I was sick...

... but I got better (say it with a British accent ala Monty Python and the Holy Grail). The week before (the week of Dash & Dine and Haystack) I was feeling like I might be coming down with something. I had a throat tickle and just felt off. Last Sunday (like I blogged) I was pretty sure I was sick. And Monday - definitely. I felt a little better Tuesday and still did both my workouts but at a lower intensity. And by Wednesday the congestion was getting better, but this whole week I didn't feel like my energy was quite where it should be. I had planned on racing the Cherry Creek Sneak today, but in effort to actually get better I kept the low intensity plan through the weekend. I'm not sure if I was much better off in my 12 mile run than one of the 3 5ks or 5 mile race I could have been doing, but I do need to get that endurance training in too.

We had some pretty crappy weather this week. We had some rain, some thunder and on Friday even some brief snow. I'll run in just about anything, but riding is a different matter. I had planned on riding at the track on Friday but Adam pleaded with me not to go to daycare so I gave in and let him watch Tiny Toons while I rode the rollers for the first time in a year.



And next week I realized that when I tell people that training is my part time job, it's going to be pretty close. Next week's training plan calls for 14 hours.

This week (a measly 11:26 hours):

Swim: 7600 yards
Bike: 76.6 miles
Run: 18.7 miles

2010 Triathlon Race Schedule

I signed up for my last two races today and here is this year's schedule:

May 23rd - Summer Open Sprint
June 12 - Boise 70.3
June 27 - SheRox Sprint
July 11 - Boulder Peak Olympic
September 12 - Ironman Wisconsin

I'm doing the Summer Open as a dress rehearsal and it may be one of my only open water swims before Boise. I'm a mentor for SheRox so I get a free entry to that race. Maybe this year I'll get 3rd place in my age group without anyone having to be disqualified. And I signed up for the Boulder Peak because I'd really like to do it under 3 hours. My first time ten years ago was 3:05 and last year was 3:08. And then... I have 2 months of long weekend training for the big boy.

Results are in

Well, apparently I'm not as great a cyclist as I think I am. I placed 28th out of 36 in the category 4 senior women (the easiest division). So now I can say, I'm a pretty good swimmer, for a triathlete. And a great cyclist, for a triathlete. And a... medicore runner, no matter how you look at it. But still, I'm a decent triathlete, and that's something. And also, I've only really started training on the bike since after spring break (so maybe 3 weeks) and I do think my bike fitness will improve. I hope. I have to be a great cyclist for the killer hilly Ironman Wisconsin course.

I was happy that a bunch of FastForward people (another triathlon group) raced in the citizen's race and I beat all their women. I was warming up with them and they were all passing really close and not saying anything and acting like they were the shit, so that's something.

So this was my hardest week since spring break and I'm feeling it. Plus, I think I may be coming down with the Hannah Virus and I'm crossing my fingers that it's just the 48-hour-I-may-be-coming-down-with-something that my sisters promised.

Swim: 7800 yards
Bike: 83.5 miles
Run: 17.5 miles
Strength: 30 minutes (I didn't feel up to my second session today)

Total: 12 hours

Haystack Mountain Time Trial

I did my very first bike race ever today, if you don't count the Arvada We're Proud race in 1982. I kinda don't count it (even if I did win a second place trophy).



The race today was a time trial meaning that it's pretty much a triathlon without the swim and run. Riders were sent off every 20 seconds and no drafting was allowed. The course is out by the 5280 triathlon courses north of Boulder. It started at the top of Neva road on 36th, right on Nelson, right on 73rd, end at Niwot road. It usually ends near the start but there's some bridge out/construction nonsense so it was 6 miles short this year. And those were 6 nasty uphill miles so I was cool with that. The distance was about 12 miles, a great way to check out my sprint triathlon bike fitness. Which, apparently, is not up to snuff yet. I got passed by 3 girls but I passed 1 so I wasn't last. Results won't be in for a while but I'll be sure to let you know where I finished. My computer says I averaged 22.1 mph, but it was a net downhill course. My power tap flipped out and gave me funky readings so I didn't get data I was really wanting so I can train better.



I rode up to the race and warmed up (about 1:10), raced (32:08), and rode home a long way for a total of 2:45, then finished the morning off with a 4 mile run. And now I am cooked.

End of the Ski Season

Last weekend the boys and I joined an out of state friend for one last weekend at Breckenridge. It was truly Spring Skiing - hard crunchy ice in the morning that melted into soft slush by lunch. There were 4 kids all of the same ages and close to the same abilties. We introduced them to NASTAR and my kids didn't complain when they were both beat by their counter parts. And I don't mean to brag too much, but I finally got a silver medal myself, finishing the season ranked 5 out of 14 nationally.

Here's Willa and Alex on the chair lift:



And Adam and Eli riding the chair behind me:



Our friends had to leave early Sunday morning but we still went out for a few hours. Alex and Adam liked the baby terrain park and here they are riding the chair lift together to get to it:



Alex was very disappointed that there was no baby half pipe this year. But he did try some small jumps and then a box. I was very proud of him for trying the box, the first time he fell, but instead of sulking he wanted to go back and do it again and the next time he nailed it. And for the record, I did not try the box. I thought it would be super lame to get injured on the last day of the season and plus, the ground was really hard. And I still have flashbacks of the last box I tried that I cheesed the landing and fell 2' onto my stomach (different box at Keystone). Here's a video of Alex doing the box and then Adam trying to jump the rollers (that's what that knee bend near the top is all about):

Adam's First Art Show

This spring Adam had the honor of being chosen for a district K-8 art show at the Boulder Public Library. There was a lot of art, but where was Adam's?



Ah, there it is, on the back side and bottom of a post facing the window:



Adam with "Adam in watercolor"

Chinese Medicine Fail?

I think my acupuncturist gave up on me. At least at our visit yesterday, I was told to take a couple months off and see how things progress on their own. As of yet, since I have had virtually no progression since December, I doubt things can get worse. I have a cyst the size of a quarter on my neck and its ugliness is only surpassed by its pain.

I gave it a good shot. I went nearly every week for 4 1/2 months. I drank all my nasty herbs. I did not restrict spicy food as much as I was told to, but damn it, I like food with taste. I'm following up with the needle treatments with another week of the worst tasting herbs yet (and truly that's saying something) and a daily smoothie of cherry/carrot/celery which tastes a lot like... celery. And then? I guess I'm on my own.

I am disappointed. Like I posted earlier, I've exhausted all the Western medicine treatments (baring antibiotics which I am not willing to take long term and laser treatment which is incredibly pricey). Apparently I've come to the end of Eastern medicine too. We can put a man on the moon but we can't cure acne???

Dash 'n Dine 5k

Factoid #1: Running in the wind is neither fast nor pleasant.
Factoid #2: Racing in the evening is hard.

I'd like to use both these excuses for my slower than normal performance in tonight's 5k Dash & Dine. While the wind was no longer gale force strength as it had been during the day, it was still blowing very energetically. I went to my lunch master's class as usual (and got a PR for 50 yards - 37 seconds) and then had to figure out when to eat what for a 6:30pm race. I settled for a normal menu through lunch, then I had a Throwback Pepsi at 4:30 to get some sugar and caffeine in my system. While nothing disagreed with me, I definitely felt my energy was low. My final time was 27:27 but my GPS measured the course at 3.13 miles, which could be about 20 seconds long. The dining part was not bad, burgers and hot dogs, but I had to bring my food home so Jeremy could make it to his track workout.

Last week's statistics (in addition to 1 1/2 days snowboarding):

Swim: 7900 yards
Bike: 71.85 miles
Run: 16.6 miles

Total: 10:30

Perspective

Living in Boulder, it's sometimes hard to see how I'm doing. I live in a city where I've swam in lanes next to Olympians and I race and compete against some very elite athletes. Living here, it easy to forget that 30% of Americans are obese and for many their closest experience to athletics is the Sunday football game. I had some perspective last week when I started helping an old high school friend find a training program for her first sprint triathlon. Here's the first week of one of the programs I found:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Run 15 minutes
Wednesday: bike 5 miles
Thursday: swim 200 yards
Friday: off
Saturday: swim 200 yards, run 15 minutes
Sunday: bike 5 miles

And then it kinda dawned on me how far I've come and how much training has become part of my life. I felt last week was still kind of light volume wise. It was my first full week back after the half marathon and I cut my Saturday bike ride short by an hour because of the wind. And yet, my total training hours were 8:15. 10 hours feels like a normal week, 12 hours is fine. The realm of 18 hour weeks is seeming less daunting.

Last week's breakdown:

swim: 7300 yards
bike: 30 miles + 1 hour at the track
run: 11.5

Easter

We had a lovely Easter with Jeremy's family. We dyed eggs, ate ham and cheese grits and enjoyed family.















Devon's BIL Justin, sister Nelly and nephew Brady: