr, 15 mins, 53 secs, 9th out of 108 in 35-39 age group, 40/260 overall

I woke up at 4:10am, which was early because I set my phone alarm and forgot the "remind me before the meeting" function starts alerting before the appointed meeting time. Oops. So, that was about 5 hours of sleep because I stayed up until nearly 11 trying to make the Yankz work with my shoes (DOH!) and Dagny woke with a bad dream at 12:41 so I got up and set my alarm at that point. I showered, dressed, ate breakfast (1/2 bowl of cereal with soy milk), had coffee, finished packing, and made water, milk and cheerios packages for the girls. Nat and I were late leaving at 5:30-ish (aren't I always late?) but still made it to the race site in plenty of time. Ryan had loaded our bikes for us so we were golden. We found a place to park and walked our bikes in the dark to the race area.

We got marked, used the potties, obtained our timing chips and went to the transition area. Thank goodness Nat had a flashlight in her car because it was dark. Add that to your gear lists now, because just imagine trying to use a porto-pottie in the dark! I had eaten my 1/2 immodium and drank water in the car so I was feeling fine. I asked some officials about where we would be going in and out of transition and after setting up my area, I practiced where we would come in, what I would do and where I would go in each phase of the race. A bike guy came around and pumped up our tires. He told us "in a sprint, if you are not hurting, you aren't going fast enough" so I used that as my mantra throughout the race. Nat and I got primo rack locations right by the entrance from the swim. We applied caps and goggles and walked down to the beach to warm up in the water. This was my first open water swim ever. The water was warm and the color of milky tea. No visibility at all. I swam about a hundred yards and decided I was done. Nat swam to the first buoy and back. I ate three Shot Bloks and drank some water. We met Wes and his wife, Dee Dee and some of their friends. Wes is even more buff in person, folks. We found some of the bike ride folks from our ride on Thursday and my friend Laurie from college/law school. It really helped me to see all of these people. I kept searching for them in the crowd to help me feel less nervous.

Swim

The first two waves of women started in the water and seemed to run a long way. Well, that is because the water was knee-deep until the first buoy. There was no way to swim so we ran. I seeded myself in the middle of the wave because this was my first tri and I was worried about getting in the way. Given my swim time, this was probably a mistake. Next time, I'll get towards the front (behind the real speedies) and near the outside. I never found a swim rhythm at all. I'm an easy swimmer but the triathlon swim was really a free-for-all. Because of the visibility of the water, I just tried not to hurt anyone and to swim as many strokes as possible before hitting anyone, stopping or breaststroking to determine my location. The buoys were huge and orange so they were easy to spot, but I got disoriented very quickly with my head down. I think I may try to mimic Dee Dee's stoke next time because she looked very comfy in the warm-up. My googles started to leak on the left side as I rounded the last buoy so rather than try to fix them, I just closed my left eye and tried to finish as quickly as possible so that my contact wouldn't float away. Wes was taking photos of the swim finish, so if there of one where my eye is closed, that is why.

T1
There was a baby pool full of water on the way into transition so that we could wade through to rinse our feet. Genius! I dropped my cap and goggles on my towel in transition, put on my shirt, put the gu flask and phone in my pockets, got my hat and sunglasses, ran around to the other side of my bike, dried my feet, applied shoes and socks, applied hat, sunglasses and garmin. Set garmin for bike and left. WHOO! It felt like I did this really fast, but actually no.

Bike
We passed the mount line and were off. There were lots of speed bumps on the way out of the park but I managed not to crash on them. I suck on the bike so my goal was to hammer it as hard as possible, maybe catch Nat and not crash. My gears got messed-up on Thursday's ride so I couldn't shift to the big ring without being in the hardest of the rear gears. I was nervous about this and stayed in the big ring as much as possible to avoid getting stuck in the small ring for the duration. The new saddle was great and more slippery than the old one so I was able to adjust position with no problem. I had forgotten (both times!) to take my bodyglide into the porto-potty so I was lube-free in the bottom zone. This was bad, but I was able to tolerate it. Since I am new to biking, I was very worried about the drafting rules. I tried to stay away from all other bikers and pass speedily. There were only 2-3 big hills where I had to get out of the seat to climb and the rest were rollers. I felt like I was flying, way faster than I've ever ridden before. I saw my shadow as I sped down Hwy 41 and I looked like a real biker in my aerobars! My top speed was 33.5 and I ate Hammer gel at miles 3 and 10 and alternated between my water and Cliff electrolyte drink bottles at regular intervals. Doug and I had discussed the nutrition plan prior to the race and though I thought that I could do the race without anything (or maybe 1 gel and some water), he thought I would do better if I fueled more and had some electrolyte drink. In retrospect, I think Doug was right on. He got the "Doug was right" dance for that! At about mile 4, I saw Doug and the girls. That made me cry. It was so great to see them. The bike was really, really fun. I passed a bajillion people and most of the women who passed me without getting passed back were the ones who were wearing only bathing suits (the real pros) so I felt awesome about the bike.

T2
I had some moments of indecision about whether or not to bring my phone so I could have been faster here. I don't know why I even considered it; it seems dumb now. The race number belt worked great and I applied it and my visor as I ran out of the gate for the run.

Run
We started out over some speed bumps and at some point I saw Dee Dee again. Cheered for her and soldiered on. This run was HARD. Because the lake is a low point (obviously), and our finish was in downtown Acworth, it was basically an uphill race though the course was rolling. Usually the run starts and ends in the transition area so it is a wash, so this was odd. For the first little while, I fiddled with my phone trying to get it affixed to my body, which was dumb. My calves hurt for the first half mile, which has not happened to me before. I think it was the hammering on the bike because I've never ridden that fast before either. After what felt like an eternity, I began to think that they had forgotten to put mile markers on the run, I sneaked a peek at Garmin (who was still in bike mode, because I decided in transition that it would take to long to change the setting for run) and I was at 13.85 miles (13 for the bike plus 0.85). Only 0.85! Ugh! I had seen Nat in transition when she had to run back to return her helmet, so I made it my goal to keep her in sight. Catching up was out of the question. She was 300-400 yards ahead of me, pink skirt swishing, and I checked every few minutes to see if I could still see her (sometimes yes, sometimes no). This run hurt. At the first aid station (maybe the second, I don't remember), I tried to get water but got gatorade. Very unpleasant - I was redlining the heartrate so gatorade was not tolerable. I didn't wear the heartrate monitor because it would have taken too long to put on, but that is my perceived exertion. At the second aid station, I got water and drank a few sips and poured the rest on my head - ahhh, delightful! I kept repeating the mantra "if it doesn't hurt, too slow," and it was working, I hurt! I kept thinking maybe I could speed up in mile three because that is what Doug does. Nope. People started walking in the last mile. I slapped hands with one lady who was doing what appeared to be Tai Chi with her arms as she walked. She looked like she could have used a high five so I gave her one. At times, I ran with my eyes closed - just tried to keep moving as fast as I could go. I didn't bother to look at Garmin again after that first time so I had no idea what the pace was. As we rounded a corner into downtown, the volunteers yelled "only 400 yards." "Liars," I thought, and looked hopefully for the finish line. No finish line, but Doug, Annika and Dagny were at the top of the hill with Ryan, Beau, Carmella and Lola yelling for us. "Only 100 yards," they yelled. So I tried to sprint it out as best I could and finished as the clock said 1 hr, 26 mins. There were showers under a gate at the finish so you could go under the spray. Ahh, wonderful.

Wow, I had such a good time. I'm getting all vaklempt even thinking about it. I'm really looking forward to the race on Saturday. Today, however, I'm resting, because my knee and shoulder hurt. It's clear, though, that I'm not even close to fit enough to do an Olympic distance race (1.5 K swim, 40K bike, 10K run) so I have work to do this winter. : )

Dammit

This is the last photo of Dagny with her intact front tooth. She and Annika were playing this afternoon and suddenly there was crying and the tooth was broken again. Dammit.

I said bad words really loud and I'll be calling the dentist on Monday to see if he thinks we should bother re-fixing it or not.

In other news, while walking Annika into church last week, she asked "Mom, what's a tomboy?" Hm. That is a hard question.

"Well," I stalled while I thought about it, "it's kind of an outdated saying from when girls didn't get to do so much fun stuff as boys." "Yeah, but what is a tomboy?" she asked. So, I expounded at length (just like my Dad would have done) about how a long time ago girls didn't like to play sports or run around outside or yell or wear pants and how people called girls who did that "tomboys." And how now, girls and boys both like to do all of that stuff so it doesn't really mean anything. Annika listened politely while holding my hand and walking as fast as she could (we were late, again).

"Yeah, but what's a TOMBOWYEE?" she said when I was done.

"I just explained."

"No, a TOMMBOWEE."

"A what?"

"TOMBO WEE!! (thinking - Geez mom, you are so stupid)"

Tumbleweed. She was saying tumbleweed.

She didn't want social commentary, she wanted to talk about rolling across the prairie. So we talked about that and why they roll (roundness) and that was the end of that.

But I never really realized that the word tomboy was antiquated until I tried to explain it. How cool is that?

Predictions and a Group Ride

I've been messing around with the triathlon race calculator this morning and I can safely say that there is no way I will do my race in 1 hour and 15 minutes. That was my super secret goal. I thought I was the only person that had the super secret goal, but after reading race reports on the cool running and beginner triathlete boards, I know that everyone does this. So, anyway, given my suckiness on the bike, I've revised my goal to 1 hour 30 minutes. I think this is completely do-able so long as I don't have any equipment or potty problems. My bike is shifting badly (doesn't want to go into the big ring unless on the highest of the back gears) so cross your fingers for that. I'm hoping Doug and I can adjust it this afternoon. If not, I'll limp it through the race and already have an appointment with my REI friends on Thursday.

So, Nat and I will be getting up good and early tomorrow for the trek to Acworth to hang with about 500 other women racers. We are already nervous and have conferred more than 3 times about the plans. I'm packing my gear now and have already put my race number on the cool belt. I have tested and washed my outfit (this top, but with the Rapida low-rise shorts). Low-rise shorts are the bomb and feel much better on my tummy because they aren't actually touching my tummy. Look for me in my Team Bachman bike shirt.

Nat, Doug and I rode in a group ride with the North Atlanta Multisports group on Thursday. It was my first "official" ride and though I struggled through parts of it, I did OK. I didn't crash or cause anyone else to crash so I think it was a win. The group was very nice and welcoming and didn't act like I was big idiot, which was awfully generous of them.

This week:

Sunday: 15.6 mile ride on part of the Mayor's Route at 14.6 mph. It was lovely this morning and I had a great time. Doug and Annika got me Krispy Kreme donuts for a special birthday surprise breakfast. : )

Monday: 1,200 yard swim before work.

Tuesday: 12.09 mile bike at 14.1 mph. I went in the afternoon and it was really freaking hot. My planned 20 mile ride turned into a 12 mile ride (I thought I'd just run a little after) and then the run dropped off because I was toast.

Wednesday: 4.13 mile run with audio book at 9:38 min/mile pace. Easy peasy.

Thursday: 20 mile group ride turned into about 14 miles because of the heat. I forgot to turn on my Garmin so I only got part of the ride. The 9.14 miles I captured were at a 9.1 pace but we stopped a lot to regroup and drink water. I got up to about 21 mph down by the river because I was drafting. Drafting is fun! Then, 3.04 mile run at 9:25 min/mile. Conversational pace, no pushing. Beer/wing repeats at Taco Mac after. Thanks to my folks for having our little friends for dinner and playtime while Doug and I rode.

Friday: I had to get up early to pay bills and missed my swim. De facto rest day.

Saturday: 900 yard easy swim. Was going to do the usual 1,200 yard swim but (1) I'm supposed to be resting today, and (2) my shoulder hurt. The shoulder is not injured, so I must have just slept on it funny but I thought it would be dumb to push through it the day before my race.

Totals: 2,100 yards swimming, 41.69 miles biking and 7.17 miles running. Tapering looks a lot like laziness to me. Anyway, after next week's race in Cordele, I'll start training for the half marathons this winter so look for more running. Good thing Doug has a million books on his Audible account. I have a super secret goal for the running too, but I'm keeping it secret for now.

Technology v. Steph, Part 2

So, when the lightning hit our house a few months back, our computer was compromised (among assorted other things). The internet card stopped working. This computer was ancient so we thought it might be good to just get a new one since the memory was too full to do anything with it. This week was the back-to-school tax free holiday and computer sale at Sam's Club, so we bought a new computer for CHEEEAP that is way better than the old one. I spent all day yesterday putting it together, registering and hooking it up. I thought it would be a good exercise to keep me technology-savvy. Yeah, not so much fun, though.

After the whole day of computer activity, I've managed to back-up our bookkeeping files, install a printer driver and setup our email. I worked hard to install the bookkeeping programs onto new computer, but no. Windows Vista doesn't have a "run" button like XP so you have to take the CD out and reinsert it for each installation try. And, if you don't have a CD, you are screwed. And, some programs are not compatible with Vista. I'll have to confer with the software vendor to see what the fix for that is! I also failed to backup our old computer files to a CD because there is not enough RAM on the old machine to write them to the CD. It keeps telling me to delete stuff and try again. Whoo hoo. Just wait, though, I'll be a computer whiz before this is over.

Sorry

I apologize to any family exercisers that I offended this morning when I yelled at the guy in the mini-SUV to kiss my butt and called him an asshole after he beeped at me during my bike ride. I should not have said those things out loud. It was rude. I'm going to have to look it up to be certain, but I think that I was legally in the right. I did ride in the middle of (and block) his lane for about 300 yds, but it was my lane too and I couldn't be on the right for him to pass because I was about to turn left and I couldn't be on the centerline because of the oncoming cars that kept veering over the line to pass bikers on their side of the road. Asshole.

I have much to post about from this ride but it will have to wait until I have some free time. Instead, here are photos of my bike (the kick-ass new one that Doug bought me last month) and Doug's bike (that he bought online and put together himself) and my sweet girls enjoying the spinning chair in our office. Guess which bike is Doug's.

This week:

Sunday: 8 mile bike to and from the park with Doug and the girls. Doug pulled the trailer so I can't say that I did much work. And, (1) I couldn't catch Doug getting up the hill out of the neighborhood, and (2) he PASSED ME when we were on the flatter part of the ride. Wow, it's clear what I'll be working on all winter.

Monday: 1200 yd swim - 200 w/up; 2 x 400; 200 c/d

Tuesday: Tri-ed it out for the first time in the afternoon heat. 1 mile bike to pool; transition; 400 yard swim; transition; 11.8 mile bike at 14.4 mph (including dropping backpack back at our house); transition; 3.12 mile run in the flats at 8:59 min/mile. I got many weird looks at the pool and some honking during the ride. It was hot and I felt like ass but I finished in about an hour and a half/hour and 40 mins, whipped.

Wednesday: 1200 yd swim same as Monday - I lacked motivation and imagination this week. I did switch-up the drills for each 100 of the 400s to help me count the laps but I still think I did 50 extra.

Thursday: 4.01 mile run at 9:46 pace around the hood. Started slow and would have sped up, but my tummy seriously disagreed.

Friday: 1400 yd swim. Same as Monday but with 500 yard tests to see if I could do it - no problem.

Saturday: 9.86 mile bike at 15.7 mph; 3.17 mile run at 8:01 min/mile. Nana and Papa had the kids overnight so I took my hung-over self to the river for an easy brick today. It was awesome and I felt great but didn't push hard. Thanks to Doug's advice about the immodium and my Dad's advice about how much to take, no potty stops. : ) Nat, I discovered that the bike path in Martin's Landing keeps going around until it comes back out on Riverside Road. The bike lane ends but the road keeps going. That makes a good loop with some killer hills that will mostly eliminate having to re-cross Riverside or brave the guardrail on Wileo to get enough miles.

Total: 3,800 yards swimming, 23.46 miles biking and 10.3 miles running. I felt horrible all week with the neverending head cold and the tummy bug but finally broke through on Saturday. It felt like I was working hard, but my totals don't agree. Oh well - let the laziness, oops, I mean the TAPER, begin!

That's The Way

We were the ones with the screaming child at the pool last night. Dagny got tired from all of the filling and dumping of watering cans and the one jump off of the diving board and lost her marbles. She screamed bloody murder as I carried her across the deck to our table, dried and disrobed her until we got to the car. It's interesting how quickly her mood can go from mellow to disaster.

Annika, on the other hand, jumped off of the diving board over and over with no apparent ill effects. Even with the adjusted (some floating pads removed) swim vest, she doesn't ever want to leave.

In other news, I did a nutrition/clothing/transition test of the triathlon distance yesterday (thank you, Doug). I know, I know, it's a short enough race that I ought not need any nutrition but we've been thinking that a couple of Gus or Hammer Gels never hurt anyone and might help avoid energy burnout at the end. All went well despite some odd looks from the other folks at our pool. I'll post about it over the weekend. I may not be speedy but I can finish.

Good Enough

Some time ago, Nat wrote a post about how activity has always been valued in her family and her amazing stamina was probably hereditary (because Beau is tireless too). Quite the opposite is true in my family. In fact, my prior titles for this post were "What are You Running From?" and "That Shit Ain't Natural."

Prior to the marching band in high school and summer league swim team, my only athletic endeavors were the alternate years of summer tennis camp at our local rec department. Our afternoon workout during the school year consisted of three hours of intense TV scrutiny with microwave popcorn ladders (that's a running joke, people). Once my dad remarked about my expanding girth (after some school friends had already done so), I realized that I had to get moving. I wasn't one of those people who could eat whatever they wanted and remain a normal shape (like my sister or Whitney Houston - who was all over the magazines at the time talking about her thinness). Fine. I kept busy with after-school activities like the band, joined a tennis team (at which I sucked) and the swim team.

It wasn't until law school that I started running. After the fourth in a series of unexplained weirdo illnesses (all-over body rash, eyes rejecting contact lenses, neck stuck on one side, long-term diarrhea) a nurse at the health center said "uh - have you considered exercise?" I had taken classes and joined the gym while in college, but I was too poor and too busy (I thought) to do it during law school. Wrong. The stress was too much for my body. So, I started to run. I started at the track on Lumpkin Avenue in my old tennis shoes (the ones you use for tennis) going one mile. Then I rode the bus to the Student Activities Center and ran around the indoor track three days a week. I'd come back to school for class and tell Doug my progress on that new-fangled email. I ran my first race. Other than some minor falling off of the track when work pressures got too great, I've run or gone to the gym for kickboxing ever since. It keeps me sane and keeps Fat Stef away.

Anne commented on a previous post, asking who I'm doing the triathlon for, because I wrote about how I'm disappointed in my estimated finishing time and how I'll never catch Nat. It's not just Nat that I'm trying to catch. I'm trying to catch the good Steph. The one who is strong and happy. And who is good enough not to care where she places in a race.

This week:
Sun: 20.71 mile bike at 14.9 mph in the hills
Mon: 1200 yard swim
Tues: 1200 yard swim, 400 yd time trial in 7 mins; 13 mile bike at 16 mph pace at the river
Wed: 4.01 mile run at 8:01 min/mile pace in the flats
Thurs: 1200 yard swim
Fri: 3.1 mile run at 8:20 pace at the park with stroller
Sat: 7.02 mile run at 10:23 min/mile pace while listening to the new Harry Potter

Totals: 3600 yds swimming, 33.71 miles biking and 14.12 miles running

Good as New

Dagny fell and broke her tooth two Saturdays ago. The corner of her left front tooth snapped right off because she hit it on the bucket she was carrying.

Once we determined that she was not going to die, we began the search for the dentist. Katie (who knows everything) was thinking of switching to a pediatric dentist near our house so I called them. We went in for an exam on Friday and then returned to repair her tooth on Tuesday. Usually they wouldn't repair a baby tooth, but since we had to seal the broken area anyway (to protect against infection) it made sense to make it look nice too. The other option was to wait two years and then go back for the cosmetic part. Two years of snaggle-tooth. Not an option. They used a papoose to hold her down, which is basically a body board for babies with a head immobilizer. She hated that part, and returned to me all sweaty and mad but cheered up immediately when they gave her a balloon and a bag with stickers in it. This doctor is big on making the dentist as pleasant an experience as possible, which is awfully nice. We go back for Annika's exam and cleaning on Tuesday.

So, as you can see from the photo, Dagny looks good. Sorry about the color - that sippy cup in the left corner threw my color and focus off. Her teeth are not snaggly any more. Yes, she is wearing a sweater in the middle of summer when our air conditioning is broken. We've apparently entered the "terrible twos" a little early and she would not be dissuaded from putting on her "coat" (which sounds like "goat").

In other news, Doug found a cool link to view all of your race times. It appears to contain all or most races that I've run with a chip or with an official time.

Not Going to Kick Ass

So, Doug sent me a link to this site to calculate my approximate race finishing time for the Hansgrohe race. I had to guess at the bike time trial number because I've never done such a thing, but the end result was 1hr, 22mins. Less time if I run the 5K flat out. Why wouldn't you run the 5K flat out? There is nothing to hold back at the end, so my time could be 1 hr, 19 mins.

It looks like my dreams of triathlon glory (or just keeping Natalie in sight) are not going to happen this year. That's OK -if I can get this race under my belt, I think I have room to improve on my bike skills and time so we can save the ass-kicking for later.

Last week:
Sun: 21.84 mile bike at 9.3 mph. This was the Silver Comet ride with the kids in the trailer. I'm going to count it as strength work.
Mon: 1200 yard swim - Doug is working on his swimming so my time to do this is cut shorter than it was before.
Tues: 16.69 mile bike at 14.6 mph on the Roswell Bike Route. This was fun, but not so speedy.
Wed: 3.71 mile run at 8:05 pace, sprinting up the hills and recovering down the hills. Every bit of this run was torture. Ugh.
Thurs: I had planned a long swim for this morning. Unfortunately, Dagny was up all night with a fever and I had to drive to Sandersville for work in the morning so I ditched the workout.
Fri: 1200 yard swim. Broke the 8 min barrier on the 400 yard time trial - finally! 4 mile run at the park with the stroller. This run was HARD. I don't know if it was the humidity or the stroller or me not being over the head cold from last week, but my heart rate was through the roof. I don't know exactly how high because Garmin ran out of battery, so the distance is approximate and the pace is unknown.
Sat: 6.23 mile run in the flats at 9:37 pace. Nice and easy, started listening to Harry Potter book #6 in preparation for arrival of the new book.

Totals: 38.53 miles biking, 2,400 yards swimming, and 13.94 miles running

Scary

Yesterday, we went to the pool with my sister and her daughter, Sophie. We had a blast, picniced outside and tired the girls completely out.

However, on the way back up 400, we saw an accident. I was not paying super attention to the road because I was trying to keep Dagny awake, so there was a lot of tickling and rolling down of windows going on in our car. And, we were listening to Chapter One of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for the FOURTH time. Each time we start, Annika asks me if we can listen to Chapter Two. I don't know - I think there is some problem with the audio file on my i-pod. We listened to Chapter One again this morning.

As we neared Northridge (I think), I noticed the folks in the lane adjacent to mine swerving over onto the shoulder. "Hm," I thought, "must be something in the road." I took a closer look as we went by and saw a red ladder in the right lane. It was a heavy-duty ladder, not very tall, with curved hooks at the top. I was trying to get another look at it in my rear-view mirror and wondering about whether it was the kind of ladder which should have been attached to a building (like on a fire escape) or if it was a fireman's ladder when I noticed a white Mercedes swerving back and forth in the lane as if shifting from the wheels on one side of the car to the other like trash cans do when you pull them too fast. I don't know if he hit the ladder or if his avoidance of it caused him to lose control. "Wow, I hope he holds it together." It looked like he might have been able to ride it out.

I don't know if he did or not, or even if it was a "he" because suddenly I saw a car behind him swerve out of that lane and spin across all of the lanes of traffic. It was a white Expedition/Suburban and it hit at least one and probably more cars on the way across. Glass and metal flew everywhere as smoke wafted across the road from the skidding tires. Thank goodness nothing was going on in front of me, because I watched it all in the mirror. Should I stop? What could I do? I said a prayer for the people, called 911 and reported the event.

Then I had to call Jen and made her talk to me on the way home until I stopped shaking. Horrible. Horrible. Horrible.

Do you just hit something like that if it is in your lane? I've always learned that you try to avoid it (not that I've had any success with that), but what if an evasive maneuver will be dangerous. What do you do?

Superman

I'm still having issues with the seat on my bike. When I lean forward into the aerobars, my girly bits get all squashed on the seat, which is not comfy at best and quite painful at worst. Don't know how to fix this, except maybe (a) lower the front of my seat, or (2) get a new seat with a cutout for the girly bits. I've no idea which is better; I'll ask my friends at REI when I go back for my bike check-up in a few weeks. The consensus seems to be that I'll toughen up, so maybe that is option (c).

Regardless, I rode 16 miles yesterday and have to say that despite the sore bottom, I LOVE the aerobars. When I lean out over the wheel and steer by leaning, I feel like superman. And, in addition to the flying, it's also neat to feel your legs pumping while in that position - like they are a humming engine full of power. It's also a good motivator - if the tops of my thighs slapping into my tummy won't stop me from eating crap, nothing will!

Sunday, Doug and I took the girls to the Silver Comet Trail for a ride. We packed a lunch and planned to ride from the lot on Olivine Road to Rockmart for a picnic and then back. 'Lo and behold, there was no parking lot on that road, so we drove to Dallas and parked at a "beach" near a nice convenience store (foreshadowing here). We loaded up the backpack for me and Doug put both girls in the trailer and hooked it to his bike. The cool seat that we bought to use on my bike was not compatible with either of our bikes so it stayed at home and went back to Wal-Mart yesterday. On the way out, we averaged about 14-15 mph until after we passed the riverwalk and the hills began. Doug was tired - those girls are heavy! I coasted most of the way but tried to be stealthy about it because Doug was working so hard. We estimated that Rockmart would be about 10 miles from our start, so we could picnic there because the website says it is a nice place. Well, wouldn't you know it - we covered a lot of ground looking for a drop-in point, so that riverwalk place - WAS Rockmart. We didn't realize this until the return trip, but no matter. We road about 11.5 miles to a lovely campsite in the middle of a wooded area between cow fields and had our lunch. I had to pee so that was a good opportunity to teach Annika about leaving no trace. She was too nervous to pee, so she had to hold it until we got home.

Then, I suggested that I pull the girls on the return trip.

I've never pulled anything on my bike before. Oh my goodness. It was so hard. I learned really fast about the difference between "mashing" the pedals and making a flowing motion. Colin was right - Colin was right (dancing). Mashing = an odd forward/back motion from the trailer because of the changes in speed. Flowing pedal motion = no jerking back and forth, so it is way better. It's much easier to keep the flowing motion when in a seated position, but on a hill with 75-85 lbs of trailer behind you, sitting is not usually possible. I did well to finish and Doug got his turn to coast. Oh, and - if I tell you that an amount of liquid is appropriate for a ride, doubling it would be better and smarter. We ran out of water on the way back and found none on the trail or in Rockmart, which (by the way) is closed on Sunday. Luckily, we parked near that convenience store and were able to buy water there. So, in all it was a good ride and a great workout. I highly recommend the Silver Comet because it was SUPER COOL, but now I'm going to have to buy the book because those internet instructions are woefully out of date.

Last week:

Sun: 10.79 mile bike at 15 mph, plus 3.14 mile run at 7:46 min/mile pace
Mon: 1900 yard swim in 40 mins
Tues: 13.47 mile bike on Mayor's Route in the rain at 11.5 mph
Wed: 4.2 miles run around the hood at 8:30 pace
Thurs: 20.46 mile bike at the river (thank you, Doug) at 15.9 mph. This would have been faster except that I had to wait at one end of my route to cross the street for a LONG time. Since I did 3-4 laps of the route, this added up. Yeah, excuses, excuses.
Fri: 1600 yard swim in 35 mins. Later, 3.12 mile run in the park with stroller at 8:42 pace. I love camp. Dagny loved seeing the doggies we passed and the playground, as you can see from the previous post.
Sat: 6 mile run in the flats at 9:36 pace. Listened to more of my murder mystery while I ran. : )

Totals: 3500 yds swimming, 44.72 mi. biking, and 16.46 mi. running

My goal for the big race - try to keep up with Nat. I don't think I can, but it is worth a try - it is a sprint, isn't it?

It's Just a Number

I wrote a long post all about how weight is just a number. It was a lot of blah, blah, blah. I really do believe this, and that there are much better ways to measure fitness (especially given the wide variety in body types). However, the post was lame. If you don't agree about the weight thing, email me and we can discuss.

Instead, here are some photos of my kids. Annika had dance camp this week and Dagny and I went for a run, played on the playground and did errands during camp on Friday. It was a very fun day, despite not being on the beach with the hotties.

Bike gurus: Wes and Colin, if you know how it is for girls, please tell me where one should put their bottom on the bike seat when riding, particularly when using the aero bars. I'm having some issues with that and don't know if it's my seat position or just a princess-and-the-pea syndrome which will disappear with time.

Technology v. Steph

I have finally learned to use my phone AND hooked myself up to an email account - which I used to send myself the photos you see here that I took with my phone. Who would have thought that one might want to take photos with their phone? I never knew it would be important.


Well, let me tell you - it's lovely. Probably not necessary or even a must-have, but awfully convenient. And why not - if the camera/email phones are the same price as the others? We had big fun taking photos with Nat's phone and sending them to Ryan while at the post-Peachtree party.

As you can see from the photo, Dagny is thrilled with the Nemo jammies that Doug bought her from e-bay. She insisted that we help her don them immediately, which is why she is riding her trike with clothes and jammies at the same time.

Other interesting things going on here:

1. Annika wanted to know if we could take her to outer space when she is 5 years old. Um, no.

2. Not only did I have to miss Nat's birthday party because of Dagny's tummy bug, and have to bail on the long-awaited girls trip because of work and our busy month, I completely forgot our nephew's birthday party today. Katie called to remind us AFTER IT WAS OVER. I suck. The present is even sitting right here, waiting for me to re-wrap it (because Dagny thought it would be good to open it early).



In better news, here is the workout summary from last week:

Sunday: 10.31 mile bike at 15.6 mph and 3.21 mile run at a 7.37 min/mile pace. This was a very fun run/bike despite some tummy issues and my complete ineptitude with the new bike.

Monday: 1600 yard swim in 35 mins. My time trial for the 400 yards (race distance) is still stubbornly 8 minutes. I do it mid-workout, though, so maybe I would be faster if I were fresh or if I didn't still have the other half of the workout to do. Excuses, excuses.

Tuesday: 9.08 mile bike at 14.1 mph. It rained on me and Doug said to take it easy pre-race, so I did not kick ass.

Wednesday: Peachtree Road Race - 6.3 miles at 7:25 min/mile pace. I was finisher #1728 with a 48:01 clock time and a 46:45 chip time. Joe pulled me for the first three miles when I realized that I should have made use of the porto-potties in mile 2. I thought that I was pulling him up Cardiac Hill, but suddenly he was gone. Gutted it out alone (but for my tunes) for miles 4 and 5. My gut won in mile 6 and I had to merge right to walk on the fringe coming down 10th Street. Some nice guys (in dark red singlets) thought I was just tired and encouraged me and all but pulled me by the hand back running. Then, Joe passed on the left and I joined him for the finish. We met the peeps at the bar for beers post-race and that was very fine.

Thursday: approx 400 yards during adult swim and while watching Annika at the pool.

Friday: 8.68 miles biking around the hood at 13.1 mph. It was too foggy to go outside the comfort zone and my legs were still very sore. Maybe the gut was not my only limiting factor on Wed. after all.

Saturday: 1600 yard swim in 35 minutes. I felt good and could have gone longer but ran out of time.

Don't Discount Dad

A distant acquaintance of mine is moving away this month. She and her husband have been separated for some time and now she is moving out of state to be close to her family. I remarked to another friend, "wow, isn't she worried about taking the kids away from their Dad?"


"No," was the reply, "because he's not really working to be a part of their lives anyway. He just calls before bed." This answer was from someone who feeds her kids before their Dad gets home because he doesn't leave work early enough for her. From the days when I was home full-time, I know that it is easy to fall into the "I'm-the-parenting-expert" role because the at-home person knows the kids' rhythms, habits, routines and how to make them their most presentable. The parent who is home less is more apt to change the schedule, skip the nap, bestow the treat or start the wild game.

I don't pretend to know which is more correct, the rigid scheduler or the willy-nilly fun bringer. Regardless, to deny kids the ability to see their Dad, or to disclaim and discount his presence at dinner, in the house, in the state seems weird to me. Dad (and I mean that generically) is too important to be left out. It's silly pretentiousness to think that the stay-at-home parent's input is all that is necessary to help the kids grow up.

Cingularly Unhelpful

My sweet husband bought me a new phone a few weeks ago. It rocked. So much fun. Unfortunately, we don't get AT&T/Cingular service in our house. This is not unusual because of our elevation. We were already concerned when we considered switching from our old carrier. I found another provider and phone that do work in the house and attempted to return the old phone on Friday.


After thirty minutes of waiting at the Cingular store with my rambunctious children, the saleslady explained that they were a vendor and not a "company store," so they couldn't help me. OK, the customer service folks on the phone did say I had to return at a company store, so I chalked it up to a communications error.

Saturday morning (the day I was to fly out of town on business), I loaded up the phone and the kids and drove to the company store. I explained that the phone was wonderful but their network didn't work in my house, blah, blah, blah. The sales woman asked for the credit card that was used on the transaction. I explained that my husband made the purchase and I don't have his card. "Well," she said, "you will have to bring it back another time." I asked for help from a manager because surely they could use their transaction information to reverse the charge on the card. No. No helping. No manager. No talking to my credit card company on the phone.

After driving back home to see if Doug had left his wallet there (no), we went to the UPS store and shipped it instead because, apparently, the warehouse had the credit card information that the company store didn't. It was $13.64 well spent, including the copies of all of the stuff I sent. I love that UPS store guy. Every time I get the shaft from someone else (Stapes, Cingular, etc), he helps me out with a smile.

Here is a photo of the place we went on my work trip. It was a really cool place and I learned a lot from all of the other lawyers. Of course, I promptly lost my new phone on the way home, and then lost my marbles at the airport. Two very nice Delta employees helped me, but there was no phone to be found. I'm trying to get a new one now.

Hips Don't Lie

So, we drove to Doug's parents' house for dinner last night while Annika sang in the back seat. "Oh Baby when you talk like that" "you make a woman go mad" . . . blah blah, la, la, la "Oh Baby when you talk like that - you make a woman go mad."

"What is that?" asked Doug. Shakira. I'm sure Shakira is lovely and I'm glad that she is so cool with her body - but I don't want Annika singing about her hips.

Where does my kid hear Shakira? I've been VERY diligent in not playing any music with bad words or sexual content. We learned from our friend's "My Humps" incident. My Gwen Stefani and Prince CDs have been banished and we've been listening to the Veggie Tales and Cow Songs for years now. Dammit. I don't even play my i-pod list or listen to my Audible books when Annika is in the car because of the cursing and scary content. We even sanitized the dinner mix. And Shakira still snuck into the vocabulary.

I guess it is a really good hook. But why not any of the great They Might be Giants tunes? Too erudite is my guess. SIGH.

Firsts

This week, Doug to Annika to her first movie. We bought our first triathlon clothes. Doug and I ran our first race with both girls (in strollers). Doug had his first Gu (and so did I). And, I did my first brick - thanks only to the sweetness of my husband to take care of the girls for two hours on Father's Day so that I had time to go.

The movie was "Surf's Up" which starred penguins very similar to those in "Happy Feet," only they weren't the same penguins. Annika enjoyed the pageantry of the movies, the snacks and the alone time with Dad. Doug said the movie was OK if you have to go to a kid movie. We also watched "Shrek 2," which was pretty hilarious - very funny movie trivia and popular culture jokes.

The clothes were found at REI. I got some cool shorts and Doug has already exchanged his purchases for alternatives which will hopefully fit better. Both times, Dagny melted down in the store - big fun. It's been a while since I've been down to the REI. It's so cool - there are so many neat things, I could spend the day there. It's almost like the knitting store -all of the aisles feel like they are bursting with products shouting the cool things you could do with them if you only had the time and cash.

Yesterday, Doug and I ran the Possum Trot race in Roswell at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. We both finished in about 54 minutes. Pretty good for a stroller race, especially when you factor in the slow start because we passed the whole world. In case you didn't know, no one wants to start behind a stroller. I think we were the second and third or third and fourth strollers to finish. At the end, this cool guy in a red Honda shirt was cheering on his buddy (Paul - also in a red Honda shirt). But the cheering guy was encouraging everyone, me included. His "go get 'em" attitude really pumped me up and I finished strong just under 55 minutes on the race clock. Doug tested out the Cytomax and orange Gu on this run. He said they were both fine and the couple sips of Cytomax tasted OK to me. The race advertised photos on the internet after 2pm yesterday, but I can't find them.

Today I rode/ran my first run/bike brick. At the river (flat), I did around 10 miles on the bike at 11/12 mph (48 mins) and then 5K run at 7:52 pace. Whew! Doug was right. Biking first really tires you out for the run. My legs were OK, but that was due in part to the Hammer Gel I ate while riding the bike and the potty break that I took during transition. At the end, I tried to turn it up to finish faster than 24 minutes, but my legs just wouldn't cooperate. I could have probably worked harder on the bike but I think it was a good first try. Here is what I learned: (1) I need to work on shifting, (2) gloves and sunglasses are good, (3) I need to open the Gu before I get on the bike, (4) running shorts + bike = not so fun. Next ride I'll test out the cool new shorts.

And, at the race on Saturday we saw a friend of mine from college and law school. It turns out that she and her husband are doing triathlons too and she is doing the same one as Nat and me! Now I have someone to try to beat! Whooo!

Learn to Fly

After a good ride on Tuesday, I went out for my 13 mile ride today. I was hesitant, because of the ribs and beer we had for dinner last night and because I didn't feel like I had enough energy to do anything until I'd eaten some cereal and breakfast usually causes tummy problems for me.

Regardless, I ate my cereal (with soy milk, today) and went to see if I could do that loop faster than last week. However, as I finished the first big climb, I got to the Mayor's Ride route. "Why not?", I thought. So, I went off-course and did a little part of the mayor's ride through some neighborhoods - all of the turns are marked with a "BR" and an arrow. FUN! It was just enough adventure for me. So, I figured out how to keep my big sprocket (thanks, Nat) active for most of the ride, which helped me keep my bottom on the seat more. I think I was more efficient despite not going faster than Tuesday's ride. Apparently, Sunday is the day to exercise because I saw a zillion people running, biking, walking - a cop clocked me at 12 mph.

Then, after Doug and Dagny took off for their ride, I went up the neighbors' cul-de-sac four (4) times with Annika on her bike. I walked or jogged alongside. That is 1.2 miles, in case you were counting. Wow, we wore her ass out! There is a lot to teach someone about how to ride a bike (even with the training wheels): (1) you can't fall over with training wheels, (2) no feet on the ground, (3) stay to the right , (4) watch where you are going, (5) save your downhill speed for the uphill, (6) stay in control, (7) look both ways, (8) that red sign means stop, (9) must go faster to make Mommy run. I was yelling a lot - hopefully most of it was positive and Annika retains the important stuff. So, we are both testing our wings on the bikes this week.

Then, after Doug and Dagny returned and we had some lunch, we loaded up the bikes and rode up to the pool. Doug towed BOTH GIRLS in the trailer while I carried our gear in a backpack. Doug kicks ass. That one mile to the pool will kick anyone's ass, even without 100 lbs behind you.

Here is the weekly report:

Sun: 5.5 miles running in 50 minutes with my friend Michele
Mon: 1650 yard swim in 35 minutes
Tues: 8 mile bike in 40 minutes (that is 13 mph, folks!)
Wed: 8.05 mile run at 9:30 min/mile pace
Thurs: rest
Fri: 1800 yard swim in 40 mins (400 yd time trial - 8 mins not trying too hard)
Sat: 4.76 mile run at 8:30 min/mile pace (this run was at 2:30pm and it sucked - I hated every minute)

Hello Bike, My Old Friend

So the point of posting the photo of my bike was to do a post about it but I forgot that post because I was all caught up in the "Doug was right" dancing.

I love that bike. It is how I lured Doug. When Doug went back up to school early in the fall of 1992, I was still there since I had just moved into the new apartment with Melanie (she wasn't there yet, but I was moved in with my cats). I had been loving the idea of a bike and I got a job at a gas station to earn the money to pay for it after crashing my beautiful blue Honda and inheriting the Oldsmobile that didn't run most of the time and would soon cease to go in reverse. I didn't get the job I really wanted at the BBQ place, so this was it. They didn't let girls work the overnight shift, but I was frequently the 2-10 or 3-11 shift at the Amoco on the Atlanta Highway.

Anyway, I knew through the grapevine that Doug was in town and that he worked at the printshop at the Tate Center so I went down there to ask his bike advice and flirt. See, I had had my eye on him since the spring. In fact, I was hoping to meet up with him the evening that I crashed that Honda. It was fate, though, because he was dating Tanis (the world's coolest girl - seriously, I had one class with her and she was a people magnet) at the time and wouldn't have noticed me. Anyway, he thought my scar from the wreck was cool and we talked about it a lot that spring during and after the Tanis months.

Back to the point, I sashayed (for me, that means bouncy marching) to the Tate Center and threw myself on his mercy. "Sure," he said, "I'll help you look at bikes, but can I use your shower?" Someone else was assigned the water bill for his house and it hadn't been connected yet, so he couldn't shower at home. I went back to the apartment and fell asleep on the couch because the bug man had come and the place was full of toxic fumes. Doug showed up for his shower. A double-entendre and some hotdogs turned into big romance and who knew that this bike guy was THE ONE?

Anyway, the bike. We test-drove many bikes and I ended up liking the Treks. They did not have a Trek in my size at the store in Athens, so we drove all the way to Duluth (which was far, back then, because Hwy 316 was not yet constructed beyond Winder) where I bought the little red from the hottie from my high school who actually flirted with me (HA! - who would have thought!). Doug insisted that I needed toe cages and made me buy a lock and taught me to ride. I always thought he was so cool when he took off on his bike from campus, so now I could do it! Not. Bike riding is hard. We have had many good times together, me and that bike (and Doug - he was good at teaching me the tricks and secret no-traffic routes). We bought groceries at the Kroger and rode home with them in the backpack, learned to ride up the big hill by the baseball field without stopping, we fell over in the toecages while talking to the neighbors in my cul-de-sac, we rode with Doug in the Gambler. Eventually, however, the need to not stink at school or work pushed my bike aside. She collected dust in our apartments/houses until Doug suggested that Emily could use her at school. So, I got her tuned up and took her to Athens (in my suit, while pregnant) as a surprise. Emily has loved her well and may take her to Denver in the fall, but I'm glad to be riding her again (the bike, not Emily).

So, we rode today - 8 miles around my neighborhood. It took me 41 minutes. "Wow," you say - "that is pretty slow." Yes, but it was at an average of 13 mph, which is 2 mph faster than my ride on Saturday so that is PROGRESS, baby.

The Dance

At my house, we have a dance that must be done when the spouse was right about something (preferably something stupid). Please pause for a moment now and wait while I do the "Doug was right" dance. And, the "Colin was right" dance because he said the same thing.

You can see the photo of my trusty steed, with the new seat and toe-cages. The brakes and gears also work now. The seat had been recovered with some very durable and stylish duct tape.

Anyway, I was excited to get my bike training started yesterday. Doug said that I was a fool to use this bike for my training and/or race. We lowered the seat on his bike, but I'm still too short for it even though it is a much better road machine. So, with the "I am woman, hear me roar" and "I'm not going out like some kind of punk bitch" attitude, I rode this bike 13 miles yesterday - to see if I could do it. I did it, but there was not a lot of fun going on. Run speed and swim ease do not translate into bike power. I suck at biking and the cars are very scary. Top speed: 32.1 mph.

Here is a summary of my week's training:

Sun: 3.58 miles at 9:46 pace

Mon: 6.14 miles at 8:19 pace

Tues: 4.5 miles at 8:49 pace

Wed: rest

Thurs: 5.42 miles at 8.28 pace

Fri: 1 mile swim in approx 40 mins

Sat: 13 mile bike in 1 hr, 12 mins

I have mostly abandoned the triathlon training book in favor of Doug's plan (6 days per week of activity - 2x per sport or sport/combo).

Putting it Out There

I registered for a triathlon this week. It is a sprint length race, which means 400 yd swim, 13 mile bike, and 5K run. Any women who would like to join me, follow the link to sign up. Nothing against you men - it's just a women's race. I think it would be fine to race with men - this race is just convenient to my house and fits in my schedule.

I swam my first actual laps since 2002 (when I last had a gym membership) yesterday. 1600/1650 yards - it took me about 40 minutes, including cap/google application, adjustment to water temperature and getting into the fence. Next time I'll take a watch so I can get some baseline times. Since this was my first effort, I didn't worry about the time. Wow, I'm sore today. It is hard to tell if the soreness is from the swimming or the climbing (I have permission), though.

When Nat and I went to the seminar about triathlons, this woman was the last (and best) speaker. She is a professional triathlete and was all kinds of fun. If you ever get a chance to hear her talk about her sport, do it. Go to her blog archive and read about the Florida ironman race. Holy cow, this woman rocks!

Beach Attire

Or, what to do while you hang out with small children all day.

I've been checking out the bathing suits of all of the people who walk by while Dagny and I play in the sand here. I was hoping to develop some kind of theory on what kinds of suits look good on different kinds of bodies. So, no -I can't report any great theories here. The number of different body shapes is too vast.

However, I have identified some easy "don't" rules:

1. Big circles or dots on bathing suits are bad. They don't look good on anyone, even college girls.
2. Writing on your bottom is bad.
3. Suits (even if they are metallic) that are close to your skin color are always unattractive.
4. More of us need to spend more time picking suits that actually "suit" us instead of falling back on whatever is at Target or Lands End.
5. You can tell when the boobs aren't real

Also, I'm becoming an un-fan of the tankini. It seems like the bathing suit equivalent of a baggy sweatshirt or yoga pants and flip flops. Why even bother with a two piece? Doug and I are working on me being less frumpy (a personal "what not to wear") so I'm looking at this a lot. I'm not saying everyone should wear a string bikini (myself included) but there is something to be said for a nice Speedo tank.

New Reading Material and Gearing Up

So, I finished reading the Triathlon Training in 4 Hours a Week book. The 4 hours a week thing is a bit of a lie, if your goal is more than just finishing, but still it was very good. Packed with inspiring stories. Wes recommended it and I can second his recommendation. Doug poo-poohed the idea of a book for sprint training, but I was glad to have some of the mysteries solved for me.

All that remains is to (1) sign up for a race, (2) pick up my bike from the bike store so that I can ride it, and (3) start some swimming. The bike store guy and I decided to tune up the bike, put on some toe clips and a new seat but that it is not worth putting slicks on my bike for a sprint race. It would cost $60 per tire and the whole bike is probably not worth that much at this point. Regardless, it was really fun to ride again (it's been 10 years). I'm going to look at the knobby tires as the biking equivalent of a drag suit. Then, if I do OK at this first race and decide to continue, we can evaluate a new (to me) bike.

The girls are LOVING the beach. Dagny is so tired that she is napping before lunctime and Annika is chilling in front of "The Little Mermaid." We will be back outside for more fun in the sun after lunch.

Can You Hear Me Now?

See if the comments appear now . . .

Gratuitous Photos

At the left is Annika the day she came down for breakfast with sparkly jewels from her "decorate-your-own-treasure-box" set on her face and in her hair. Someone gave us the set for her birthday and she had a great time decorating. Who knew that the jewels would come off and retain enough stick to be placed on the face and hair. We keep finding them everywhere now.

Next is a cool pergola/fire pit that Doug built at one of his houses. He has some cool ideas, doesn't he? Can't you just see a bunch of folks out there grilling with beers or party drinks while their kids run wild in the grass?

Here is Annika in her fairy princess dress, heels, fire department hat (made at school), part of my Daphne outfit and butterfly wings. She came downstairs one afternoon and insisted that we memorialize the beauty. But it had to be from the back so that you could see the wings - because the wings are the best part. I just love how her braids curl up at the ends - just like Pippi Longstocking. Annika's hair is so curly that not even braids can contain its curl-iciousness.



Last, but not least is Dagny with her purse. I bought this for her first birthday and she still loves it (and all purses). She is a girly girl. Thank you to cousin Sophie for the beautiful orange dress.

In other news, we've been busy here! The washing mashine broke last week so I've been shuttling back and for to my parents' house (thank goodness they moved into the neighborhood) to try to keep up. Annika's two pull-up leakage accidents didn't help, either. According to our repairman, our old Maytag was a piece of junk - and it died just like the one owned by the first commenter in the linked blog. We could have fixed it, but for $300-400 and it was likely to break again in a year. So, I have a beautiful new washing machine. This was not what I wanted to spend a load of money on this month, but at least I'm back in laundry action. And, it's cool to watch the clothes spin around in the suds like we used to do at Grammy's house when I was little. A big fat kiss to Best Buy for delivering on Sunday!

Also, I have found a great park for running. It is called the Leita Thompson Memorial Park (top left on the map). The City of Roswell has cut trails into some very hilly and beautiful wild land. This city is worth the taxes for this park alone. There are coyotes, apparently, so I wouldn't run there at dusk or sunrise and you'd be an idiot to do it in the dark, but WOW is it fun! It is like the trails at the creek in our neighborhood when I was a kid (minus the storm sewer outlet pipe, offensive odor and frequently appearing underpants) - green leaves as far as your eye can see. You can put your arms out like an airplane and just fly down the hills. And it is ridiculously hilly. The first time I ran there, I thought I would do a leisurely six miles - I did 6 miles at a 10 minute per mile pace, but my heart rate was in the 170s most of the run. Those hills kicked my ass. I nearly threw up a couple of times, had to stop for water, nearly quit more than three times, and bit it at one point. A kind gentleman, who was walking with those trekking poles, stopped to be sure I was OK (I was), but I had a blast! I left the trail feeling 10 feet tall and sexy like superman. Plus, a war wound! How cool is that?

I Placed!

3rd place! - Check it out!

Natalie would have won, as I suspected.

Can't Run at This Pace Very Long

The girls spent the night with my parents last night so Doug and I went on a date. Yes, a real meal with no highchairs, bibs or sippy cups. We had a great meal with some terrific wine. I highly recommend this restaurant. We went to the Buckhead location (next to Nava) but they also have one at Perimeter. Then, we met some friends for drinks. Doug was watching out for me since I was nervous about my race and got me tonic water with lime, my favorite masquerade cocktail. I was also trying to hydrate because I might have the tummy bug that Dagny had last weekend and that poor Annika is still fighting.

Anyway, the hydrating was also because Nat talked me into running a race this morning. That's right - the Big Peach 5K in Brookhaven. It was, as advertised, a beautiful green course through east Brookhaven. I had a great time - met two nice ladies (in line for the potties and for the start) and was home before they gave out any awards. I can't find the race results online, if they will even be posted, but here are my stats:

22:44 gun time
22:25 Garmin time

The McMillan race calculator predicted I would finish at 24:01 so I was aiming for anything under 24. A girl has gotta hope! I seeded myself badly and dodged folks for the first mile - but my first mile split was 6:54.

That's right, 6:54. Holy shit! A new world record. The rest of the race was a slog but I'm very happy with my time (avg 7:12 min/mile). Those hill repeats suck, but are clearly working. And the best part - no knee braces. NAKED KNEES! Yes, one of my high school sweethearts once told me that I had ugly knees, but they are so beautiful with no neoprene.

In other news, our friends Jerry and Wes (and Sarah, who I follow on the internet) ran their first triathalons this morning at Lake Lanier. Jerry and Wes finished within minutes of each other. Sarah hasn't posted yet, but I'm sure she did great too. Way to go triatheletes! And, my friend Kelly is running her first half marathon in Vancouver this weekend - Go Kelly!