September 27th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
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Started with a coffee at Ladro…..then we went for a birthday bike ride because, well, that’s just how we roll! 
WoooHOOOO!
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September 26th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
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Once the rain dried up and the sun came out, I would swear it was summer today. I definitely didn’t need long sleeves on the run.
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September 25th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
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Remember that moment in Sixteen Candles when Molly Ringwald’s character ’Sam’ comes out of the church? The crowds of people were gone and as the cars pulled away…there was Jake Ryan…Dreeeeamy Jake Ryan… leaning on his red porsche in his Levi’s 501’s and his super-sexy sweater vest with his perfectly imperfect tousle of hair…(oh. wait. i’m getting a little carried away with my walk down memory lane) . Right. Anyway: Jake gives a sly, hunky smile and offers a little wave. Molly/Sam can’t believe Jake is waving at her so she coyly looks behind her - because surely Jake is motioning to someone else. When she realizes there’s nobody behind her, she looks at Jake quizzically with her hand coming to her heart and says, ‘Me?’. The camera cuts to Jake who (in an image burned forever in girls dreams) mouths the words, ‘Yeah, you.’ (Cue Thompson Twins song.)
Well, I had something similar happen…….. (except, no Jake, no porsche, no dorky bridesmaid dress, and no foreign exchange student)….. My Molly Moment went something like this… I was on site with a client. One of the people I was working with (a fit-looking fella in his late 40’s) came up to me on a break and asked me (out of the blue), “Are you a runner?”…….. I literally looked around because SURELY he was not asking ME if I was a runner. Nope, coast was clear behind me. Indeed, he WAS talking to me. “Ummm, well, I suppose so” I said. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, you look like a runner. What distance do you run?”
Huh? Wha? As he continued on with his story about his years as a track coach and how it’s so important to stretch yadda yadda….I was shaking my head at the disconnect with how I see myself. He must have the wrong person. I’m just the fat-kid-grown-up-who-must-work-out-so-I-don’t-get-fat person who might look like I get outside now and again.
Isn’t it interesting to consider the view others have of us (even strangers!)– versus the itty, bitty, sh*tty committee views we can have of ourselves? Maybe we shouldn’t get to vote on ourselves?
Anyway — it was a cool moment that I will treasure. (Aside: You can BANK YOUR BOOTS I will be wearing THAT outfit again! Oh yea!) And, by the looks of things, I might just crack running 500 miles this year. I wonder…at what mileage marker can I finally allow myself to earn my ‘runner’ badge?
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September 23rd, 2008 at 9:43 pm
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Back on the spin bike…..Happy Fall!
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September 15th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
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So, I wasn’t even going to go… Saturday night I declared to the Spousal Unit that, in fact, I was not going. I didn’t want to race, and I couldn’t see any benefit in doing the Black Diamond Olympic tri at all. In fact, I wasn’t even going to get up on Sunday morning…. blah blah blah…..
A classic case of pre-race blues. (Some people get them as ‘post-race let-down’….not me, the duldrums arrive the night before - and they persisted as I peeled my sorry butt out of bed at 4:30 in the bloody morning. My hunny had pulled an Intention Card for me that said: Feel Good. Hmmmm…..riiiight.
So I put on my t-shirt from Warrior Camp: “Don’t think. Don’t think. Don’t think. Don’t think. Don’t think. Don’t think. Don’t think. Don’t think. ………………..” and got into car. It was still dark when we met Peter & Joel at Cafe Ladro for the morning shot and bike loading. As we drove the hour to the race site, the sun was coming up. I must admit, even in my poopy state of mind, Mt. Rainier was darn stunning.
We must have done something right (like getting out of bed before the birds) because we got the LAST parking spot in the on-site parking lot. (All other folks had to ride the short bus from the lot-down-the-road. Bummer for them!) Got in line for packets, checked out the bike corral real estate - and was glad to see the fog lifting on the lake. We got ‘hand warmers’ in our schwag bags. Even though the hand warmers never got warm, things began to look up. (Maybe it was the sugar rush from sipping Powerade (fruit punch) but I know better than to analyze it.)
Two hours later…things really started to look up…… the sun had crept over the trees and was warming the rock-beach. The air-horn went off in waves, and me and all my pink-capped friends splashed our way forward. I LOVE open water swimming. It is one of the most meditative, serene, calming things I do. (Sooo sad that it’s back to the pool all too soon.) Anyhooo - I blew up the proverbial ‘bubble’ that I encase myself in and found my groove. There’s something psychological about this cocoon that aids in my own calming head-space. Plus, the psych-mind-tricks have served me well to keep away the thrashers. I can’t explain how the bubble works this way. I don’t try to figure it out. I’m sure it would be bad luck if I figured it out.
31 minutes later…..I’m bummed that the swim is over. I would have liked to keep going. Oh well, up the ramp to the corral I go….. I always find it a good sign when my wetsuit slides right off. No struggle. No stepping on the legs. Just off like a greasy skin. Yeah!
3 minutes after that…..I’m out of transition & on the bike. The last few weeks I’ve been spending a LOT of time on my big chain ring. This served me well and I had the fasted ride of my race career. I was super-bummed to learn that I passed Peter on the side of the road fixing his flat. Doing this race was only the result of getting sucked into Peter’s positive energy vortex - and him putting the laptop in front of me to register. A few Gu’s and some pretty country-road miles under my belt and I was on the stretch home. For the last mile, I was on my own. No bikes in front of me - and none behind me to speak of. This alone could mess with one’s head. It means I’m either so far ahead or so far BEHIND that I’m all alone. It’s never the former and usually the latter. However, there were also many people walking back to their cars - all packed up with their finisher medals, their bikes, and their cheering sections. Mentally, this last bit messed a little with my head. Even though I know these racers were probably in the ‘Sprint’ or ‘Tri-a-tri’ events, seeing them ‘leaving the park and heading home’ was hard to swallow as I still had 10 kilometers left to run.
Anyhooo… a few minutes later, I was in transition… (still confused why Peter was now the photographer and not out on the bike course)… T2 was quick and painless and after a quick chat with a few dozing young volunteers - they pointed me in the right direction.
Something clicked on the run. I let my legs do what they know to do… keep moving. My lungs were burning. I drummed up as much Warrior juju as I could muster. I recalled the Intention Card that the hubster drew for me… and I started singing: “I feeeeel gooooood…..I feel niiiice - like sugar and spice! I feeeeeeel goood.. I knew that I would now”.. etc etc… Yep, me and James Brown just kept running. And we were passing people. This was very unfamiliar territory. I NEVER pass people - especially on the tail end of a tri! Something weird was happening. I couldn’t put my finger on it. So I just kept running.
I can say that in this race I gave it everything I had……. I was fully spent at the end. What a great feeling!!!!!
Post race we grabbed a snack and packed up our gear. On the way out of the park, we stopped briefly at the posted results to see if our watches synched up…. Lo and behold ~ there it was in print: “Division Place - 3″. Huh? Wha???
Disbelief set in. I squinted at the page. I followed the line across from my name with my finger. Nawww. This can’t be right. How is this even possible? I called in reinforcements - people with much better eye sight than I - to confirm that I was, indeed, reading the board correctly. The reinforcements confirmed the news.
Yep - third in my age group. Wow. Talk about miracles! I got a fancy bronze medal and everything.
And, to think I wasn’t even going to show up….. hmmm.. ..Is there a life lesson in that, or what?
Workout:
September 15th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
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Okay….so it was Supah-fast for me… a beautiful, hilly ride on a sunny day in the foothills of Mt. Rainier. If there is a better way to spend a Sunday morning, I’d like to hear about it!
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September 15th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
(Swim)
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Swimming in the bath tub with a few hundred friends……there’s nothing like it! :-) (The lake was a crystal-smooth oasis and the water was about 65 degrees…….ahhhhhhhhhh!)
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September 13th, 2008 at 9:53 am
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Trust September to bring summer to Seattle. Reliably, Seattle gets warm and sunny in September. It’s supposed to be 80 degrees on race day tomorrow. And that marks the end of tri season… How does that work?
Oh well, it will be good to look ahead to what is next. I’m not sure what that is yet…. maybe some yoga? Maybe some plyometrics. I think 09 will be about speed and power. Hmmm…
One more sleep….
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September 12th, 2008 at 7:43 am
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Just a notice: I’m writing less and less. It’s more ‘reporting’ than it is blogging. Hmmmm. Do I have less to say?
Two more sleeps…. this taper-less-is-more has been a treat!
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September 9th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
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Good run to keep the juice flowing………plus a stretch…. only 5 more sleeps.
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