Army 10 Miler Report

Well yesterday I ran my favorite race for the 7th time in 8 years. It is the Army 10 Miler and it is a wonderful race. Festivities start by the Pentagon with paratroopers coming down from airplanes so high you didn't see them pass by. Suddenly a group of parachuters start showing up in the sky with red colored smoke ribboning behind them. They have expert control, twirling and whirling and landing in the middle of a four laned road beautifully. Later a group of Black Hawk helicopters fly close over our heads with amazing formation, so close I was afraid their blades would hit one another, but that is what they are trained for. Then the National Anthem is sung sans music, by a man with a voice like an angel. The whole crowd gets dead silent, stands with their hands over their heart looking at the flags right next to the 9/11 memorial, facing the side of the Pentagon the plane hit on that awful day. You can tell the whole crowd is thinking about it. The anthem ends and the energy picks up.

The wounded soldiers and wheel chair competitors start first, then the wave of fast runners, and lastly the wave of the recreational runners, which is where I am. I run past the pentagon across the Potomac river, and right by the Lincoln Memorial. We run into Georgetown and by the Kennedy Center. I pass a lot of people, one of which is one of the wounded soldiers, running with a prosthetic leg. I love this race so much. My time is fabulous, 9:10 splits, I feel great, but do feel a new discomfort on the arch of my left foot. It is not something I've dealt with before and I do not worry about it, figuring it will work itself out as I get warmed up and my form improves. We run past the Washington Monument, along the mall. I hit the 10K mark and start to feel a little tired. I realize at the same time my pelvis isn't level, so I concentrate on that, but it is hard as the scenery is amazing... not to mention I spend the entire race weaving through the crowd LOL. We pass the Capitol building, down the other side of the street and back towards the river again. I feel that burn on my arch again, darn. It reminds me to concentrate on form, I feel that legless running again. There is music in various places along the race, played by Army bands. The best one was the group playing the Eye of the Tiger, I pass them twice the way the course goes and it gives me new energy. If only they could run next to me and play the rest of the way! I start on the last two miles back, it is the hardest part of the race with rolling hills due to multiple bridges and practically no shade. Suddenly my arch starts complaining again and this time it is BAD. I immediately get to the side and stop. I take off my sock and dang, I had a blister there, that popped itself, and lost the top layer of skin. I am mad at myself for not taking it seriously sooner. I have a mile and a half left of the race, and am in the middle of a very long bridge. I consider dropping out, but help is only ahead. I take my orthodic out, which is what was rubbing the spot, and get instant relief. I run forward thinking I can quit the race sooner and just go to the meeting spot where my husband is picking me up, but that spot is literally 100 yards from the finish line, and the foot is much better now that I am carrying the orthodic so I work on my form, relax my shoulders, level my pelvis, foot strike beneath me, and finish the race with a surprise sprint (I had thought I was tired!). My overall time works out to 9:45 min miles. It is my second best time ever. Even with stopping and tending to the blister LOL. In fact it is my fastest time in 6 years, when I was in my 20's and way thinner. Take that traditional running, chi running works!

I swam in the Potomac and lived to tell about it

That's right, I successfully finished the Nation's Triathlon on Sunday! I couldn't be more proud of myself for finishing. Not only that, I finished way ahead of my anticipated times. So much, in fact, that my friends who came to watch me missed me completely LOL. Doubled edged there, but I still got to see them after the race for a picnic by the water, which was lovely. I want to post a longer report on the race, but I'm waiting for more pictures to illustrate. In the meantime, here are a few my hubby took on his iPhone:I'm down there...somewhere. Next year I'm buying a wetsuit and having a big pink star put on my butt so hubby can see me from the bridge.


Along the run. No pics of me on the bike, hubby said I went by too fast, now that's what I like to hear!


Post race picnic with friends. I had whole grained bread and a vegan egg salad sandwich (then went home, took a nap, and had a second lunch, ha!).



I finished!! Proudly wearing my medal, I wore it all day :).


On the way back to our car, stopped for a little tourist moment. I mean, how cool is that????

Getting the right gear--lady gear that is

Let me start by apologizing to my dad and brother should they be reading this, because I sent them my blog link not long ago before I anticipated everything I might write. Today I want to talk about triathlon gear, specifically bras. I have been noticing over the year how much running and exercise gear has grown to embrace women of all sizes. Of course they were late in catching up, but they caught up none the less! Well it seems that triathlon gear has some work to do.

It seems that triathlon gear typically just has little shelf bras in them for support, and that won't work for this 34 F (also known as 34 DDD). I have long known Champion to have bras that fit the more well endowed women. These bras have led me through 2 marathons, a half marathon, countless 10 milers and even more 10 K races. The problem is that they are heavy on the cotton. Not as big of a deal if you are on land, but they definitely pose a problem if you are in water transitioning to land.

I recently did a search of all my usual online retailers, even calling the customer service number of a few to ask for assistance. I was told to wear two bras, given suggestions that I know were just to sell things no one else wants, and basically told I was out of luck by one. I went in-person to stores. The poor sales people never know what to make of me when I state my problem and it is very amusing to watch them try to avoid staring at my chest when I tell them the size I need. They suggested competitive swim tops underneath a tri suit. Hah, likely story, that might work for a B cup, maybe even a C... but not when you get to DDD.

I had started asking everyone I knew who did athletics, even people who weren't close to my size. They had to know someone else with this issue, right? Well as it turns out they did! And they all just wear a normal sports bra. I had begun to resign myself to the fact that I would just be sloshy when I got out of the water, that moisture wicking and fast drying fabrics were that of only skinny athletes--you know, the ones that actually might place in their races. Imagine my surprise when I go into Nordstrom one day and figured I might as well ask. Luckily the sales people there are used to any and every request and nary a twitchy eye trying not to look downward occurred before the sales lady ran off to the back room and came back with the perfect bra. It is a Freya, and goes up to 38H. Yes H. It's moisture wicking, and after trying it out under my tri suit on my open water swims, a practice triathlon, and a sprint triathlon I can say it will fit the bill for the Nation's Triathlon in two weeks.

It's all about Performance

I can't take credit for the movie, didn't make it but sure enjoyed it! Thanks Ann Margaret for sending it my way, it made my day.

Professional photos from my event.

Since I haven't bought any photos yet, you can go right to the professional photographers site to see pics of me in the event:

Professional Photos from the Luray Sprint Triathlon 2009

I wish the first one of me out of the water has my eyes open all the way, that one would be my favorite otherwise. And for some reason I tensed up once I noticed the photographer getting shots of me on my bike. I just want to yell to the photo me "relax those shoulders!"

Anywho, what do you think, which photo(s) should I get?

I'm a finisher! Luray sprint tri report

Well it's official, I'm a triathlete! I finished my first ever triathlon yesterday and the Luray Sprint Triathlon event. Conditions were hot and muggy, but I persevered. Here's a run down of the day:

Woke up at 4:45 fed the dogs and threw my gear in the car. Ate breakfast in the car on the way, and watched the sun rise as I hit the local roads. Gorgeous drive, and it seemed the only people I saw on the road had bikes on the car--probably all going the same place! I arrived at the site 15 minutes after registration opened, there were already maybe 100 people there. Spectators setting up chairs, volunteers getting things organized, and athletes preparing their gear.

I set up with the help of experienced athletes around me. The told me what the little number in my packet was for (my helmet!). And gave me tips like how the number falls off easily so you use duct tape to give it some added staying power. I ran into my friend Melissa at that point and her 4 time Ironman boyfriend gave us a lesson in how to set up an efficient transition. Melissa and I were both doing this race as a warm up for the Nation's Triathlon (olympic distance) next month and were greatful for the help.

I went down to the lake side for the swim start. I was in the second wave, behind the 34 and under men and in front of the master's men. I stood in the back and to the side, waited a few seconds after the other swimmers started and then started swimming. No panic, no fear, just joy and swimming. I kept my pace way down, stayed at warm up pace the whole way and to the side. Tried drafting but couldn't find anyone I wanted to draft off of. Ah well. By the third buoy I felt warmed up and graceful. As I got near the last 1/3 the first Master's swimmer caught up to me, and I was catching up to the stragglers from the 34 and under men in front of me. As I rounded the last buoy the pack of Master's men caught up. I was soooo nervous at this point, convinced they would literally swim right on top of me as they raced for the finish. They bumped into me a bit but swam around me. My heart rate was up at this point, I was glad I was almost done, but VERY proud. Even the photographer commented that I was smiling from the second I got out of the water.

The transition was across the beach and up 2 flights of stairs, and my bike was at the top of a hill after that. I ran until I got to the bottom of the hill and then figured it wasn't worth it. Dried off, got on my shoes and socks, put my helmet and gloves on and was off. I passed another Athena on the first uphill, wahooo! Got to 38.8 mph on the first big downhill and pretended I didn't have to go back up that on the way back. I started to count how many people I passed, a few from my division, a 23 year old, a 71 year old, a Clydesdale, they all counted! Many more passed me, but it didn't matter I felt like a winner with each person I passed. It was a hilly course and I finally reached that long hill. I thought I'd never get to the top, my computer said I was going 3.8 mph at the very top. I considered getting off my bike and walking, but refused, I would conquer this hill! The volunteers at the top were screaming and cheering and I couldn't let them down!

Reached the transition and the guy next to me had racked his bike wrong, I could no longer get my bike in the rack, I ran around it three times trying to figure it out and finally had to lift the bar up with brute force to get my bike under and racked properly. Grabbed my running gear and was off. The run was hilly, but mostly downhill on the way out, this did not bode well for the run back. I saw runners walking up this one hill on their way back. I scoffed, that would not be me! Ha!! By the time I got back to that uphill on this 90 degree humid day I decided I didn't care for a case of heat stroke and walked up it too. I think everyone did. Made it to the finish line smiling and standing in 2 hours and 16 minutes. I was hoping for better times all around, but really, just glad for the success of finishing.

Race tomorrow!

Tomorrow will be my first triathlon ever. It wasn't supposed to be that way, I was supposed to make the Nation's Triathlon my first, which is still a month away. I had hopes of my first triathlon ever being Olympic distance, and figured the glory of finishing it would be greater. That is, of course, until I discovered how much I was unnerved by open water swimming. So tomorrow I am doing a sprint triathlon as a way of practicing for the race and getting another shot at open water swim practice (around here there aren't many options!).

Today I am taking my bike in for a tune up and getting together the massive amount of gear I'll be carting out to Luray, VA. I don't know what I'll need or use so I am planning for all possibilities I can come up with.

I'm also not quite sure how to taper for a race that is just a training race. I skipped my run yesterday, which suited me fine, I want my plantar fasciitis to be well rested, too. Today I was scheduled for a big distance swim in the pool and a 90 minute ride. I skipped the pool, not wanting to tire those muscles out before tomorrow and cut my ride down to 60 minutes. I wanted to go futher, I felt great, and definitely am faster now, but the race tomorrow will be hilly and I'm not great on hills. Well not the uphills anyways, there's a benefit to being a larger racer on the downhills. The last time I rode a hilly course I hit 35 mph on some of the downhills, and I held back! In any case, wish me luck tomorrow!

The Fear of Open Water Swimming

Hi my name is Heather and I'm scared of Open Water Swimming. Yes, I know, I grew up on a lake, spent my summers splashing in the water for hours on end. I've sunk my feet in lake mud, I've waddled through deep water weeds, I'm fairly certain I stepped on a turtle once, and I've definitely had fish nibble at my toes. I loved every moment of it. So why is it when I am faced with the prospect of swimming 1500 meters in the Potomac do I get sweaty palms and wide eyes?

Ok, I know what you are thinking, anyone in their right mind would be freaked about getting in the Potomac, it's filthy. Well that's true, it isn't like the clear lake I grew up on, but I don't expect dead bodies and hypodermic needles to float by. At least not by the time I get in the water, the front swimmers will have already pushed them aside by the time I get there.

What I fear is that I will get tired. So tired I will want to rest, but I can't. Certainly not in a river with a current that make take me backwards, certainly not in a huge crowd of 6,000 competitors who will want to get by, and certainly not the second I want to as I'll have to find a kayaker first who doesn't have other scared first time triathletes clinging on like barnacles on a boat. It is a dangerous game of what if, because the truth is I will get tired, it's an event that is planned to test your athletic prowess and determination. Triathlons seemed designed so that you use every muscle in your body over three events to remind you of how human you really are.

I have scoured over countless articles on the web, looking for magic words that will turn me into a swimming machine. I have found wisdom all the way from "don't get yourself worked up" (thanks genius) to "concentrate internally on your form and forget the external" (not too bad of advice). But I have yet to find magic words to take away the fear. I have discovered that it is a very real fear for many people. Everyone I polled in my training program at the pool last night expressed a fear. So I know I won't be alone.

The fact of the matter is I don't have control over the circumstances of my swim. The water will be murky whether I want it to or not, there will be an unknown amount of kayakers with room to take me, they may or may not see me flail, I may swim off course, I may swim into someone, someone may kick me in the head or a stray elbow may send my goggles flying. What I can control is limited in scope and hard to remember when the panic sets in, but I am going to do what I can, put one arm in front of the other and when all else fails, channel my inner Dori.

An Introduction, please to meet ya!

Running had been my exercise of choice off and on since I was 14. It was the one sport you needed relatively little skill in to get started, and I fell in love with it immediately. I was never a fast runner, in fact most of the time I would be better described as a jogger, but I was dedicated. I loved finding different road races to run, from 10K’s to marathons—because really isn’t running the best way to see a city? In training for what I hoped to be my 3rd marathon (Disney Marathon 2009) I found myself with a case of plantar fasciitis I couldn't shake. I'd had it before and orthotics cleared it up, but not this time. I tried cross training in the hopes I could keep up my fitness and finish the race, but alas two weeks before I had to drop out. However, in the process something else happened, I realized that I enjoyed cross-training! It was practically a shameful secret, I was cheating on my beloved sport and not only that, it suited me. It was when I was substituting a series of activities instead of a 20 miler that I made this discovery. I did an hour swim in the pool, and hour on the bike, and an hour on the elliptical and when I was done I though, well heck, I just did a triathlon. And so I was bitten by the bug and I signed up for the Nation’s Triathlon scheduled for 9/13/09.

In June I started training with a local coaching program that integrates Total Immersion Swimming and Chi running, both of which are forms I already practice. Well as best I can anyways. I’ve already had quite a few adventures along the way and I can already see more coming, so I am starting this blog to chronicle the adventures. I may be the only one who reads it, or the only one who cares, but that’s reason enough for me!