My Oh My

Where has the week gone? I have been feeling a little under the weather this week and have neglected my blog. I feel like a cold is coming, but it just doesn't want to. This was supposed to be the week I started getting into shape for the triathlon. However, I decided against it because of sinus pain & pressure. Sinus trouble makes for unpleasant enough days without adding running into the mix.

Speaking of the triathlon, the sign-up opens tomorrow for the Chicagoland Danskin Tri. I will be signing up soon, but need to talk to Erin about signing up by age group or mixed age. I screwed that up last year, but I think it worked out well other than missing her crossing the finish line. :(

2008 Danskin Triathlon Race Schedule

Yesterday while browsing the Danksin Triathlon website, I ran across the schedule for next year. Registration will open around Februaray 7, 2008! Anyone care to join me? :)

It's Up!

Scroll down to July 7th & July 8th entries to read about my first triathlon experience. If I could sign up today for next year, I would do it without hesitation! I have already set new goals and will begin to work on those next week. :)

Also Up

Triathlon Pictures! You can see the shots Bob & Olivia were able to get at flickr.com.

I should have a few more to post, but I don't know when I will have access to those. Danskin had photographers every step of the way. I am waiting to hear word those pictures are ready. My fingers are crossed they had a photographer at the finish line. Bob & Olivia were there, but didn't see me.

Tomorrow, I Promise!

Bob took a few days vacation this week. We have just been enjoying time together. I have my story ready to go. I will type it up and post tomorrow. In the meantime, here is a story to inspire...

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/432483,181NWS4.article

Amazing, isn't it?

Tri THANK YOU!

The Danskin Triathlon was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I need sometime let everything soak in and write about the weekend. I want to express the emotion I felt during the event for all of you who supported me. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for that support. I could not have done this without you.

I Am a Triathlete

I was up just before 3:00 AM, and we were on the road by 4:20 AM. We had to catch a shuttle from Dairyland Greyhound Park to the race site. Parking and catching the shuttle were a piece of cake. (Erin was not so lucky! She left her house about an hour after we left ours. Arrived to near Dairyland at about 6:00 AM and waited in traffic for over an hour.)

Bob & Olivia were with me. I sat with them for a few minutes before I went to set up my transition area. Unfortunately, I made a rookie mistake when I racked my bike yesterday. I left too much space between my bike and the one on the end. My bike was "bumped" from the second to the third spot on the rack. Still easy to find.

I joined Bob & Olivia again for a little while. We were watching for Erin not knowing how she was stuck in the horrible traffic. The start of the race was actually delayed because of the traffic. They also allowed anyone who missed their swim wave to join one when they were ready.

At about 7AM I began walking over to the swim start area. A slow take in all the sights & sounds walk. As I walked along the run path, I wondered about the stories of these women. About half way along the path, I came across a woman who had just finished chemo treatments. Her complexion was beautiful & flawless. I will carry the image of her in my mind always. As I passed her, the emotion of the day began to hit me. A tear trickled down my cheek. As competitors continued to walk a man began to speak about Danskin Triathlon traditions and other things that would happen today. A beautiful instrumental played for a few minutes before the National Anthem. The woman who sang it had a beautiful voice. The emotion of the day hit me again at that point and a few more tears flowed.

It was now time for the triathlon to get underway. The first wave, The Elite, are brought down into the water. They have a few minutes with Sally Edwards, National Spokeswoman for the Danskin Women's Triathlon Series. The Danskin traditional countdown began. 10 9 8... and the first wave was off! The event I have worked so hard to prepare for is here.

The second wave, Survivors, is brought to the water. Just about 30 seconds until they are on their way. The following waves go every 4 minutes!

I finally spot Erin in the crowd. She didn't get to see the start of the event because of the traffic at the shuttle pick up site. While I missed her & am sad she missed the start of the event, I was (am) thankful I had that alone time to experience the sights, sounds, and emotions of the day.

Erin & I talked for a few minutes before I headed over to the swim start to join my fellow yellow capped, 35-39 year olds. We visited with one another. Talked about race numbers, triathlon training, our strengths/weaknesses, and triathlon experience. There was only one other woman near me who was a first timer. The veterans encouraged us! Suddenly, the crowd behind us and to the right began to roar. The first runner was coming by. She completed the .5 mile swim, the 12 mile bike, and part of the 3 mile run before we were even hitting the water. I would estimate she did that in less than 45 minutes.

As our group was "on deck" for the swim Disco Inferno by The Trammps played. We all sang and danced to keep loose and get pepped up. The 15th wave was off and that means we are next. Looking around I see a few women who look a little nervous about the swim. The group I was talking to all looked pretty confident. We are in the front line of the wave. I was front & center! :) One of the Danskin Angels, the swim volunteers, leads us in some cheering. Asks us a few questions about who we are going to pass first (pink caps -- wave 15), and who we aren't going to let pass (green caps -- wave 17). She then gave us a word to remember as we go through the day - FANTASTIC! We are to use that word to remind us we are fantastic swimmers, fantastic bikers, fantastic runners, and fantastic triathletes. The countdown begins 10 9 8... and we were off. It felt really great, but the sun glared made sighting something on shore very difficult. Twice I swam outside the buoys and had to swim back to the right. I still felt like I was making really good time. I could see myself passing pink caps and only saw one green cap pass me. Bob said in my wave there were only about six women out of the water before me.

Swim Time 00:16:28
Rank 1065/3919

I ran to my bike. T1 went quickly and pretty well. I know I can shave more time off of it for next year.

T1 Time 00:03:11

The bike was tough. A lot tougher than I had anticipated due to the high winds, the heat, and the HILLS! I also need to look into getting a road bike for these events. The wide mountain bike tires are killers on a road in a race.

Bike Time 00:57:07
Rank 3051/3919 (UGH -- definitely needs work)

I hopped off the bike at the dismount point and my legs felt like Jell-O -- not the bricks I was expecting. Ah, a watering station. I wove my way between the racks to my area. I racked my bike and I was off.

T2 Time 00:02:04

Ah, another splash of water before I ran. My legs didn't feel too bad at all when I began the run. I think to myself I might be able to run the whole thing. I guess I though that too soon because shortly I felt my heart rate soar. I slowed to a slow jog. A lady points out that I had forgotten to take off my helmet after the bike. Oh, crap (excuse my french...lol)! I take it off and try to figure out what I am going to do with it. I thought about throwing it down in the grass, but eventually I looped the strap onto my tank top. Looking back, I should have thrown it down. Bob saw me running with the helmet and when I took it off. He was trying to run after me to get it. He said it was pretty sad he couldn't catch me even after I had just finished the swim & the bike when he had done nothing but walk...lol.

The heat during the first half of the run was brutal. I did a little running and walking. I wanted to be able to RUN across that finish line and wanted to conserve that energy so I could. The watering station at about half way was a welcome sight. As was the Jelly Belly Sports Beans station, but neither of those were as good as the hose the firefighters had to spray us. I drank the water, ate half a package of the sports beans, and enjoyed the water from the hose. The course continued on about a quarter mile before we got to turn around and enjoy those three stations again. At the half mile left mark we got the biggest boost any triathlete could hope for -- an open fire hydrant! More pressure than that hose and just what I needed to refresh me for the home stretch. I ran the entire last mile and it was so exciting to see the word FINISH up ahead. Sally Edwards was there cheering us on, and as we crossed the finish line our names were announced and we were given a medal!

Run Time 00:43:40
Rank 3076/3919

Total Time 02:02:33
Overall Rank 2636/3919
Class Rank (35-39) 460/578

I did it! I am a triathlete!

Danskin Triathlon Expo

Erin & I arrived near the race venue at 10:00 AM. Right on time. The line of traffic waiting to enter the lot was backed up at least a mile. We sat & waited about 30 minutes before we were able to get into the lot & park.

We entered the Lakeview RecPlex at about 10:35 AM. The room was full of the buzz of excitement & anticipation of tomorrow's event.

Erin & I split up to make picking up race materials go more quickly. Turned out to be a great plan. Our lines were about the same length, and we finished at about the same time. When picking up our materials we found out our swim waves. I was wave #16 - Yellow & Erin was #28 - Purple. (The colors are the color of cap our wave wore.) We then had our timing chips scanned to verify all the information linked to them was correct.

Then we were off to pick up our shirts, swim caps, and great bag from Danskin. There were goodies all around from race sponsors. The best by far had to be the folding tool from the great people at Trek.

Neither of us thought the first timer's overview would help us with anything we could change the day before the race so we skipped it. There was still a lot of time until the next course overview so we decided to skip it too. I don't think we would have been any better prepared had we seen either one of those. We knew the course, we swam in that lake before, and were as pepped as we were going to be at that point in time.

We went back to the car to get out bikes for racking. The line for racking had to be about a mile long when we got back from the car. Fortunately, a volunteer opened another gate for racking & we weren't too far from it. We split up again to rack and met back at the gate. I got a great spot. My rack was about half way between the swim finish & the run start. I was lucky to be able to get a spot near the end of the rack. Erin got a great spot too, but she was closer to the bike start/finish than I was. At this point we were both hating the heat and were a little worried about how it would affect us tomorrow.

A quick stop at The Brat Stop for lunch, and then we headed home. I relaxed most of the afternoon & evening. I planned on heading to bed early, but wasn't that tired. I didn't want to lie in bed awake thinking about how I should be sleeping so I stayed up until about 10:30.

OH NO!

As you all know, the triathlon is Sunday! Look at the forecast -- 96 degrees with a "real feel" of 99 -- UGH! Hopefully, it will stay mostly cloudy. I hate to think of what that temp would say if it was supposed to be a clear day.

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

I will be drinking LOTS of fluids! Hopefully, not much of the fluid will be Lake Andrea water...LOL!

Thursday Thirteen #27

Happy 100th week to the Thursday Thirteen! To help celebrate the gang at TT asked us to...

…write about your thirteen favorite Thursday Thirteen posts. You can write about thirteen of your own T13 posts, or you can write about the T13 posts of others that you’ve enjoyed. Be sure to link to each of the 13 posts you highlight so we can all check them out easily.

I have decided to respectfully decline rebel. There are SO many great TTs I have run across since I stumbled upon the TT meme. It would be a lot of work to go back and find all those that I enjoyed. (I will give you my three favorite 'teeners: This Eclectic Life, J's Thoughts & Musings, and Life is RANTastic! Actually, I enjoy reading their blogs daily!)


Instead I am reviving my 22nd TT to make sure I have everything I need for my triathlon. Yes, time is ticking. I can't believe it is Sunday!

Thirteen Things I Need to Bring on Triathlon Day!

1. Timing chip and strap (given with race materials during pick up Saturday morning)

2. Swim cap with race numbers (given with race materials)

3. Clear goggles & tinted goggles (CHECK!)

4. Towels (small to stage transition area, medium to dry feet before putting on shoes.) (CHECK! CHECK!)

5. Bike helmet with race number affixed to front (CHECK! given with race materials)

6. Fix-a-flat kit & bike pump (CHECK! CHECK!)

7. Running shoes/socks (CHECK! CHECK!)

8. Shirt I plan to wear during the run with race numbers pinned to it. (given with race materials)

9. Sunglasses (CHECK!)

10. Food/snacks to eat during and/or after race (CHECK! CHECK!)

11. Bottled water/fluid replacement drink on full bottle in cage on bike to drink during the bike leg. Additional fluids to enjoy after the race. (CHECK! CHECK!)

12. Sunscreen, chapstick, Body Glide, & pain meds (CHECK! CHECK! CHECK! CHECK!)

13. Cell phone (CHECK!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Fantastic Fundraising

As promised, here is an update on my fundraising. I have raised money through the ChipIn! in the right sidebar here, the official Danskin online link, a letter campaign, and pink paper ribbons at a local restaurant. My total as of this afternoon, is $582*.

I am THRILLED. The day I signed up I set $250 as my goal. I had never raised funds for an event such as this for myself and thought my original goal was almost out of reach. I kept the faith, kept working hard, and I did it!

I could not do it without you! I thank you for your support and generosity from the bottom of my heart!

*This total does not include any donations sent directly to the address on the donation form I included with the letter.

Triathlon Fashion

I know it's not a fashion show, but I was a little worried about biking and running in a regular swimming suit with something else over the top. I found and ordered the solution. It arrived today, and I LOVE it!


It's an all in one suit! All I have to worry about after the swim is getting to my bike putting on my socks, shoes & helmet. I will also pull a shirt with my race number pinned to it over the top. Transition to the run will be park bike and remove helmet. Easy peasy!! :)

Erin & I headed out the lake for a .75 mile swim and 9 mile bike ride this morning. Since running is my weakest leg of the event, I will run twice this week. That's it for this week's training. My schedule calls for light training this week and next. The event is less than two weeks away! It's coming fast and I am so excited!

Tomorrow I will give you a fundraising update. It's exciting!

Open Water Swim

Sunday morning my friend Erin & I met in the lot at a local McDonald's bright & early to set out for Lake Andrea (this is where the tri will take place)! There is lap swimming available in Lake Andrea each morning from 7 - 10. We decided to face this beast so we know what to expect on race day.

I cannot describe the anxiety we felt seeing that lake in person knowing we would have to swim across it, but not knowing what part we would have to swim. We thanked our lucky stars when the very helpful lady in the pool house knew. She also knew how many laps we had to swim to equal approximately the distance across between the points she showed us. It didn't look so bad.

We changed into our suits, headed to the sand. Put our toes in the water, it was cold. Walked in a little further, it was cold and there is squishy green stuff under our feet. We walked a tiny bit more, it was cold! Count of three, we're going under. This isn't so bad!! We swim the short distance to the lane markers. The lane was approximately 180 meters. We swim one and the whole time we are thinking what did we get ourselves into? LOL! The next lap was even better. We swam six laps! That was just over 1180 yards. We only need to swim 880 in the event. We think we can do this.

Sunday morning we are following the same plan, but we are going to bring our bikes along and ride after our swim. Anyone care to join us? ;)

More Tri Progress

Things just got really busy on the fundraising front! The friend I am doing the triathlon with works at our favorite local grill & bar. It is owned by her parents. I met her there Tuesday afternoon to cut out 200 card stock pink ribbons. She came up with the design, and they look GREAT! Yesterday, I ran (not literally ran...lol) the signs I made up over there to "advertise" our efforts!

My sign!

I finished up my fundraising letters yesterday and they are going out today. I am at $285 right now and hope to break the $500 mark before the end of June!

As for the training for the week, I am slightly behind with running & swimming. Memorial Day along with a daughter who can't seem to get the concept of bringing her dirty clothes down to the hamper got me off track.

Totals so far:

Mon: 25 minute run
Tue: 85 minute bike (that was 17 miles to & from the restaurant where we cut out the ribbons)
Wed: REST
Thu: 30 minute swim
Total: 140

Remaining training for the week (day I plan to get it in): 35 min run (Fri), 25 min swim (Sat), & 20 min run. The total training time for the week is schedule to be 205 minutes. If I get all this in my time will be 220 minutes. I thought I was going to be behind with all the extra stuff I had this week. It's good to know I am ahead of schedule. Next week's 245 minutes is going to be tough, but then it begins to taper off as the event approaches.

Training Totals

Here are my training totals for the week so far.

Mon: 40 minute bike
Tue: 35 minute run
Wed: REST
Thu: 30 minute swim
Fri: 50 minute bike
Tot: 155 minutes

My training schedule calls for 215 minutes total this week. I have a 25 minute swim and 35 minute run left to complete. I plan to do those over the weekend.

I continue to do a light strength program while training for the tri. Since I posted about the 8.5 lb loss on May 8, I have only lost another half a pound. While I the numbers on the scale aren't moving much, I do see a difference in my body and how my clothes fit. Most importantly how I feel. I enjoy biking, running, and swimming. I plan to keep it up after the tri!

I have been eating healthy and only have one Diet Pepsi a day. (One soad per day is a HUGE improvement for me.) I need to to track what I am eating to see if I am eating enough calories to fuel my body for the increased exercise. I am wondering if that is why the pounds are coming off so slowly. I don't mind them coming off slowly. Those are the ones that stay off, but I am curious to see if that might be the cause. I am so close to getting into those capris & shorts from last year.

Thursday Thirteen #22

As you can see, time is ticking away until the triathlon. Since it is on my mind a lot lately, I decided to list thirteen of the things I will need to bring with me on race day. Of course, this list is not all inclusive. I have a much longer list sitting with the rest of my race stuff. This could be a continuing TT topic! ;)

Thirteen Things Things I Need to Bring on Triathlon Day!

1. Timing chip and strap

2. Swim cap and race numbers given with race materials during pick up

3. Goggles

4. Towel

5. Bike helmet with race number affixed to front

6. Fix-a-flat kit & bike pump

7. Running shoes/socks

8. Shirt I plan to wear during the run with race numbers pinned to it.

9. Sunglasses

10. Food/snacks to eat during and/or after race.

11. Bottled water/fluid replacement drink on full bottle in cage on bike to drink during the bike leg. Additional fluids to enjoy after the race.

12. Sunscreen

13. Cell phone

I didn't mention bike because it will already be there. We pick up race materials and lock our bikes in the staging area the day before the race.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Tri Training

This is for you Martha! ;)

Saturday was such a beautiful day here so I decided to go on a training run, but combine it with a walk. I walked a little over 4 miles from home and ran back only stopping once during. I walked for about five minutes and continue my run! Boy, did that feel good. I am pretty sure I got to the 3.1 mile mark before I had to stop.

Today I went on a nice bike ride. I don't know the exact mileage, but got a pretty close number from usatf.org/routes/map/. It was 8.25 miles in about 40 minutes. No resting here. I think the challenge with the bike portion will come after swimming half a mile.

To kind of try to tackle that, I plan to bike to & from one of my swimming sessions each week. This week I will probably do that on Thursday! It's less than three miles from home, but I think it will tell me a lot about how it will feel to swim then ride!

Two Months and Counting

The triathlon is two months from today! Here's where I am at:

1. I am up able to run a little over 2 miles at this point. When I started training a month ago, I couldn't even run a mile. (The run is 3.1 miles.)

2. I am able to swim 600 yards without stopping. (The swim is half a mile which is 880 yards.)

3. I am able to bike 15 miles without being too run down. (The bike is 12.4 miles.)

4. I have lost 8.5 lbs! (Still have a little to lose to get into my capris from last summer.)

5. I have DRASTICALLY cut my Diet Pepsi consumption. Until about two weeks ago, I drank Diet Pepsi ALL day long. I probably had 8-10 cans a day. The most I have had on any day since I got sick is ONE. This past Friday & Saturday I didn't have a single one. I have replaced the sodas with water & iced green tea.

6. I have passed my fundraising goal of $250 and haven't sent out letters other than to online contacts. (I need to get these out this week!)

I think I am in good shape, but need to keep it up! This week is a heavy training week with workouts Monday - Friday. Next week is really light. Then it builds as the date gets closer with light workouts the week prior to the event.

Tri Triumphs!

Today, I had two triathlon triumphs. One in training & one in fundraising!

First the training triumph: I ran 3 miles in 40 minutes today. I did slow to a fast walk twice, but that was for less than half a mile.

The fundraising triumph: Even though the ChipIn! Widget to the right says $210, I am at my goal of $250 with a few donations that have been made through the other options!

Just because I am at my fundraising goal that doesn't mean I am going to stop! I would LOVE to raise even more for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and National Association of TEAM Survivor.

Again, I would like to thank those who have already made a donation! I appreciate your generosity!

These April Showers Bring

Snow plowers -- UGH! We have about 6 inches of snow on the ground. It began this morning with rain, turned to small snowflakes at about 6:30 AM, then around 9:30 the flakes were GIANT. It was like it was snowing snowballs. The flakes returned to a more normal size and it continued until about 4 this afternoon. Guess what it turned to then. Yep -- RAIN! The rain will turn back to snow overnight and is supposed to leave another 2-3 inches.

Time to shovel what has pretty much turned into six inches of slush!

Today's Tri Training: 40 minutes on bike (inside of course) for 10.2 miles! A light work out on the strength training circuit. 20 minutes in the pool. I didn't keep track of the laps just swam until I needed to rest for a bit and then started again. Did this twice for about 10 minutes each.