Guess Where I was This Past Weekend?

Let me share my weekend with you in pictures.

 

Sister Madonna Buder "Iron Nun"

Chrissie

Matt

Chrissie and the camera man

Lindsay

Why they do this

Guess Where I Will be on November 20th, 2011?

Congratulations! You are now registered for 2011 Ironman Arizona

Miami Man Race Report

 And so the day begins....

 I had numerous requests to have a picture taken with the "Nemo" swim cap on

 The swim cap seems to be a hit with everyone who sees it.

 The HIM started before the Olympic distance race so I had lots of down time (1.25 hours to be exact)

 Finally my wave (the last one) takes off

 The fins at work

 The sun was blinding on the long stretch to the finish. I couldn't see anything or anybody in front of me and went off course. Fortunately a a guy in a kayak got me back on course before I cut it without even knowing it.

 Bike time. This was a long way to the bike mount line

 I plan on purchasing this pic so I feel it is ok to use it :)

 bike complete. Very flat and strait course (not used to that in CO). Some winds on the return but overall a good ride. First time I have raced a course that I hadn't even laid my eyes on.

 Well, I knew it would have to come sometime. The dreaded run. Nice "Tri Tats" don't you think?

 At the first aid station right outside of transition and I am already prepping to pour H20 over my head. It was getting hot!

 Check out the elephants :)  I made it a point to smile at the camera. I never think to smile so of course the reaction from my friends who saw this pic was a repeated "you smiled" or "nice smile". 

Both feet seem to be on the ground but my upper body looks like there is movement.

 At the finish, determined to hit the timing mat (I always worry my time will be missed. Don't know why)

This picture cracks me up!   I was again practicing my smile and pose for the camera but I look like I am in shock that I actually finished.

 Happy to be done and in one piece. I drank tons of fluids during this race and survived without GI issues.

By far the cutest medal I have ever received!

Over all things went well. I started way in the back on the swim and ended up 8th out of 35. This includes a detour off course due to swimming into the sun and not being able to see anything or anybody (literally).  At one point I had to stop and tried to shade my eyes to try and see where I was going but it didn’t work. (The swim was a .6 mile swim). I was number 3 out of 35 on the bike and I am very happy with this. Like I have said in other posts, the bike is my strength.  For all women, I was 40 out of 232 (my little victory before the run)

My run was slow but I am OK with that (this time).  I walked every aid station and spent the time to put ice in my hat on at least three of the (6.6 miles). I drank at every aid station and drank almost all of my bottles on the fuel belt. (I also drank my whole aero bottle full of Infinite and almost a whole other bottle of water while on the bike).  I was drinking a lot! I took four Salt Stick capsules (two on bike and two on the run) and had some Gu Chomps on the bike as well. At about mile two of the run I wasn’t feeling all that well. I walked a short bit and then started to get my second wind after that. A brief period of clouds/shade was a life saver and I just worked on keeping my HR at a certain level which seemed to help.  I ran almost the entire run except the aid stations. I must have looked like I needed ice as one of the volunteers offered it to me before I even asked.  I felt pretty good at the end and didn’t really have any problems after that.  So, an uneventful finish, thank goodness .(17th out of 35 in my age group. Once I figure out how to run, watch out people..LOL)  I was supposed to do this race last year but surgery put an end to that. I was able to transfer my slot to this year and I am glad I did. It was a fun race with a lot of character and special touches.

Finally, one of the highlights for me was having Greg Simony and one of his three friends in my swim wave.

Check this out.http://www.justnews.com/video/25789496/index.html

Miami Man Expo... in pictures

Heading to the expo.

 Packet pickup

  

The bike arrived. Just a little tweaking needed.

 Racking the bike with my new saddle proved a bit challenging at first.

 

My own little piece of the transition area.

 The longest transition area I have ever seen!

Thank goodness I will be taking a left!

 Bleachers at the finish line.

 Finish Line!

 Muscle Milk Guy

 Lots of swag!

"Tri Tats" for the numbers and check out the swim cap! I hope the fins help :)

Tapering

Next Up.....Miami Man Triathlon (Olympic)

Yes, that is an Elephant.

Sometime during the summer of 2009 I received an e-mail suggesting I sign up for the Miami Man Triathlon. While I had never heard of the race before, I didn't waste anytime clicking on the link that would ultimately suck me in and have me pulling out the credit card. It always works this way. If a race presents itself during a moment where I am feeling confident, then who knows what I will sign up for.  What also drew me to this race is the fact that I lived in South FL for 10 years and I quickly envisioned a vacation, race and reunion with friends. What I didn't plan on was gall bladder surgery which would ultimately take me out of the race. I still went to FL  and was able to transfer my race slot to this year. I also dodged a bullet as a storm moved in close to race day and the racers experienced 30-40 mph winds while on the bike. Yikes!

So here I am again and as off now all systems are go. I have my flight, hotel, car rental all set up, I purchased a bike case ( I will be using it again.) and watched while my lbs (local bike store) took apart my bike and packed it up tight for shipping. As some of you know, I became the proud owner of a tri bike this past spring.  And as some of you can imagine, seeing my bike packed up in a case, knowing it is going to be shipped to FL without me being able to keep an eye it makes me a bit nervous. I mean, I don't know this guy who is handling the bike transport/assembly for the race.  Shouldn't I be doing some type of background check before I send my new ride to a complete stranger? :)

New ride. (no it doesn't have a name. Any suggestions?)

While not my bike, it pretty much looks like this at the moment.

So, back to the race. It is at the Miami Zoo and a good part of the run has you visiting with many of the zoo's inhabitants. The swim is supposed to be wonderful as it is in a crystal clear lake within the zoo. While this sounds nice, when swimming in unknown waters I ofter prefer not knowing who's home I am invading.

Racing in FL in the heat and humidity is going to be a challenge. Hydration will be critical and as some of you know, getting the hydration/nutrition piece dialed in has proven to be a struggle. Interestingly, the problem with this aspect of racing has only presented itself during stand alone runs. Let's hope it stays that way! So that is what is up with me these days.

In other news, I wanted to give a very brief review of my Adamo saddle as I know some of you were interested in hearing what I thought of it.

I think this saddle is one of the best purchases I have made since I started on my triathlon journey.  I don't know if it is for everybody but for me it works.  I have three saddles in my basement which speaks to the challenge I have had finding one that works for me. Just my two cents.

Have a great week everybody!