Race Day!

Race morning started beautifully, but 45 minutes in the rain started and it hasn't stopped yet!

All the Cleveland folks are out of the swim and on the bike. Safe rides to all.

Also, a shout out to The Clot Buster who is racing in Columbus today on his home course. A nice little tune up for Greater Cleveland Tri, I'm sure.

42.3 seconds . . .

Before the run . . .

We still haven't seen a bobsled whip past . . . . ummm, the 16 numbered curves refer to the bobsled track . . . . .

The boys (eagerly???) awaiting our turn

. . . of terror! Yep, we did the Bobsled 1/2 mile run at the Olympic Sports Complex! Yesterday when I was volunteering, Judy from NA Sports offered me four Olympic Passports to allow us to visit sites free. Then she gave me tickets to the Bobsled run --- um, $240 worth for the four of us!! We went as soon as Bill got done checking in bikes and it was incredible. First off, the fact that we all fit into one bobsled with the driver and the brakeman was amazing. Then that I didn't mess up the driver -- I had to hold on to him instead of the handles (was it the cleavage revealing top?). . . . and finally, that I didn't freak out when I heard them ask if everyone was ok just before we started and I heard Conor all the way in the back say a feeble, "No". . . . that made it the longest 42 seconds of my life. I totally forgot the brakeman was behind Conor and for the ride, I had the irrational fear creep into me about what would happen if Conor fell out. . . .

When we finished, Conor's knee was banged, but nothing worse than a fall in soccer. We got our picture, t-shirts, pins, and other goodies too. Pretty sweet treat for a few hours of my time!

I didn't see local folks this morning at the Gatorade swim although I met Tom Ziebart, another of Mickey's buddies.

The other good news is that we have a place to sleep on Sunday night. Two doors up from our condo is available, so we will check out of here and into that for one night. Plus, I've got the real estate broker's name and number . . . . come next week I have a feeling I'll be checking to see if he has anything for next year . . .

Lake Placid - Friday

Today the weather turned and storms came in, but the day was still great. First, I ran some of the course. . . . we are on the corner of 73 and 86 Main Street and I ran down past the Olympic ski jumps and onto Riverside Drive before I turned around and came back. It is amazing what I noticed today vs. the race. The Olympic center seems to beckon on the hill as you run back . . . the ski jumps guide you to the turn. . . . more rolling hills than I remember. It was really great to be on the course again. . . .

Then the fun. I went to work the VIP tent and immediately ran into Ellie from the CEO Challenge . . . and Heather Fuhr. Heather put me to work and Judy from NA Sports and I handled the tent for a couple hours until Heather came back followed by my all time favorite Paula Newby-Fraser. I tried not to be too much of a stalker when I told her I met her in Hawaii. I left out the part about having her picture in my workout room . . . . I met Mike Reilly (Mickey's brother's brother-in-law . . . ?) and Greg Welch passed through as well. Paula said Greg is leading off the pros for the swim and someone commented on what happens if he has a heart attack and her response was, "well, everyone knows which way to go . . . ". Gotta love her!

OK, best sign in Lake Placid so far: Norm's Barbershop -- "Closed. Reopen at 1:00 . . . If I can . . . Norm"

Ran into Sam and Joe on their way to registration and they look so ready!! I can't wait to see how they shake it out on Sunday. May be warm day, but I'm sure the everyone is prepared.

Best story so far: next door condo -- Connie Carpenter -- I can't wait to watch her finish this year. Last year was her first attempt at Ironman and on the second lap of the bike, she crashed into 2 guys ahead of her who were fighting for position and wrecked. She came around the corner and crashed into their mess. They finished (one with a gash in his skull). She spent 8 days in the hospital with a punctured lung, broken scapula and other broken bones. She only remembers knowing she was going to crash and being in the ambulance. I asked if they comped her this race -- no deal.

I did get some Olympic passports from the VIP gig today. Included are tickets to the 1/2 mile bobsled ride. . . . oh boy, we'll see if we survive that tomorrow!!

Lake Placid heats up!

Wednesday and Thursday was as expected. . . . more athletes and families heading in. The big buoys were up on Wednesday and the Gatorade swim was set for Thursday morning. Bill and I did the swim Thursday and it turned beautiful so I stayed by the beach until after noon! Liam and Conor fished for hours and caught several fish the swam (well flapped their gills anyway) in buckets until we left.

We walked downtown last night and it was too crowded at Ben and Jerry's to wait for ice cream. . . . oh well, to be expected I guess.

Bill ran the course on Thursday so he has a clear idea what he is up against for next year. I rode a little bit back on the bike course, but the semis started coming, so I turned around. I got a decent ride in then did one loop of the swim. I expect to run tomorrow. . . .

Lake Placid - Tuesday

Tuesday was gorgeous -- sunshine and warm temperatures made it perfect! Bill and I both swam a lap of the swim course -- heck, Liam even got a bit in before the open water creeped him out. The boys and I stayed at the beach and enjoyed the sand and sun while Bill rode a lap of the bike course. He came back with a whole new appreciation for the toughness of the course.


Athletes are trickling in and hitting the beach and swim. Today should see many more around town. We stayed out of downtown yesterday, so I'm sure the transformation today will be great.


We are heading to the soccer fields on our bikes to get a little shooting and skills in before we return to the beach. Tomorrow I'll take my bike out -- but no plans to ride the course!

Lake Placid - Monday

Speed skating oval (aka the final steps for Ironman USA)

The boys just can resist the snow

Mirror Lake is clear and calm -- simply beautiful!

Liam and Conor are enjoying the loft -- they created parachutes out of everything

The view from our condo

OK, before I talk about Lake Placid, did you ever think something to yourself like, "hmmm, I've never seen this weed before and I hope it isn't poison ivy" and pull it anyway, forget about it, then adjust your bikini? Well, I did. . . . . needless to say I have little spots of poison ivy popping up in, ahhh interesting places. . . . ok, not really that bad, but around my bikini lines. Fun, huh?

Lake Placid is beautiful. We rode bikes around yesterday trying to find some off the way routes. We stumbled upon a stunning soccer field and plan to head back there today (even though I left my boots at home). In the afternoon we walked from the condo all the way through downtown and back along the beach. I'm notoriously NOT a shopper, but there were huge sales and we got t-shirts and shorts for under $12 all around. OK, the only splurge was the Life is Good triathlon t-shirt that is exclusive for Lake Placid . . . . set me back $25. Oh well, all the other bargains made up for it.

The Ironman signs are starting to go up in the shops and the tents were being erected in the oval when we were out yesterday. We also stumbled upon a Monday night triathlon at Mirror Lake on our way back to the condo. Too bad we didn't know, I would have jumped in!

Today looks beautiful. We're planning to head to the beach and relax. I've got my trashy mag and book to read. . .

Boilermaker Pictures. . . .

Conor and Liam waiting for the runners.

Notice my grey bib amongst the seeded runners . . . .

I spot the guys along the route!

Post race party!!

Boilermaker 15K

Well, I did my third Boilermaker Sunday and once again would recommend every runner do this race at least once. It is simply awesome to run with 11,000 plus runners in such a well organized race, beautiful course, and the best damn post-race party (heck, it ends at Matt FX brewery -- how can you screw up a party like that??).

The hardest part of the race was getting in -- I waited until a week after Morgantown and ran my favorite 7.3 mile loop -- successfully, so I figured I'd go ahead and sign up for Boilermaker. Except when I logged in on July 7th, I discovered entries closed out on June 30th. Not to be deterred, I emailed the race director and he called me right back and said to fax an application by 3:00 PM and he'd get me in. Done!!

We stayed in our usual hotel in Syracuse the night before which meant I had to still pick up my packet and chip on race morning. Let me tell you it is not easy to get to the race start, pick your way through the start to get to the packet pickup and back to the car before heading back for the race start. . . . I made it but as Conor said, he didn't listen to some of the words that came out of my mouth . . . .stress released, apologies to the guys, and I'm off to the start.

Finally, the race starts and we stand there for a minute and a half. I crossed the start at 2:40 into the race and started to pick through the crowd. The weather was the best it has been in ages. The rain brought it down into the 70s (the other times I ran it was in the 80s by 8:00 AM) but the humidity was 70%. My foot was a little sore at the start, but I hoped to work through it and sure enough it was fine after a couple miles. Again, I had to remind myself this was a training run and not a race (I actually said it out loud three times in the car on the way. . . .) as I hit the first mile in 8:51. Miles 2 and 3 were 8:56 pace. Mile 4 up the hill to the golf course slowed to 9:08, but I was happy with the race so far. Coming down the hill in mile five I ripped off my 8:07 and thought coming in under 9:00 pace was looking likely. Mile 6 was a surprising 8:43, but 7 was my slowest at 9:10 -- not sure if I dozed or took it easy so I would finish. Mile 8 turned out to be 8:40 and mile 9 was 8:32! With a final finish of 1:21:48. Over three minutes off my previous races, but not too bad without the training. The chip timing was off, so they only had gun times which put me at 1:24:30 vs my 1:21:48, but I finished 91st out of 539 women in my AG and 3285 overall.

Now the fun stuff. . . . where else can you see bag pipers and belly dancers -- and that was the first 2 miles! I did get to see a llama again this year, but it was a baby one being held by a girl. Three years ago a full grown llama was at the bottom of the hill -- definitely made me do a double take! The bands along the course were good, but a little less than in the past -- maybe the weather forecast did it. Coming in the last half mile, I did spot Bill and the boys and waved. My left calf was either strained or about to cramp, so I was worried I was going to be in trouble at the end. I finished and got my pin then wound my way around to the party for food, my goodie bag, and BEER! I met up with the boys and we did some grocery shopping throughout the party before heading to the car for a quick change before heading on to Lake Placid! Whew -- what a day!

Morgantown lite

June 29th was our return to Morgantown, WV for another shot at the Mountaineer (alright, Spirit of Morgantown) races. This year I got the short course with the Olympic race while Bill moved up to the Half Iron to prepare for Ironman next summer. While I was a bit concerned about not having run a 10K since last August, I wasn't too worried about my biking in spite of only having three 20+ mile rides (and two of those were 20 - 20.5 . . . ). I felt strong from all the weight training (aka "booty work") and wasn't concerned about the hills on the course. The swim, well, I could motor through that even with minimal training.

Saturday we arrived in WV and did all the prerequisite stuff of checking in, racking the bikes, running into half of the Cleveland crowd before dinner. The big bummer was that my friend, Karen, broke her collarbone a month ago and couldn't race, but was there to cheer on Eddie. Both are preparing for IMKY and I have no doubt they'll have great races there.

Dinner was with about 20 assorted CTC members. It was great to see the Reddy swim group folks that I missed after being kicked out. . . I mean, dropping out of the group this winter! We had a great dinner then had to run back to the hotel in the pouring rain. Since we didn't bring long sleeves, Bill made a dash to WalMart to pick up sweatshirts for all of us.

Sunday started overcast, but the rain held off. At the start of the race, I did notice that the dam wasn't off and it looked like an Endless Pool as the swimmers had to take the long backstretch into the dam (damn??) current. The short section back to the finish had a draft, but couldn't that have been reversed? As usual, after the turns at the buoys, everyone moved off to the right and I just kept hauling straight along the buoy line. I don't usually draft since I don't trust anyone to swim straight (well, as staight as me), but when one of the 50+ guys tapped my calf, then my thigh, I figured, what the heck, here's one to follow and I held on as long as I could to have a little breakaway. When we got to the dam end, you could really feel the choppiness of the water, but the push back to the dock was nice at the end. I pulled myself out at 30:25 and went to my spare shoes to make sure I wouldn't hurt myself on the long transition run.

The bike started out with the usual choppiness through "Shanty town". I saw all the yellow nets from water bottles along with an assortment of other equipment that lept to freedom along the streets. No sooner did I hit mile one and my newest Polar bottle takes a flip out of my bottom bracket and lands off to the side of hte road. . . .^&)#%! Oh well, I only packed that one bottle, but had my aero mounted one, so I figured I'd just fill that and be fine for the 24 miles. Hmmm, two more miles I felt something hit my forearm and looked for my yellow net, but it was still there so I figured no problem . . . until I went to take a drink and my straw was GONE! The only thing left was a little stub where it used to be. I tried to bend all the way over to drink from it, but it was too far. so I figured I'd wait until the water stop. . . . if only I could remember when it was.

The hills weren't an issue and I found myself riding most of them seated and in the aero position. I traded back and forth with a guy that was probably getting sick of me passing him, but tough! I saw Bill looking good on the bike and finally put my head all the way over to get a drink from my mini straw before I got to the water stop, where I finally grabbed a couple bottles.

Coming in to town, the rain started . . . .and cars came out, so it made it tougher than I'd hoped to get back in. In spite of the challenges on the course, I was thrilled to come in with a 19.3 mph average pace. So, now it was off to the run -- my longest in 10 months AND up Devil's hill . . .

I took off out of transition and took some fluid at the first water stop where they guys said, "here you go, ma'am". . . . I damn near stopped dead in my tracks and shouted back, "Ma'am??? Come on! How about miss, babe, anything but ma'am" and they got a good laugh. So I headed down the path and saw my first girl to pass. My pace was a little faster than I wanted since I didn't want to die at the end, so I tried to balance racing and pulling back at the same time. I counted my self in the top 10 women and wanted to finish both top 10 and place in my age group. I rarely seem to pass women on the run anymore, so I was thrilled to pass a couple, but I knew a lady behind me looked strong. When I came back through the first water stop, I grabbed a cup and said something about ma'am and this time he yelled back, "Great job, hot stuff!" Much better!

We headed up out of the park and onto Devil's hill and I could sense the lady behind me. Sure enough just as we started up the hill she went (easily I may add) by me, dropped her inhaler, turned to pick it up, smiled at me, and sprinted (OK, maybe not really a sprint, but it was waaaaaayy faster than what I was going) past me again and was gone! Oh yeah, she was my age group. . . . I made it up the hill and through the campus for the last mile and back into the park -- no injuries this year -- and the boys were there working the finish and cheering. It was beautiful and sunny when I finished, but the rain, clouds, and sun kept taking turns to keep the day interesting.

I got cleaned up and went back to cheer Bill in. I could tell he was hurting, but he finished strong in spite of his cramping issues. I checked the results and a lot of CTCers did great. I ended up 2nd AG and 8th overall, so I was happy with my race.

Final times: 30:25 swim, T1 - 3:49, 1:17:01 bike, T2 - 1:08, 59:02 run (6.55 miles) 2:51:26 for 67th overall

Bill finished in 5:43:20! Now on to Lake Placid to get entered for 2009 . . . . :-)