Princess Runner

NOTE: I will be talking about results of several events at the Olympics. If you still have footage in your TiVo or haven’t gotten around to watching events online, consider yourself forewarned.

Watching the Olympic Games this year was different than it has been in the past because this was the first summer games that I have watched since I became an athlete. I just passed the 4th anniversary of that fateful day that I started to try running. As a result, while I still marvel at the competitors and their amazing physical abilities, there is also a sense of “I can do that.” No, I don’t mean that I can swim as fast as they can and certainly not run as fast as they can, but I can run, I can swim, I can cycle.

I watched the marathon and triathlon with a different perspective. No longer did I think “How can she run that far?” but rather “I wonder what her training schedule is like.” and “I wonder what they eat.” When there was a crash during the bike portion of the women’s triathlon, I could feel for them, having crashed myself (although luckily not in a race and thankfully not resulting in serious injury). It was a strange sense of camaraderie that I felt with the distance runners and the triathletes, because I know at least a little bit of what they were going through.

However, I could not really relate to Ryta Turava from Belarus who competed in the 20k women’s race walking event. Although she was in the top three for a large portion of the race, at some point she must have begun to start getting an upset tummy because several times she stopped and shoved several fingers into her mouth in an attempt to make herself vomit. I recognize that there are times when you feel so ill that vomiting is the only way that you will feel better. However, I cannot imagine it ever being bad enough that I would try to induce vomiting. I suppose if it was me, I would have continued at that blazing pace (the leaders in the event averaged about 7 minute miles) and the vomit would have happened on its own. The worst part of the whole thing was that the cameras kept focusing on the poor woman every time she stopped and stuck her fingers in her mouth. They were really hoping to catch her puking. Is that great television?

The race walking to me, overall, was fascinating. I imagine that it is extremely difficult to walk that fast and keep that particular form. They had to have at least one foot on the ground at all times and have their leg fully extended when that foot was on the ground. The women who broke form were given stern warnings by having judges run up to them and shove a yellow paddle in their faces. Several women were disqualified for breaking form too many times. I cannot imagine the stress of having to worry about form, in addition to pace, breathing, fluids, and nutrition. Did I mention that the weather for the event alternated between torrential downpour and blazing humidity?

Although the winner of the event was never in doubt, Russia’s (95 pound) Olga Kaniskina was way in front from the very beginning, I thought it was entertaining to watch. However, that does not explain while immediately after the showing on Universal HD, they started showing the race again from the beginning. Entertaining, yes, but not that entertaining.

Although I can think of quite a few celebrities who have run marathons, I do not know of any who have done a triathlon. I just saw this video of Jennifer Lopez who is training to do the Nautica Malibu Triathlon in September.

Since my triathlon, I have been rather inactive. This past weekend, however, I did lots of activities. I went swimming at the beach with my nephews three days in a row and on Saturday morning I played tennis with my brother and parents. Add to that lots of games of hide and go seek, baseball, and carrying around a 15 pound weight (baby nephew) and I had quite a physical weekend.

However, now that I am back home, I am again struck with the same case of the lazies that I had before I left. Is it just that there is no one here to go swimming with or play tennis with? No one to drag me outside despite the hot temperatures? Do I need that kind of thing when I don’t have a training schedule to keep me on track? I am not sure, but I do know that I don’t even have the energy to play Wii Fit and that is pretty sad.

Dawn from A Marathon Leap, who is thinking of trying a triathlon after she finishes her latest adventure of having a baby, asked me my thoughts on the difference between marathon training and triathlon training. Although it is not quite an equal comparison considering I only did a sprint triathlon, there are some similarities. In both experiences, I became acutely focused on the goal and had a specific schedule I needed to follow. However, I guess because the distances in each segment of the triathlon were short in comparison with a marathon, I did not freak out if I missed a training session. Triathlon training also gives you an opportunity to stress one sport over another. I focused most on swimming and it showed it my time. I slacked somewhat with the running because I was most confident in that sport and that also showed in my time. Training for a marathon does not really allow you to slack at all.

One great thing about the triathlon training, that I think could apply to even higher levels of the sport, is that if I woke up one day and I felt like swimming and not biking, I could swap days and do biking the next day. However, during marathon training, if I woke up and did not feel like running, there was not much I could do. Marathon training was a lot less expensive than triathlon training, however. For the marathon, I only needed some new shoes, running clothes, and lots of Body Glide. For the triathlon, I needed a swim membership at the gym, a bicycle, goggles, a swim cap, helmet, gloves, new bike seat, pedals, bike shoes, etc., in addition to the aforementioned running gear. And the costs for triathlon only go up the more serious you get: fancier bike, aero bars, wetsuit, etc.

EDITED TO ADD: I forgot one in important thing. During my marathon training, all those miles put a lot of strain on my body and ended up with frequent blister issues as well as knee and hip pain through various parts of the training. With the triathlon training, I had no blisters and no injuries. While that could be in large part to the shorter training times compared to the marathon, I also think it has a lot to do with the switching up of activities from day to day.

What is the most notable similarity between training for the triathlon and a marathon were the feelings I had a few days afterward, when the elation and excitement had worn off. That “Okay, what now?” feeling. I had spent many months of my life with one fixated goal and now that it was reached, I was lost as to what to do next. That feeling after last year’s marathon led to the triathlon training. So where I will head now? Prince E joked I should try decathlon, but, in addition to be very impractical, I don’t think I can even lift a shot put. The next gradual step would be a longer distance triathlon, but I don’t know if I will have the training time that a longer event will require, especially with the upcoming changes at work that will be lessening my free time. I also wonder if I would need some sort of coaching to in get me to be good enough in all three sports at that new distance to (1) finish and (2) not be last. That was the comfort that Danskin brought. I knew that no matter how long it took me, I would never be last and the course would not be packed up ahead of me and I would never be told I had to stop because I was too slow. If only Danskin would sponsor a longer distance triathlon!

This is part two of my Danskin Chicagoland experience. To read part one, go here: Danskin Chicagoland Part I.

During the night, I kept waking up every few hours, something I do anytime I have to get up early for something. The alarm had been set for 4:00 a.m. because I was worried that we would encounter the insane amount of traffic that we had on Saturday and didn’t want to miss out on having plenty of time to set up my transition area, which would close at 6:30. However, I woke up at 2:45 and could not fall back asleep so I went into the other room (it was a small suite) and watched two episodes of Roseanne (David secretly moves in with Darlene and Dan has lunch with an old flame) while having some food. I then put on my sunscreen, freaked out a bit when my number ran down my arm, and then got dressed. I re-checked my bag three times before waking Prince E up at 3:50am as visions of a full parking lot danced in my head.

We left pretty shortly after that, maybe 4:15 or so. Back in February when I originally signed up for the Danskin Triathlon, I remembered thinking of how potentially hot the weather could be come July 13th. I was shocked that the high for the day was in the 70s and I was actually chilly prior to the event. I remarked to Prince E the irony that an event in July would be approximately 20 degrees cooler than the marathon last year which was in October. Weather is a strange thing.

We went to get on the highway (the hotel was a few exits away from the mall/parking lot) only to discover that the on-ramp was closed! It was not that big of a deal, though, because there was an access road that paralleled the highway and we were able to get where we needed to be. Although I had envisioned a parking lot filled with hyper women, when we got to the mall it was practically empty. There were maybe 25 cars there.

We quickly got all of our things together and began the mile and half or so walk to the race start area. It was not soon after we began that I realized that despite my extensive planning, there was one thing I forgot: insect repellent. Given that we were walking down a highway next to a marshy area, it was still pitch black out, and I had on sweet smelling sunscreen, I was a prime target for the mosquitoes. We walked and swatted bugs away left and right. Prince E had an emergency rain jacket in his bag, so he was a bit more protected than I was. I tried jogging, but the mosquitoes still ate me and it made it more difficult to swat them. We finally got to the race site, but not before I had acquired 23 bites (yes, we counted). There were several on my neck which would get a horrified reaction from the EMT at the medical tent when I inquired about anti-itch cream (they didn’t have any because their supplies had not yet arrived, given that it was not even 5:30 yet).
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My Danskin Chicagoland 2008 experience is so chocked-full of exciting goodness, I had to break it into two parts. This is part one, which covers the events of the day before the race. To just skip to the race report, go here.

Although the event is billed as “Chicagoland,” it is actually in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. I did not realize it until we got there, but I have actually been to Pleasant Prairie once before. Prince E and I stopped there on our way home from Milwaukee in May 2006 to visit the Jelly Belly Factory. The bike course of the event actually passed by the Jelly Belly building, but it was too early in the day to stop off for some candy.

On Saturday, we had to go to the race site to pick up my race packet. The race website had all of these rules about when you could pick-up packets and all of these warnings about the importance of the course talk. According to these rules (which were not followed at all), I would not be able to get my packet until 12:30, based on my last name. I decided to go to the 10:30 course talk and so we planned to arrive at the site at 10. Which we did. Which would have been fine, but there were thousands of other people there and we had to park 1/2 mile away. Coincidentally enough we parked right by where the next day’s swim start would be, although I didn’t know it at the time.

We walked the half mile to the building, me quickly weaving my bike in and out of everyone else walking the same way because I did not want to be late to the all important course talk. When we got there, I could not take my bike into the building, so I propped it up on something outside, which is what everyone else did. I thought everyone was so trusting and left Prince E to guard my bike while I went inside. I was immediately directed to go pick up my packet (even though it was only 10:20 and my last name starts from A-M!!) There was no waiting at all. I then called Prince E and had him come in to hear the course talk because it was too hot outside for him to be waiting with my bike and I thought there would be IMPORTANT THINGS discussed that he, as my official photographer should hear.

The course talk was not so much a course talk, but a 20 minute lesson on how and where to park on Sunday. He went over all the different options repeatedly and made me really stress out about something as simple as parking. He then said that most of the roads were closed during the bike course, but a couple were not (which caused me to worry more, even though I was not passed by a single car during the race). He said there was a patch of road that was rough and then mentioned that the course was nice with rolling hills, so it won’t be boring and flat. As though hills are fun. The talk was really a waste of my time. I had reviewed the maps online and that, coupled with driving the bike course later, was more than enough info on the course.

After the talk, I went and got my body marked with my race number and picked up the above shirt, tote bag, and special chip holder (that I had completely forgotten that I had ordered when I registered). Getting my body marked on Saturday was another waste of my time, because I had to get it re-marked on Sunday morning because my spray sunscreen made the whole thing run down my arm. I racked my bike, following Running Jayhawk’s advice and getting as close as I could to the bike in/bike out. (By the way, she had a fabulous race and shaved TWENTY FOUR minutes off her time from last year). Racking my bike there was definitely a plus, because I cannot move very fast when wearing my bike shoes and you have to run with your bike inside the transition area.

After leaving the mayhem that was packet pick-up we went and had lunch and then went to the Prime Outlet because that is where we had decided to park at the next day. We realized that we had been at the mall before on that previous Jelly Belly trip. We then went out and drove the bike course. It was hillier than I expected and I took note of the one rough patch that the course director had mentioned and knew it would not be fun the next day.

We then went to our hotel and later went out to dinner at Cracker Barrel, where I got this fabulous hat for 80% off, meaning it was only $5. I wore it the rest of the night and I don’t think that Pleasant Prairie was ready for such fabulousness.

Back at the hotel, I decided I should go to bed at 9:00, but probably did not fall asleep until around 10:00 p.m. Sunday’s events are in Part II.

Details to come soon.

I was not kidding when I wrote that there is way more gear involved in triathlon than in running. Here is photographic proof (I stole the photo idea from Sherry, whose blog I found when I was searching for Danskin blog recaps).

Swim

Bike

Run

Extra Stuff

Today was my last swim workout before Sunday’s triathlon. I had hoped my last swim would be calm and relaxing. Unfortunately it was not to be the case. The “open swim” area was filled with about 10 children and adults who did not understand the concept of “inside voices.” They screamed and shouted and splashed and made my 32 minute swim quite unbearable. I could not even hear the cheesy pop music that the pump through the loud speakers. How can I swim properly without hearing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”?

Over this past weekend, I had a second go at the bike time trial, but settled for 10.3 miles instead. I just got too frustrated with all the people on the path since I had waited until too late in the morning to go (around 10:00 am). There were people walking and talking on cell phones, people walking and smoking (??) and way too many rollerbladers for my comfort. Then there was the man who actually steered his daughter and her bicycle from the side of the path into my lane, despite the fact that I was moving along at a decent speed and had run my little bell. People annoy me. (Are we sensing a pattern here?)

I did my 5k run time trial on Sunday and I actually made myself run quite a bit more than I have been during my run/walks. I initially thought that I would get up and go participate in a 5k race in a neighboring town, but I decided when I woke up at 6:00 that I would rather sleep another hour and save the $30 entry fee. I managed to finish the humid 5k in 44 minutes which is slow based on my past, but pretty quick based on where I am at currently.

I think I will be pretty good at the transitions. I practiced both transitions on Thursday, even using the apartment complex’s mini pool to get soaking wet in my trisuit to simulate race day conditions. (By the way, I have no idea why that pool is heated when it is the summer and it gets direct sunlight. It was about 85 degrees and almost completely unbearable. I thought most people used the pool in the summer to cool off, not as a sauna). I have decided not to wear socks on the bike after trying it out. I hope that I don’t regret that later. I also think that I may have to put post-it-notes on my stuff to remember certain things like putting on sunscreen.

I have emailed with Running Jayhawk about this weekend’s event and asked her lots of nervous energy inducing questions and she has been so patient to answer them all! It has really helped me relax about lots of the little details hearing more about what things will be like.

For fun later this week (perhaps on one of my two “rest” days) I will post some pictures of all my stuff that I will be taking. It really adds up to a lot when you have three sports to do. The days of running only seem so simple now.

As you may recall, I wrote on Saturday that I was going to do my cycling time trial on Sunday. A twelve mile ride at high intensity to mimic race day conditions. Things did not go as I had planned.

The ride started out well and I was maintaining a pretty good overall speed of about 12 miles an hour which was my goal. I planned to put in the one big hill in the area toward the beginning of the ride (about 4 miles in). I have only done the hill once previously on the bike (and I have walked up it before a few times).

I think that I finally have gotten the hang of switching gears to prepare for hills. Going up the hill the first time, I managed to maintain a 9 mph pace which I was pretty happy with. I rested a moment or two before going back up the hill the other way, this time a bit slower.

I continued the ride and passed a few slower people. There were a lot less runners than on Saturday, but a lot more cyclists. I think that they probably choose Sunday to avoid all the marathoners on Saturday.

As I wound through a woodsy part nearing where I entered the preserve (I planned to bypass my start and go the other direction for a few miles), I heard a really obnoxious bird call. I had never heard this bird before and was glad I didn’t have one living outside my window at home because it would certainly drive me crazy. It sounded a bit like it was dying. As I rode another mile or so, the bird sound kept following me, which I found really annoying. A moment or two later, I realized that it was not a bird. It was my bike.

I decided to wait until I got back to the parking lot to check to see if I was losing air or something. That way Prince E could come rescue me if necessary. The bike was riding fine, except for that dying bird noise. I hadn’t made it quite to the parking lot when I could not take it anymore. I had to stop and see where that noise was coming from.

I pulled off to the edge of the paved path, clipping out of my right shoe. For some reason I did not lean enough to my right though and I toppled over to my left and onto the pavement. A couple walking up ahead turned at the noise and called to see if I was okay or if I needed help. I said, “I’m fine. It happens a lot actually!”

I was fine, except for a scrape or two and some bruises. I really have learned that I must concentrate completely on stopping and leaning to the right and putting my foot down or else it does not happen. This time I was thinking about what I would do if my bike broke during the triathlon and thought about how uncomfortable it would be to walk the bike course in my cycling shoes. I should have been concentrating on stopping instead because it is still not second nature to me. Lesson learned.

I was unable to determine what the dying bird noise was, so I went home, three miles shy of the 12. I had still managed to average 10.7 mph throughout despite the dying bird noise and riding slowly home after the fall.

When I got home, my live-in bicycle mechanic diagnosed the problem quickly. The wheel was unbalanced and was rubbing against the brake pad. Unfortunately “truing the wheel” (the term for making a wobbly wheel stop wobbling) requires equipment that we don’t have. It was off to the bike shop. Fifteen minutes and $12 later, the dying bird was history.

I had also had a rattling in my front wheel for a while which I thought was just the reflectors making noise. Prince E inspected that and it turns out there were two extra metal pieces in there, probably left since the bike was put together. Sort of like leaving sponges in a person after surgery. He was able to remove those, so now my bike is strange-noise free.

Here is a a photo of one of my latest injuries (the other bruises are too faint to show up on camera right now). I would also like to take this moment to remind you all to wear a helmet. Even if you don’t go fast. I fell at basically a stand-still and yet I would not want the bruises and scrapes on my body to be on my head. Just something to think about.

Knee