MS: Tour de Farms

June 18, 2009 by · 4 Comments
Team: Nancy’s Network
BJ and I flew to Chicago this past weekend to participate in the MS: Tour de Farms bike ride. JJ (BJ’s sister) flew in from NYC and BJ Sr. (BJ’s dad) picked us up from O’Hare on Friday afternoon. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to see [some of] my “family” (I use quotes because they aren’t my family yet.) We grabbed a quick lunch and headed to Sammy’s Bike Shop to pick up our rentals (shipping our bikes was too expensive). The owner of Sammy’s Bike Shop, Sammy, is hilarious – he thinks he’s Italian and outfits his store with mostly Italian bikes and gear. Fine by me. I picked out a super cute pink and white Bianchi. While I was there I decided to throw a delicious new seat into the mix (another blog to come on why this seat is *amazing*) and a bike computer. I felt pretty awesome. But, enough background information – I’m here to tell you about the actual ride.

Our team, Nancy’s Network, rode for Nancy, BJ’s stepmom who has MS. We woke up at 4:30am on Saturday morning, exhausted but excited about the ride. When we left the house at 5:40am it was pouring. Since the bike ride didn’t start until 7am we were hopeful that the rain would pass. It didn’t – so here’s a not-so-quick timeline of events.

4:30am – wake up
5:40am – leave the house (torrential downpour)
6am – arrive at Northern Illinois University, the race Start/Finish (torrential downpour)
7am – official race start is delayed until 8am (torrential downpour)
8am – race start is delayed until 9am (torrential downpour)
9am – race start is delayed until 9:30am (torrential downpour)
9:30am – race is delayed until 10am (torrential downpour)
10am – race is delayed until 10:30am (torrential downpour)
10:30am – race is delayed until 11am (torrential downpour)
11am – RACE FINALLY STARTS (lightly raining)

So, I bet you are wondering what we did for 5 HOURS while we waited for the ride to start?!

1) nothing
2) nothing
3) took a nap on the indoor track (Hurricane Katrina style)
4) nothing
5) nothing

We started the race in ponchos and about 5 layers on top – but (thankfully) after 10 miles, it stopped raining completely!!!! Due to the rain and late start they cancelled the 100 mile and 75 mile rides – but were still able to ride, which was the whole point anyway.

Once we started to ride and got into the grove of things, the ride was great. The course rode through beautiful Illinois farmland and was so well marked that it blew my mind. There were volunteers everywhere, plenty of SAG vehicles and police/volunteers at every major intersection (there were a few minor intersections that we were on our own). I was very impressed with how organized everything was, despite the rough/rainy start!

The ride ended with a big celebration: food donated by Kroeschell, Inc. (the owner’s wife has MS), free beer and *awesome* weather!! At the end of it all (and after our terrible attitudes went away) – we had a fabulous day! It felt great to finish a ride and raise money for a great cause – and do it with people that I love.

Nancy volunteered all day (go Nance!) and our team (4 riders) raised over $4,000.00. Our goal for 2010 is: 20 riders and $20,000.00.

MS 2010 – here was come!!!

PS – the rest of the weekend was gorgeous and we went to a Cubs game on Sunday. Finger crossed that the weather is better next year!

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The Columbia Triathlon

May 19, 2009 by · 2 Comments
(Clearly these were taken before the tri)

Part of me wanted to write this review immediately after finishing The Columbia Triathlon and part of me knew I should wait a few days to calm down and re-group. I’m glad I did – or else you would be reading the most negative review I’ve ever written! Don’t be fooled, I didn’t have a good race so this post is a little biased – but since my attitude has changed (even if just a little) I feel comfortable writing about the good and bad of this race.

I can sum up my “race day feeling” in five words: I did not have fun!

Two days later my feelings have changed: my disaster on Sunday is all part of the sport – you have to be ready for kicks in the face, losing a chain and calves that cramp for 6.2 miles.

But, none of that makes sense on race day and I have a hard time accepting that fact that I let myself down. Bottom line: I was in a bad mood from 11am on.

The weather wasn’t great – rain was in the forecast and because it had rained the night before, the transition area looked more like a mud pit than a grassy field. Thanks to BJ’s urging, I bought heavy duty trash bags for our gear and made them a staple at my transition area. I’m a very organized transition athlete – everything is laid out perfectly, in the exact spot and ready to go. One hour before my wave start I felt very comfortable about the coming events.

7:47am – Wave 8: Women 25-29 & 30-34 (FYI: I’m in the 25-29 age group). Thanks to my full-body Zoot wetsuit I was only chilly for the initial shock of getting into the water – a minute later I was fine. It started to rain about 30 seconds before my wave start and my goggles started to fog – but thanks to my adrenaline infused nerves, I barely noticed. Normally I hate the swim – it’s my least favorite and the one I am worst at – but I felt really good (minus the occasional kick in the face)! It was an easy course, really well marked and I felt comfortable. You will most likely never hear me say this again but I *loved* the swim – plus it was a PR for me.

I felt really good coming out of the water. I ran to transition and started changing: wet suit off, quick towel dry, Zoot top on, socks, Sidi bike shoes on, helmet, glasses, bike… and just like that I was off. My bike is still very new to me and despite a wet butt and soaking bike shoes I felt really relaxed. Until….about 15 minutes into the bike, going slightly downhill, I shifted to the big ring – or at least I attempted to. All I remember is not being able to pedal and looking down to see that my chain was off – dagger! Honestly, I didn’t have a clue what to do. I got off of my bike and unsuccessfully tried to put my chain back on. That continued for about 3 minutes; after that, I was extremely frustrated, standing there, waiting for someone to help me and watching everyone else pass me. Ten minutes later (from the time my chain came off), race support was by my side, helping me with my chain. It took John, the race support guru, 3 tries before he could get my chain back on – so I didn’t feel so bad not being able to do it myself. I thanked him, got on my bike and felt like crying. I was so mad – and from that point on, my attitude drastically changed – and I really couldn’t help it. I tried thinking about other things, tried to feel good about the people I passed or the hills I dominated – but I couldn’t. Plus, the bike course was extremely hilly – more than I was ever expecting (the Conte’s bike ride did not prepare me for this race) – and that started to get to me, too. I was too happy when the bike was over.

My transition from bike to run was decent. I had to change my socks because they were soaking wet from the bike ride but other than that, I was in and out. I was trying to change my attitude because I love to run but from the second my running shoes hit the pavement, my calves cramped up. One of the worst pains I have ever felt. It was a combination of major cramping, lactic acid and a Charlie horse – for 6.2 miles. I’m just guessing that the cramps had something to do with my start/stop/start on the bike and it manifested itself on the run (thanks bike chain!). I tried to run through the pain but going uphill was extremely painful. I ran up the first 4 hills (yes, there was more than 1 major hill) but the 5th hill looked like a mountain, and as I started to run up, the pain was so intense that I started to cry. Have you ever tried crying while exerting your body at 100%? Well, I don’t suggest trying it because the outcome is hyperventilation. Yes, I started to hyperventilate – and its happened to me before so I know exactly what it feels like – not fun!! So, I stopped on the side of the road, wheezing, and attempted to get my breathing back to normal. I am so competitive that I was still (slightly) wheezing when I started to run again. A fellow athlete asked, “Are you okay??!!” My response was “NO! But thanks for asking.” For the remainder of the run I walked up the hills and ran when it was flat. The last mile was pretty flat so I was able to really push it in and run through the pain, sprinting the last 800m – but it still felt like a disaster. Funny thing is, the run was a PR for me…

I crossed the finish line in 3:08:18. And never in my life have I wanted a race to be over as badly as I did The Columbia Triathlon. I was pretty upset on race day, but like I said, I’m glad I waited 2 days to write this because my perspective has slightly changed.

I have to be honest, it wasn’t all bad – and here’s why:
a) The race was close to home (1 hour away)
b) Race Support was awesome! There were volunteers everywhere, cheering the athletes on and directing the bikers/runners on each respective route.
c) The triathlon was really well marked – there was never a question as to where I needed to go.
d) Plenty of water stations
e) Chrissie Wellington competed (yea, that’s right, the Ironman Triathlon World Champion) – she’s a bad-ass!
f) I had a swim PR and a run PR!
g) I got to do the race with my boyfriend and his sister – and we all finished, injury-free.

Areas for Improvement:
a) More kayaks in the water
b) Transition areas – bike in and out. Due to the rain, the bike out was a steep uphill covered in slippery grass and mud; and the bike in was a steep downhill covered in slippery grass and mud. Not a good combination.
c) Description of the course needs to be a little more specific/detailed. I knew there were hills but I did not know that there were HILLS!

Swim: 31:32
Bike: 1:41:37 (The swim to bike transition time is included in the bike splits. Technical problems prevented the equipment from recording the bike start time data.)
T2: 2:11
Run: 52:59
Place: 967 (out of 1568)

Verdict: I can not give this race a fair overall rating – because I’m still disappointed in myself for not achieving my goal and frustrated that I lost 10 minutes on the bike. But, you better believe I am doing this race again next year! There’s no reason not to – I can only do better!!!

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George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler

April 30, 2009 by · 5 Comments

I did my first race of the season (according to my race calendar) this past Sunday. I’d never even heard of the George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler before (I think it might be overshadowed by the (lame) Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, run a few weeks earlier) – but apparently, it was the 25th Anniversary. Who knew…?!

I originally signed up for two reasons:
a) I was out of town the weekend of the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.
b) I was desperately looking for a race, other than the Cherry Blossom, to run (I should post a blog titled: “Reasons why I don’t like the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler”).

Race day approaching, I started to get excited (I mean, really excited) and here’s why:

1. I LOVE TO RUN! I should have started this post by declaring my unconditional devotion to running – but now you know. I like it. I love it. I adore it.
2. Easy. Convenient. Close to home. Who doesn’t love all 3 – especially on race day, when you wake up extra early to arrive with plenty of time to stretch, use the porta-potty, drink some water….I could go on, you get the point. I mean, I walked one block to pick up my race packet and drove 5 miles to Old Town, Alexandria on race day (my boyfriend likes convenience even more than I do, so he really loved this race – but more about him in a minute).
3. Not too crowded. When I picked up my race packet I asked: “How many people are running on Sunday?” Ms. “I-have-all-of-the race-answers” answered: “8,000.” Okay, not too bad. The final number of finishers on race day: 4054. Even better!
4. Point-to-Point. You start at Mt. Vernon (that’s right, George’s house aka “the 1st President of the United States”) and finish in Old Town, Alexandria. You don’t have to run past the same house/store/building/person/tree 10 different times. I like that – keepin’ it fresh!

So, now to my boyfriend – I’ll call him BJ (to save him any brush with fame he might receive, should this blog become famous) – kept saying, “That was a fun race!!” He later corrected himself by saying, “The race was fun, now that it’s over!” And everything he’s saying is true. It was a fun race … but just a little too hot and not enough water. There’s absolutely no reason it should be 90 degrees in April – but it was and there’s nothing we can do about it (damn global warming). On the flip side, there is something we can do about not enough water: PROVIDE MORE! I have very little patience for races that don’t provide enough water, and to be honest, it’s a little unacceptable. Water is free – give it out – people need it! Now, I will point out that there were plenty of trees along the run to help balance out the brutal heat – nice touch – a special shout out to the big shade trees on GW parkway. But, you and I both know that shade is not going to cut it when you are dying of thirst – 1st water station, mile 2.5. Thanks to BJ’s relentless urging (and my 25th birthday), I wore my Camelback – and good thing I did. I needed it.

Overall, I felt pretty good. My mirror image ran next to me the entire race – which was great motivation. Never in my life have a witnessed someone run so much like me, it was cool (and creepy). I have a running twin. Mile 7 was the start of a huge blister (like the size of a quarter and a nickel combined) but I ran through it (barely). I think it wanted to keep me from running sub 8-minute miles and it almost did, but I’m not about to let some stupid blister ruin my run. Nice try – I win.

Final Time: 1:19
Place: 450 (out of 4054)

Verdict: The race was great and really well organized! I highly recommend running the GW 10 miler (as long as the overall runner count does not exceed 8,000). Plus, a huge bonus/nice suprise: the race shirts were awesome (I can’t say that about many race shirts)! They were New Balance technical tees and gender specific – nice touch – I’m sure the paparazzi have already snapped a shot of me sporting it around town (that’s how much I like it)!

Overall score: 8

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