Keep On Going

I’m taking this blog out of mothballs now that my Blogger problem appears resolved. I’m not going to detail my ups and downs with training and getting organized and everything Keep on Going-ish, but instead I’ll jump right into what I’ve been focusing on for the past few months: the first annual Salt Springs Triathlon. Tomorrow morning!!!

I heard about it many many months ago from Walt Kostyk, a library user who’s been the main person behind the Triathlon. Originally it was going to be only an Olympic distance (1200 yd swim/25 mi bike/10 K run), and by August it was clear I hadn’t trained enough for that, but thank goodness they added a sprint-ish one (600 yd swim/9.5 mi bike/5 K run) which I can definitely handle.

I half-heartedly tried to learn freestyle swimming, but I have a real problem with breathing, and so I quickly decided to stick to what I can do: breaststroke and sidestroke (faster than breaststroke as long as I swim on my left side; I’ve practiced on the right but that still doesn’t feel very efficient). So I’ll be getting out of the water after everyone else (only 22 entrants as of today!).

Then for biking I’m using an old Nashbar road bike, borrowed from friends, that’s a little too big for me. It was once a very nice bike and it’s beautifully made (the contrast with my cheapo mountain bike, that I used for training, is dramatic), but the gear shifters are on the bottom tube (hard for me!), the brakes are sidepull (which you never see any more), the tires are REALLY bald and I wasn’t able to get replacements in time, and there’s something a little out of true that makes the chain rub in high gear. (Also you can easily pop the chain off when shifting if you’re not careful.) I’m not very coordinated on a bike, or brave about downhills, so I’ll probably be slower than anyone else there too.

Then the run–I’m in OK running shape but not at my ideal weight (about 125 right now, and really my body would probably be best between 110 and 115), and the bike-to-run transition is difficult for me. (I did practise it recently and it seemed to be getting a little easier, though.) Having done a few biking-running “bricks” (back-to-back workouts) has taught me that the combination seems to suck the glycogen out of my muscles way faster than either on its own, and I’ve ended up walking part of each run I did after biking.

So much gear & technique, it’s intimidating and expensive! I did get a tri suit so I don’t have to change anything, although it’s already a little the worse for wear from wearing a Camelback swimming in muddy Stanley Lake (thanks to Dave for giving me permission to swim off his dock, and then giving me produce, cooking me breakfast yesterday, and even giving me a cool quartz necklace he made!) .

BUT I will finish (unless the rear tire, which is flaking, blows up on me…) and I’m excited!

Blogger was refusing to FTP anything to my site from October 2005 through February 2006. I was just switching to WordPress when bingo, it appears to be fixed–I think. This is a test!

After Chris Thater I was looking for another race to keep myself motivated, and on impulse I registered for the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure in Scranton. A fellow runner had told me it was a lot of fun and the size of the field (8,000!) appealed to me. Way, way more people than Steamtown, on a 5K course–what could that be like?

So yesterday morning I got up at 5:30am–painful, since I hadn’t had enough sleep the week before–and left for Scranton around 6:15. I hadn’t tapered or anything since I’m still at a measly 10 miles a week (5 long run on Sundays, 2 2-milers on weekday mornings plus one intervals day), and since it was on impulse I didn’t have a lot of time to plan. I parked at the Steamtown Mall and saw oodles of participants all over. However, most were wearing cotton clothing (lots of RftC and team T-shirts), most of the women had makeup, and there were lots of little kids and people who looked out of shape, so it didn’t have the atmosphere of an intense race. Courthouse Square was full of people and tents, with no clear sign of where to start or what to do. I asked at a booth where I should sign in and they sent me around two sides of the block. Two long tents side-by-side, one for people registering that morning and one for pre-registers. No division by last name or anything, and no real lines, just a mob around the table. I gave my name, which wasn’t on the first set of sheets; the person asked if I had registered online and then went to another set of sheets. She gave me a T-shirt and offered me a pink magnetic ribbon. “What about a bib number?” I asked. She said that was the tent on the other side of the square. I crossed between the buildings but only saw food tents and a Ford booth handing out bandanas (which I realized hours later may have been what she meant: bib = bandana?) Finally I asked at another booth.

“Are you a runner? You just line up first… Good luck!” It felt so incomplete and wrong! I wouldn’t know where I was in my age group or anything. Grr… I went over to stand in line for some of the expo-type booths. That was also grumpifying. I was next to a group of women complaining about their husbands. The tables were all companies handing out plastic tchotchkes. People forced their way to the tables and grabbed handfuls of this crap that no-one really needs, including me, yet there I was taking part in this mass of human greed. I turned down quite a few things but took quite a few too, pens etc, a totebag–don’t I have enough totebags?–so I was annoyed with myself the whole time. Part of my monkey self curiosity to not break out of the line because I hadn’t seen what else there was. The most ironic: a USDA table promoting their new Healthy Eating Pyramid, decorated with a rubber model of a huge glob of human fat and–to draw people to the table–wait for it… an enormous bowl of Tootsie Rolls!

I went back to the car to deposit my useless booty and then it was time to line up for the race. Huge mobs of people on the sidewalks in front of the start line (an arch of balloons), but a suspiciously small knot of runners right at the line. After going back only about 50 feet everyone looked like a walker, and when I asked around, they were. I moved up quite a few rows & ended up to someone I recognized (Sister Mary Elizabeth, a librarian at Mercy Hospital), which was cool, but she was a walker too so I hadn’t gotten to the runners yet. A very attractive young couple said they weren’t running but “jogging–we’re not serious!” Then the start horn went off and the frustration started. Blocks and blocks of walkers, paying no attention to people behind them, pushing strollers, the whole bit. Clearly everyone on the sidewalks had poured into the street as soon as the horn went off and there was no kind of crowd control to keep people in logical order. After a couple of blocks I ended up running on the sidewalk with a bunch of other people as we tried to get past the walkers.

Finally, after at least a third of a mile, I had more room to run and settled into my stride. I passed lots of people who had already slowed to a walk. We ran along Wyoming Avenue, down a long long slope and then up again. At the peak it was cool to turn around and see a huge mass of people filling the street behind me (walkers all)–I’ll never see that again! I noticed a couple of people, especially a womanwith short red hair wearing a green T-shirt who passed me around mile 1 but was running only a tiny bit faster than me. I kept her in sight the whole race and had a back-of-the-mind idea that maybe I could pass her. The hill kept going up. An elderly guy with a ponytail and teal leggings was ahead of me running in old leather loafers. He had huge calf muscles. I think he may have been homeless or at least very eccentric because of the inappropriate footwear and clothing in general, and his weather-beaten, leathery skin. He slowed to a walk on the steepest part. Two women chatting (ie not out of breath) pulled ahead of me.

We turned a corner and took the parallel avenue back to Courthouse Square, picking up the marathon route along the way which was really cool. Since I didn’t know the course that was encouraging as well because I had a better sense of how much longer we had. Green T-shirt lady was a good half-block ahead but I started gaining on her on the hill pastCooper’s. Then I could see the finish and started sprinting, but I didn’t get anywhere near her in time. Finish clock–I wasn’t going to beat 33 minutes. Sure enough, 33:11. Tony the Tiger was waiting at the finish line to high-five the runners (there was a Kellog’s booth giving out Special K Fruit & Yogurt) but he turned away just as I crossed so I just gave him a pat on the shoulder.

Great finish-line food: Krispy Kreme donuts, yogurt, oranges, and best and most unusual of all, Mrs. T’s pierogies (with butter & broccoli & carrots). Yum! Not so good: grape-flavored Propel (so icky sweet and artificial tasting I had to pour the rest of mine out), and the Special K which I had for breakfast this morning (same faults as the Propel except fake strawberry instead of grape). Lots and lots of runners finishing after me, so it was fun to cheer them on. I watched part of the awards ceremony (not running awards that I saw, rather fundraising ones) which hardly anyone was paying attention to & then went home. I wouldn’t do it again but it was an interesting experience! In future I will definitely make sure races are proper ones where everyone is timed…

Well, my training totally fell apart over the past month. Combination of things, but mostly I didn’t make it a priority… I’m in a slump! So although originally I had hoped to match my previous time (29:56), I didn’t think that was going to happen. I told J I’d be grumpy if I didn’t beat 32, and realistically, it seemed I ought to be able to do that even though I wasn’t in top shape. (Also I’m still hovering at 120 pounds, because, again, I haven’t made eating right a priority. It’s depressing how so much goes hand-in-hand, so bad decisions about eating lead to bad decisions about exercise, etc. I need to get that virtuous circle going instead!)

The morning got off to a bad start when I spilled coffee all over myself and my race outfit. I rinsed it out (good thing about running gear, it dries quickly!) I was able to park within a block of the start and got there in plenty of time. Weather was OK–overcast, good, but humid, not good. When I picked up my packet, it turned out they gave me a T-shirt even though I didn’t pay for one. It’s a nice dusty blue color so even though it’s an XL I might keep it. One of the bike races was still going on, fun to watch. I warmed up with several runs, stretches, etc., & wandered around the expo tents (nothing terribly exciting). I saw my co-worker’s husband who’s an Endicott policeman, so that was cool–he shook my hand & said “It’s easier than the marathon, right?” Yes!

When I finally made my way to the start I was behind some of the Ethiopian or Kenyan runners and I was admiring their physique and form–they really did look built to run with their skinny muscular legs and arms. I lined up way at the back. The race was using timing chips for the first time, chunky yellow boxes that look like early digital watches on velcro bands. I thought that was great because the start is pretty crowded, but as it turns out there was no mat at the start so they just gave the order of crossing the finish line with the clock time. “Runners, set, go!” and we were off. Although I was already at the back I got passed by dozens of people within the first block, including two dads with strollers (although at least one passed off to a mom further along). I was running near some people with visibly terrible form and though “geez, I ought to be able to run faster than *them*!” But as I’ve learned, I am just plain SLOW…

My race strategy was to visualize a dial going from 1 to 10, run the first mile at 6, the second at 7, then turn up during the last mile. I took the first 2 miles too slowly the first time I ran the Chris Thater, which is very flat. I was focusing on keeping an even pace and running my own race, not getting distracted by people around me. Easier said that done when several times I ended up next to people running about my speed and breathing very heavily.

After the first few blocks nobody passed me and I started passing a few people, but I was clearly way, way back. First mile: 10:21. The water stop was at about 1.5 miles. I was running next to a woman in blue who seemed to be struggling & said “half-way!” She said she thought we were further along. She took a cup, I didn’t. (If I’m properly hydrated I certaintly don’t need a water stop in a 5k, but I think I had been a little cavalier about hydration.) We ran near each other for almost a mile; I kept pulling ahead and then she would sprint past me. I felt bad because she seemed to be really laboring to pass me and I was partly rooting for her to beat me, but I was still husbanding a lot of my resources and I couldn’t help but think that I would outstrip her eventually (and I did). Second mile 20:53. Argh–slower than the first. I started to feel that maybe I wasn’t as well-hydrated as I should have be, although I might also have been having a hot flash–the humidity was bad. Rounding the corner onto Beethoven Street, I reminded myself not to turn it up too far too soon. The race is psychologically difficult because you cross the start again and then have several long blocks to actually reach the finish, so it’s easy to think you’re closer than you are.

The magical finish line energy kicked in about a block away and I could feel myself starting to float into a sprint, but the clock was already at 31:something–not surprising but a little bit of a letdown. At least I would beat 32, and I did: 31:38. Good after-race stuff: Fig Newtons, Nature’s Harvest Pecan Crunch granola bars, and a Crowley truck handing out all sorts of stuff: I got string cheese for protein and later finished off with chocolate milk. I saw the woman in blue come in, a few elderly runners, and some little kids. That’s my competition!

The Scranton “Race for the Cure” (Susan Komen Foundation) 5K is September 17… maybe too soon. I do want to do another 5K this fall.

The Chris Thater 5K is just 2 weeks away and I couldn’t even finish 5 miles today–conked out at 3 and then alternated running and walking. What’s the deal?!? I did give blood last week; I have been expending lots of energy (Blueberry Festival and Jonathan being in Southern Fried Murder last weekend, when I was really really short on sleep, and trash pickup & trying to fill a rented dumpster this weekend), but still. I think I’m not recuperating well from those efforts, either; I push myself and then end up feeling like a zombie for the rest of the day, which perhaps comes from not balancing nutrition and hydration correctly. The other issue is that I’m back at 120 pounds, when I feel best at 115 and probably 110 is my “ideal.” Oh well. So I really doubt I’m going to beat 30 minutes in the Chris Thater.

Highlights from some past runs: meeting an adorable young pug, beautiful snakes, a wren (love their cute little upturned tails), wonderful pine scents (since it’s been so dry, the fragrance gets concentrated; makes it more like Arizona, the best-smelling place I’ve ever spent time). Today I walked the big hill at mile 3 1/2 which is normally a tough haul, so I got to really enjoy the peaceful woods and admire the sun filtering through the leaves.

I’m at approx. 2 miles 3x week, plus long run today of 5 miles. I’m not timing anything except intervals–the Forerunner is invaluable now that I’ve finally figured out how to use it for those. I did 9 400m repeats Tuesday, but that sounds like a lot based on stuff I’ve been looking at; more like 3-5 repeats, 400m up to 1600m, crops up in what I’ve found googling. (Maybe not, based on this). Speedwork seems like the most confusing thing! I don’t have much of a goal for Chris Thater aside from equalling my 29:56 finish in 2003. I’m not timing anything, I’m just using the race as a motivation to run. My weight is at about 120 (I was slowly gaining before starting to run again, and on vacation week before last I was running but also eating way more than I normally do!); it would be great to get down to 115 by race day (Aug 28), but again, I’m not taking any of this too seriously. I could, but one thing I learned from the marathon: even though I can do anything I set my mind to–and I guess I can!–the tricky part is the setting. I don’t want to waste my limited (so far) “setting” power on this particular race.

On my long run today I spent most of the time thinking about HP 6, which I finished last night. Hot and sticky!

For a while I was trying to do outside work (digging, weeding, getting rid of invasive plants, etc.) as my exercise, plus some weight-training on my lunchtime. But I can’t really get the same intensity and side-benefits that running gives me. So I started up again. I need a goal, so I’m going to do the Chris Thater 5K again (August 28th). Since I haven’t run in months, I started with a mile a day Tu/Wed/Thu and 2 miles “long run” (ha!) this morning.

Really, nothing compares to running–not just the intensity, but the way it clears my mind and gets me out in nature and weather in a way I love. It’s like my head is full of bits of string that get tangled into a big ball, and running is a sure-fire way to start looseing and straightening and unweaving them. I think I’m happier when I’m running consistently.