Ah, OW swimming...

We celebrated Father's Day with donuts, bagels and coffee* and lots of father-son time**, 1:45 min to be exact while I OW swam at Walden. Fun was had by all though Petru did complain a bit that while we have Mother's Day and Father's Day, why not Kid's Day?

When I set out to swim I did not know how long I'd go for. I decided to swim across while keeping the R side of the pond in site, for safety. There were lots of swimmers at Walden early this morning. I oscillated from feeling part of the club to feeling self conscious of my stroke. But after about 10 min I grew comfortable into my swimmer skin. I felt one with the water, sighting every 10-15 strokes, and taking a break here in there to clear my goggles (hrr!!). About 30 min in, I saw large fish swimming below me. It was absolutely amazing.

I ended up swimming across, and then some, before I returned to see the boys and take Petru in the deep end for some mother-son playtime. He just discovered goggles and is now walking with them on or around his neck all day long.

If someone had told me last year that I would be swimming freely, alone, across Walden Pond, I would have dismissed them immediately. But 3-4 swims/week since October, lots of U-tube videos, books and bloggie advice, the wetsuit, and here I am, actually enjoying myself in the water! Oh, the possibilities....

* this was what Petru said daddy would want
** this is what Chris said he would want for father's day

swimming video

Last weekend Chris took a video of me swimming in Lake Dunmore. I was swimming relaxed, but it looks so slow to me. I have no clue how my form is. Thoughts?




Thanks so much to all who answered my tri questions! So, so helpful! Looks like I have lot of work ( and purchases) ahead! Thanks again!!!

Questions, questions

1) I keep reading about how important nutrition is during longer races including a HIM. So far, my longest bike ride was 53 miles, and I consumed a whopping 150sh calories during it. I felt absolutely fine during the ride - I ride slow - and did not get hungry or weak. Obviously, I am going to need more during the race, given the fact that I will need to run 13.1 miles after, and the course is pretty tough. I am thinking about trying to drink something besides water and nuun, perhaps something with a bit of protein? What works for you and what does not? How many calories are you taking in on the bike during a HIM? How much liquid do you consume?

2) What is the longest run off the bike you do for a HIM?

3) Any tips about getting the wetsuit off quickly? I have no problems with the arms, but my ankles and feet get stuck and it takes me forever to take them out of the suit!

4) I plan to wear bike shorts for the HIM (I'll race the sprint in a swim suit, but I need the bike shorts for the long ride), but I plan to change into regular shorts after. Ever seen people changing fully (no underwear) during transitions? I don't have an issue with this, I want to be comfortable, but am wondering if others have done this as well?

Thank You!!!!

Vermont Journey HIM - course preview

Ah, it's good to be away!!!

We had an awesome time in Vermont, of course!

The start of our trip was a bit shaky, as Petru had a fever on Wednesday and I almost cancelled our trip. But Petru is my son indeed, and he gets sick for 24 h and then is all full of energy the next day! We dropped him of on Thursday evening, and left on Friday morning. Freedom!!! Hurray! Well, we did talk about Petru non stop the first 30 min (why does this always happen?) but then we made a pact not to. And it worked, sort of.

We arrived at the Branbury Park around 3pm, changed clothes, and started riding this:








Yes, 56 miles of bliss... Well, we only rode 40 miles. Chris has a hybrid and he was pooped. I felt great, except for that last tough climb when I rode 8MPH. This course is tough. It starts out nice and easy, with little rollers, and then, boom, a huge steep downhill. On the bike, I need time to develop mental confidence. I am uneasy on the downhills, and braked a lot on that steep downhill. I will not do that during the race. That downhill becomes a tough uphill on the way back, right at the end of the course, when you are supposed to ride easy and let your legs get ready for the run. Overall, I did not like the bike course. It is on busy roads, with lots of noise and not much scenery. I rode nice and easy - a little over 15MPH, with average cadence 91. Not too bad but I hope to do better during the race. We swam a bit in the beautiful Lake Dunmore, headed to our hotel and vegged out until dinner time. Lovely! We had a nice dinner, listened to some music, and walked the town. Perfect!



Here I am after the bikeride, ready for a nap!











Saturday we woke up to rain. We waited it out but by 10am I was ready to go for my 16 easy miles. I was going to run the course, 13.1, and then Chris would run with me 3 more miles. I started out from the park, and conquered this








out and back beauty! I loved the course. Yes, lots of hills, but such pretty scenery. You run about 4 miles on the road (with very few cars, and lots of animals - I saw pigs in the middle of the road) and then go on a dirt road for about 2.5 miles, then come back. None of the hills are really bad, but I did take the run easy, so I am sure I'll feel different about the course come race day.

So I decided to run this course by feel, and see where I am at. I did not pay attention to the Garmin, and was pleasantly surprised. As you know, I've been running slow due to my tailbone pain, and I thought I lost my speed. I did not. I would be thrilled to run this pace at the HIM! Thrilled!

I had a great time on this run. The rain stopped after a couple of miles, the temps were nice, and I felt great. Chris met me back at the park and we ran 3 more miles together. We ran slower because his legs were trashed from the bike. Next, we swam again, of course, got some lunch and hang out before dinner and a movie. I got really excited when I saw that The Replacements were going to play at a coffeehouse later that night, but learned that they were not The Replacements I thought they were (Chris got a laugh out of this one).

Sunday it was swim day! I did my first swim with my wetsuit. WOW! How come I did not know this? The wetsuit is amazing. I am surprised wetsuits are allowed. I was floating in the water. I did not need to kick, it was like I was swimming with a pull buoy. I was thrilled! I can certainly do the swim with a wetsuit (water temps are 70 in August, wetsuits are legal). My arms killed after the swim, but I felt very comfortable in the water!









Here I am, super excited after the swim!










Then, sadly, we had to come back...

Here are a few more pics. The camera is filled with traffic signs pics which I took for Petru. He is obsessed with them and I seriously think he could pass the written part of the driving test today! Scary!

Here we are waiting for our food, goofing off...












































































Bad pic, I took it, so our faces are distorted. It's the only one with both, so it is going in!Chris looks super tired - this was taken after the drive and bikeride:)
Great trip. My batteries are recharged. I am full of energy and fresh! And probably a few lbs heavier - the food in Middleburry is so good!!!

Happy

No, I did not get a PR, I did not race, I did not have a breakthrough workout! But I ran pain free!

Those who read this blog (thank you!) may remember that exactly 15 days ago I slipped on the bathroom floor while in a frenzy, trying to make sure I get to Petru's school before 6pm in a decent shape (aka not wet, naked, completely disheveled - well, fail with the last one, but they know me so who cares). Anyhow, I guess I bruised my tailbone and boy did it hurt. It hurt to sit, it hurt to stand, it hurt to walk, it hurt to bike, it hurt after swims, and it killed during runs. After getting past the frustration of getting injured so stupidly, I decided that although practicing mindfulness might be a tad too much for me, perhaps I need to make a mental note not to full around with the bathroom (or as Chris put it, "What's your take on doing one thing at a time, you know multitasking means less productivity!" me: "I don't believe that").

So I decided that I am stronger than the pain and darn it will not stop me. Before you yell that I should listen to my body (oh, how I hate that expression), I know a bit and some about pain and this type of pain did not mean damage. There was nothing broken, or torn. So I had to make pain background for a while, I hoped a short while.

Things went fine with swimming and biking, but running really made my tailbone scream. I gave up on speed, and ran slow - like a little under 9 min mile slow (only bc I am so Garmin vain that I don't want to have 9 min mile runs on it). This went on for 2 weeks. I did not talk about it, I did not write much about it on the blog - why make it a bigger issue - and tried not to focus on when would the pain go away. And then it did. Yesterday's 8 miler went fine, today's 10 miler went super. No pain. NO PAIN! 10 beautiful, early morning, rainy miles of bliss. Just me and Bob Dylan and Liz Phair. I needed that!

And the timing could not have been better. Chris and I are off to the mother of hills land, Vermont, sans Petru (thanks grandma Margaret) for a long weekend of swim/bike/run the course of the Vermont Half Journey. Oh, and we'll also have an early celebration of 10 years of marriage - if we have time:)

Learning...and banjo playing

This weekend I was reminded why I love training and racing.

I've followed many people racing Honu, Mooseman, Kansas and Rev3! Some had great races, some had fast races, some had good luck, others had loads of bad luck, and others did not make it to the starting line. Everyone had a story, some of which I am yet to read. Everyone fought so hard, whether a beginner or a seasoned triathlete. It was very emotional and amazing.

So what's the lesson?

In training and racing there are no guarantees. As an athlete you cannot focus only on PRing/winning an AG, or having a good race. If you do so, you are bound to be disappointed because no matter what, if you race long enough, chances are you are going to have bad races in spite of spotless training. So you need to be prepared for that, and ready to embrace it when it comes your way. And you need another reason to race and to train. You need to love training and racing for what they are, not what they may bring to you. Because you really are the same person/athlete, whether you win your AG or get a flat tire/cramp/injury/bad day and you don't. You need to be able to enjoy the failures along with the wins. You need to embrace the "chance" element that comes with racing. And life, because life and training/racing are so very similar. This is hard, very hard!!! Of course it is!

In spite of my desire to be glued to the computer and see how everyone's race was going, I managed a 30 mile faster (for me) ride, 2 swims (1.5 and 1 mile) and a 14 mile slow run (still not 100% after my fall). And yesterday the three of us went to Harvard Square where I had tears in my eyes watching my little street musician "play" with the street musician I used to listen to 10-12 years ago when I lived in the square....Some things don't change! And my little guy just enjoys "playing" his banjo, whether you clap when he is done, or you just walk by...

Traithloning and running

I am a runner at heart, and a runner through background. Although I have only been racing for about 2 years, I have been running on and off since my early 20s. I know running. I understand it. I line up in a race knowing I can hold my own.

When I started training for the half ironman last month, I was pretty ignorant about what training for a triathlon means and the progress I can make. I thought that I can swim a lot, bike a lot, and get speedy quickly, as I did with running. What I forgot, though, was that I have years of running (slow, sporadic, but running nonetheless) under my belt, but little biking and swimming background (like, none!!!). I did not swim as a child. Kids in Romania did not take swimming lessons. We played on the street instead. I did ride a bike as a kid, but only when I could sneak it from my brother. When I moved to the US, I had a bike that I used to get to Harvard Square, a 10 min ride one way. When I met Chris, he was using his bike commuting all around Boston (no helmet, I made him buy one a month ago!) and I was impressed. Our first bike trip involved me falling off the bike while blowing kisses his way, infatuation does that to you, you know! So the point is that it will take me years of swimming and biking to get faster. And I need to get comfortable with being slow, like really slow, both in the water and on the bike. I also need to get used to having a slow run after the bike, because even though I'll start doing bricks shortly, my legs will need time to get used to running off the bike.

But you know what, I actually like this. There is something nice about toeing the line with the expectation to just finish, work hard, and have fun. I could not do this in running. And all this training, I really enjoy it. Those few (but more and more frequent) moments when I get in a groove and feel one with the water, or when I go fast down a big hill and hit speed I can only hit downhill now. Pretty amazing, really! Plus, I love to have goals, and as a beginner, I can only get faster, and typically progress is quicker for beginners, so all is good. Oh, and lets not forget what swimming did to my arms. They may not be like hers, but this girl with chronically skinny arms, is very, very pleased:) I feel strong, I feel fit, I feel healthy! Now if I can get rid of this, my summer of training would really be perfect!