70.3 DONE!!

Team Spirit!

Prerace: We woke up early…..a little before 5 and set about eating breakfast and pulling together everything we needed to pack along to the race sight from the hotel.  I had a peanut butter sandwich and a pop tart.  A bit more than I would usually but I knew I would be fine.  The breakfast buffet was not open yet so my roommates and I were all eating food we had brought along.

Next we drove to the race venue.  It’s not a far drive, but they had us park over a mile away and as we were walking to the race we lucked out and caught a shuttle.  I hear most people were not so lucky and had to drag a full transition bag over a mile which is just cruel.

I found my bike that I had checked into transition the night before and made sure it was still in good order.  I then loaded my water bottles on and arranged my area on the ground with my helmet, bike shoes, etc.  All that was left now was to wait.

Swim: The water was wetsuit legal and everyone was thrilled.  I however had never worn a wetsuit, EVER.  I brought one with me that I borrowed from Stina so I had one, but I was not sure which would be worse, the possibility of freezing on a 50 minute swim or the possibility that I would hate being encased in vinyl and it would freak me out.

Everyone told me to wear it so Saturday morning, in the early morning darkness, I slid that sucker on to my body.  It fit like a girdle and I wondered how I would ever get it off; they zip up the back you know.  A boy named John heard it was my first ever wetsuit experience and said he did the same thing and freaked out once in the water and had to pull it off.  That did not make me feel better.  Some friends were helping me zip up and telling me to do this or do that and don’t forget this and that. And all of a sudden I felt overwhelmed.  I started to cry.  I tucked my head onto Uwe’s chest and just sobbed for a bit.

I am usually pretty tough and prepared and don’t have such breakdowns so that was the first sign that things were not alright in my world.  I quickly regrouped and got over it but still had serious doubts about putting that wetsuit on. 

Next we all got instructions from the race director and then a prayer followed by the national anthem.  Then we all trudged down the LONG walk to the water.  You see, the Midwest had a terrible drought this summer and the lake water was very much below the normal level.  We all walked across the dry bottom of the lake until we got to the water.  Some people had on green swim caps and some had on yellow, mine was pink.  We milled around waiting, a huge crowd of neoprene clad people.  All shapes and sizes.  Some looking happy, some looking scared.  I was feeling a bit numb and still worried about the wet suit.

Me and Nancy

Before I even got in the water I started to feel hungry.  About 2 hours had passed since I ate breakfast and I was wishing I had a snack handy.  Unfortunately, I would have to wait until I got done with my swim.

Finally the 6^th wave was called to the water and I waded in.  The water wasn’t cold at all.  I didn’t even need the dumb wetsuit.  Geez.

They blew the air horn and we were off.  I tried to get to the side so I would have some room to stroke and not get kicked in the head.  It was crowded and I felt a bit funny.  I was breathing too fast so I just took it slow and easy until we all spread out and the initial excitement passed and I finally settled into a rhythmic stroke.

Sighting was hard so I would kind of stop once in a while to make sure I was swimming towards the next buoy and not off in some odd direction.  Mostly I was on target and felt relaxed.  My bilateral breathing felt natural as I had practiced it all summer.  I really didn’t want to do the breaststroke which had been my backup plan should I need “help”. 

We swam a large triangle in the dark water and all of a sudden I was back to shore.  It wasn’t that bad…..it was just boring.  I got to shallow water and waded to shore as a volunteer unzipped me and tugged my wetsuit top down so I could get my arms out.  I however was not fully prepared for this help and ended up with the wetsuit stuck around my wrists.I spent the next few minutes trying to free my arms as I was running.

Up out of the water they had placed a strip of carpet so we could run up the dry lake bed without turning it into a mud pit.  I ran and felt good.  Even my crappy feet didn’t give me fits as I ran barefoot.  That was another big concern I had since normally walking barefoot is quite painful.

As we entered transition, there were the strippers I had been told about.  I laid on my back and two young girls yanked my wetsuit off my lower body in a nanosecond.  Whew, that wasn’t bad at all.  I jogged to my bike that was close by and started to dry off.

Then I tried to put my shirt on.  Our team tri jersey is very white so I did not wear it in the nasty red lake water and now as I tried to quickly throw it on my wet body I got all tangled up.  Shit, this is supposed to be fast and I am going slowly.   I pulled my top back off and dried off better.  I found my peanut butter sandwich in my bag and started eating. I knew I needed food at this point.  Nutrition on a 6+ hour race is VERY important.

Finally I got all my stuff on and walked my bike out of the transition area.  I was right at one hour, exactly where I wanted to be.  I was climbing on my bike, my favorite thing in the world.  I felt strong and excited. 

No pictures of me on bike so here is one of Uwe.

BIKE:  Now I am feeling good and thinking this whole race is going to work, I am going to finish and I have a shot at my time goal!!  I immediately start peddling hard and I hear my club members yell for me as I pass the crowd.  I was so amped up!

The next ten miles I averaged 20 miles and hour.  I passed people and more people and did my best not to draft (a rule that is odd to bike racers who draft all the time).   Every time I got passed, it was some half naked pro triathlete man in an arrow helmet so that didn't make me feel bad, it made me feel GOOD.  I was smoking fast (especially for a chick!).

Around mile ten the course turned onto a country road that is very pitted out and rough.  This is where it got hard to keep up my pace and I had to slow down a little.  I also had to keep eating.  Most of my fuel for the balance of the race needed to be consumed in the first half of my bike.  I chowed a granola bar early on and I was still hungry.  I drank my Gatorade and tried to eat my fruit snacks.  Later i would be glad I had packed a gel.

At about 25 miles you turn around and have to go back on that same crappy road.  BUMMER.  I kept passing people but I was wearing down a bit as the temperature was getting higher by the minute.

As I got back into town and I knew I was only 5 or so miles from transition, I took a “hand-up” of some water.  Man it hit the spot.  I did my best not to relax because I was almost done.   My average pace was 19 miles an hour and I was determined to keep it there.

I was still passing people who seemed to be out there just dawdling along.  I finally made it back onto the lake's damn and checked my Garmin.  Still right at 19 so I kept pushing. 

I pulled into transition and looked at my Garmin.  It was exactly 4 hours since I started the race.  I was still on target with my time.  I was elated.



Me running.



RUN:  I found my rack and hung my bike up, popped all my bike gear off and slipped on my running shoes.  I had two goals for this transition; one was to put some sun block on my nose and the other was to pee real quickly on my way out.  I was lucky they had a bank of port-a-potties I had to run past.  I dug through my bag and could not find my sun block.  F*ck it, ill burn.  I ran to the port-a-potty and did my pee-pee.  Then I remember I wanted to grab a gel so I ran back to my bag and didn’t find it quickly either.  I’m wasting time!  I need to leave!  I figured the race would provide something along the route.

I dashed out onto the paved path that wrapped around the lake and quickly felt my tummy was not happy and I was sluggish.  I thought “don’t worry, you’ll be fine, just keep plugging away, it will pass”.  So I did.  Then I saw my friend Karen walking so I walked with her a bit, to be nice and social and because I was losing my drive.  I quickly felt anxious walking so I ditched her.  I was jogging along around mile 2 when I felt a familiar stabbing feeling in my lower abdomen. 

OH NO!!!!

I walked a bit and hoped it would pass.  I ran a bit and it came back.  I walked a bit and felt better, than ran a bit and it came back worse.  I would need a place to poop….and soon.  I started watching like a hawk for a port-a-potty.  Soon I was relegated to just walking.  I mean better to walk than crap your pants right?  I walked slower as the pains increased and I felt hot and dizzy.  Oh this damn flu is not over and its’ going to kill me now.  I was overwhelmed by my sinking emotions.  I had to stand still.  Then I could walk.  Then I had to stand still.  I had to find a potty!!!

All of a sudden I knew I was out of luck so I dashed, as best I could, behind a nearby tree, yanked my shorts down and crapped on the ground.  I was SOOO embarrassed.  I wanted to disappear.  I knew people could see me.  I was not in the woods.  I wasn’t even behind a big tree.  This tree was like 10 inches around at best.  Oh sweet Jesus this is gross!

So, my colon was not fully recovered from the flu and now it had ruined my race.  I was so deflated.  I pulled up my shorts, joined the runners and jogged to the next rest stop.  I asked where the potty was and they pointed behind a fence.  I would have used that when I went by the first time if I COULD HAVE SEEN IT!

I climbed into the stinky box and finished the job and cleaned up good.  I felt MUCH better.  I jumped out and decided I could still finish this race even if my time was ruined.  I started to run but not too fast.  I was worn down and it was getting even hotter (later I found out it was 94 degrees) and my nose was getting totally roasted by the sun.  Why the hell don’t I run with a hat?  Oh yea, cause I usually run at 5:30 am with a headlamp instead.

The balance of the run was a struggle.  There was walking and I drank lots of water which is not normal for me.  I ate nothing so as not to stimulate my lower GI any more. I finally finished as a crowd of my friends cheered me in.  Man it felt great.

POST RACE:  In the tent at the finish I got my finishers medal and a finisher’s shirt.  They also had snacks and cold drinks and rows of poor souls sitting in chairs looking half dead.  I didn’t feel that bad really, just mostly disappointed.  I found my buddy Bob and he was all long faced.  He had battled leg cramps for his whole 13.1 mile run.  Poor fellow.  I told him my poop story and that made him smile.  He actually made me feel lucky; it could have been much worse.

The rest of the day we drank beer and cheered for the people doing the full Ironman distance.  They were running 26.2 miles in the dang heat!  The last one of our team finished around 10 p.m. and then we headed back to the hotel for the night. Most of our team would be racing on Sunday because that is when the Sprint and Olympic distance races where.

Our whole team.  We got 2nd place in the team competition.

SUMMARY:

I don’t think the wetsuit made me all floaty like everyone said they do.  It just rubbed my neck raw and slowed down my T1 time.  I wish I had skipped it. 

I felt my swim was better than expected because my pace was the same as my practice swims and you would assume that being in an odd place and having to navigate around people would slow you down a bit.  So I was really happy with 1.34 miles in 51:41 with an average pace of 38.29 per mile.

I was super duper proud of my bike time, 56 miles in just under 3 hours, average pace 19.

I had a “shitty” run, but I was sick and it was hot, so there just wasn’t much I could have changed about it.  I wish I would have found a potty sooner; I might have shaved 15 minutes or more off my time.  I mean really standing still in a race is the pits!

My total time was 6:49.

SOUP POOP



I was camped in the bedroom so they camped in the living room.

 Well, I have been sick….very sick, with a sickness I have affectionately named Soup Poop.  Which is no fun at all considering you can’t stray far from the trusty commode, but, the worst part is the cramps.  The only way to describe it would be labor pains or the really really bad PMS.  You know the kind where you lay in a ball and beg for pain relievers…..where the pain makes it hard to see.

I spent all weekend in bed (and the bathroom).  I would doze off only to wake to a sharp pain in my lower abdomen and then dash to the bathroom to squirt vile liquids into my toilet.  (Sorry but it was gross and I am trying to convey that here.)

Husband was so nice though.  He brought me flowers on Friday night, he watched the kid as much as he could stand to.  He really tried to give me space and let me suffer in peace.  Only once did he falter and it was when I asked for a refill of my juice and he practically snarled at me.  Maid service was not his intention.  LOL

So Monday is almost over and I made it through the whole day at work.  I am shocked.  I got up this morning and felt no better but decided I had to at least check in at the office.  After I got here I decided I would stay until my cramping stomach made me wish I were dead and then I would leave, but all day long it has not been too bad.  Now, mind you I have barely eaten a thing today because I know that will start my system moving and kick my bowels into action.  So I am on a little bit of a weight loss kick too.  (happy side effect?)

So I starved all day but managed to get some work done and find a tad bit of hopefulness that I still might be able to give my BIG race this weekend a solid effort.  This morning I was in tears thinking I would be too sick to race or at least be too weak to give it much of an effort.

However, I am getting ahead of myself here, this morning just coming up the steps from the basement winded me and I had to take a rest.  So I need to feel MUCH better by Friday when we leave for the race.

Race is on Saturday.....I really hope i feel good by then!

Yup - THIS is him!

Thanks to Jane, I found this article that almost perfectly describes my husband!!

click here --->>>THIS IS MY HUSBAND!!!

My Personal 9-11

11 years ago today, we all remember what we were doing when we heard about the plane hitting a tower in NYC.

I was at work and I think the first thing I received was an email from my mother.  I read it and hardly believed it.  Then the office secretary turned on the big TV in the conference room and everyone went in there to watch.  I am not sure if that was before or after the second building was hit.  It was all so surreal.

Simultaneously, Rocco was in San Francisco and due to fly home on that very day, September 11, 2001.  He was still living with me at the time.  (I was suspicious of his feelings for his co worker who is now his wife, but he had assured me many time that there was nothing between them.)  I knew our relationship was in ruins because he had gone to San Francisco to talk to a head hunter about getting a job there.  He was seriously considering moving there and had told me I was not invited because I needed to stay here for my kids.  He also told me he didn’t want to breakup with me that we would continue to date even after he moved.  What a joke.

Anyhow, on 9/11 all planes were grounded and he could not fly home.  I don’t remember exactly now, but he was stuck in San Fran for another 4 or 5 days I think (maybe a week).  He had lots of time to think and when he got back something was different.  He suddenly seemed invested in our relationship again.  He told me he wanted to try harder……that he was thinking if we could work it out we might even get married!!

I was so happy that he had a change of heart.  I was so happy that things were better.  I will never know what happened those days in San Fran or what really went through his mind, but it was all going to work out and I was thrilled.

Then, about a week before Christmas that same year, Friss made his fatal error and then Christmas became gray and pointless…….then January got worse and by February Rocco was so far away I couldn’t even see him right in front of me.  He would move out sometime that spring.  I wish I would have begged him to stay.

So, to me, 9/11 was a horrific unbelievable event in NYC and at the same time it was the point in my life where things started changing and have never gotten back on track.  It was the begging of a long slide into dark days.  It was the beginning of the end of so much.

9/11 makes me sad on so many levels.

Sunday with Deer Guts and Evil Bugs

This morning I got up at the normal 5 am and prepared to go for my long run. Husband appeared from the bedroom and snapped some comment at me about how it was so ridiculously early.  Now this was odd because we both usually get up early and 5 was not normally considered too early.  Not sure what that was about.

On my way to the trail, I was driving on a two lane highway when the car next to me (in the fast lane) just ran right over a dead deer that was in the road.  It looked freshly killed and was already busted up into big pieces.  I was slightly horrified that the car did not even attempt to slow down but then, before that all sunk in, there was a spray…. and a huge splash on my windshield as the guts of the dead deer splattered all over my car.  I was now in full freak out mode and wanted to drive immediately to the car wash.  My car is covered in deer blood, pee, bile, meat juice, whatever….GROSS!!!  I thought for a second and realized I should turn on the spray and wipers and at least get the windshield clean so I could see.  After that I knew I could not do the drive through carwash because the bike rack had to be removed first.  YUCK . YUCK.  YUCK.   I would have to just leave it until I got home. 

At the trail head I had to remember not to touch my car.  The whole front end had large brown sports of dried deer guts on it. YUCK

I did a 10 mile run all by myself, just an out and back on the flat trail.  Happily my legs were not very sore   from yesterdays 85 mile bike although I did feel a bit tired overall.  It was cooler with temps in the upper 50s so that was a pleasant change.  I took some time while running to work on focusing on form and breathing, even when I was tired and running the last half of my run.  I always have to remind myself that even when I am exhausted I can keep running well and I should not mentally give up like I was doing this spring.  (Running is a huge mind game for me.)

After my run, I had to get gas and I stopped for some juice and then Friss called and I stopped at the top of the hill to chat with him before I headed home. When I arrived home husband was giving off an aggravated vibe, no doubt because I was gone so long.   Of course we didn’t discuss it….that not allowed.

He had however started unloading the pantry for me.  This was good because I was planning to clean it out anyway.  Seems we got a bad load of rice and then got a weevil infestation.  (Notice the word evil is in their name!) Me being busy and distracted did not react quickly at the first signs of bugs so the darn things morphed into moth like creatures and then proceeded to die all over the whole pantry.  Big cleaning project.  No fun.

I told husband I needed to wash car first and foremost.  He told me he would do it so I could work on the panty.  That was super cool of him.  Mommy was happy.

After he washed the car he piled the girl in the car and took her to the gym.  I worked on the pantry for at least two hours.  THEN it was time to start on my regular weekly chores and I was not in any mood to do any of it.  I wanted to just sit down for a freakin’ minute.  BUT I did not.  I knew I would not get up.  I finally decided I needed some calories so I ate some food and felt a bit better. 

For my own amazement, I kept a list.  You ready?

1)      Make the bed

2)      Empty small trashcans

3)      Boil eggs

4)      Clean rabbit cage

5)      Feed rabbit

6)      Water plants

7)      Write check to day care

8)      Cook my lunches and package them up (peel fresh carrots and cook, green beans and veggie burgers)

9)      Empty the dishwasher and reload it.

10)   Finish a load of laundry and put it away. 

11)   Sweep the kitchen floor

12)   Refill my weekly pill sorter

13)   Pack Beanie for school on Monday.

14)   Put recycling out in garage

15)   Cut up a head of lettuce to keep salad ready for hubby

16)   General tidying and picking up

When that was all done, I finally crawled in bed with Bean for a MUCH needed nap. We both were sound asleep in no time. It was 4 when we woke up and hubby was home. He was being friendly and kept trying to get Bean to go outside with him. He was doing stuff in the yard and tinkering.  I was actually a bit bored.  I watched 60 minutes by myself.  He hates when I watch TV. I am glad he has been nicer to me lately, but he still doesn’t “connect” like I wish he would which makes me sad.

BIKE MS

Today was the big BIKE MS bike ride.  I used to do this fun event every year some years back. Then as I became a better cyclist I started feeling almost selfish about my participation.  Like expecting them to feed me and give me a medal for riding seemed ridiculous.  I mean I was there because it was fun for me to get in a good long ride, not because of my lofty humanitarian goals.  Of course, I gave them the required donations but it still seemed too easy for me.  Some people really get out there and suffer for the cause. (The cheering crowds at the end are just made me feel ridiculous.)

This year I needed an excuse to get in a nice long ride with some old friends so I signed up a few weeks ago. 

Before we started the ride I had a weird thing happen.  One of the guys I was riding with, Tom, was commenting about the purchase of his bike “best $600 I ever spent”.  Another friend told me that Tom had purchased the bike from an old friend who had purchased it from an old boyfriend of mine.  All of a sudden I realized that I was there when that bike was originally purchased brand new.  That I helped choose that bike back in 2002 when it was purchased so my new boyfriend could cycle with me.  It was like a piece of the past had come back to say hi.

Anyway, my friends and I had the most awesome 82 mile bike ride.  The weather was perfect and we just killed it with an average speed of 18 miles per hour.  (I actually got in an extra 4 miles bringing my personal total to over 85 miles because I biked from my office to the start location.) 

Best of all, I felt strong on the bike and had very little pain in my jacked up feet.

As soon as we crossed the finish, my friend Mike saw the beer tent and that was it; we were on to the next activity.  I had one quick beer but then had to rush off to pick up Beanie from Ramone who had been solicited to help husband out so he would not be stuck with her all day.  He too wanted to get out and bike since the weather was so phenomenally beautiful.

I did however go back up to the fairgrounds with daughter in tow and spent the balance of the day socializing with my buddies.   I also had another strange coincidence, with Tom again.  This time he was chatting and mentioned that he used to work at the Rec Center a few years ago.  I asked him if he knew Nikki (my husband’s ex wife) since I knew she too had worked at the Rec Center.  He said he did know her, that she was a bit of a “princess” and that there was some sort of scandal about her but he couldn’t remember exactly what.  I said you mean where she left her husband for her boss.  He then remembered that yes indeed that was the scandal, the two of them ran off to Florida together.  I told Tom I am now married to that guy…..the one that Nikki dumped for the boss.   He was like “WOW”.  Funny, the longer I live here, the smaller this town gets.

Best thing about today was it was another huge confidence builder for me going into the half iron man triathlon, after 85 miles my legs felt fine and more importantly, my feet felt OK!

Therapy

Today at lunch time I went for a swim.  As I was swimming the length of this ¼ mile lake, I had plenty of time to think.  I was thinking about husband and how he behaves and how he has all these issue that he won’t actually fix and how he really just expects the rest of the world to get over it. 

His way of dealing with things is to ignore them and pretend they don’t exist; which makes it really hard on me because if I try to discuss an issue, he can’t discuss it or he would actually be admitting it exists.

He does from time to time admit he is a jerk.  He likes to say he is an only child so he can’t help being selfish.  Another favorite line is he was born an introvert so he can’t help being antisocial and not connecting with others.....it's in his DNA so out of his control.

On some level I guess he has accepted who he is and that is good? 

Do I think he really is happy with who he is? No, I really don’t.  He spends too much time pretending to be someone he is not.  He fully believes in not letting anyone see the real him.  He just puts on the “right” act for the situation he is in.

But really, not admitting that you have issues, not working on those issues, not trying to do better is just ridiculous.  I mean at least be man enough to say I can do better and I should do better and I will try.

In the final analysis, I think if he really feels that he need to pretend to be someone he is not so much maybe he needs to ask himself if some self improvement or therapy may be in order.  I think meds might be a great help to his mood swings. 

Admit that you have issues and do something about it, don’t just try to hide them and fake your way through life!

**************

on a side note.......swimming is a great time to think because there are NO distractions!  It reminds me of when I wake up at 3 am and the house is quiet and dark and I have such great clear thoughts.  If only the goggles did not leave marks on my face, I could learn to love swimming.  LOL

His Attitude

Ever since the terrible week Husband has been trying very hard to be nice.  I think the fact that our daughter actually told him “Mommy thinks you are a jerk” was a bit of a wakeup call for him. 

It certainly makes life more pleasant when he is being agreeable and acting fairly normal so I am grateful.  However, I am also smart enough to know that he cycles off and on and will only be nice for a week or so and then he will get back into a negative funk again.  The problem never goes away; it just retreats for a bit.

Over the weekend a little exchange between us took place that totally illustrates his attitude most of the time, even when he is in a good mood, and I feel it is rather uncooperative and disrespectful.  I don’t think it is how you should behave when you are trying to foster good relationships with those you love.

We were sitting on the bed and Beanie pointed out a dark spot, the size of a baseball, on the comforter and asked what it was.  I told her it was from Daddy’s medicine when his foot was bandaged up (he got Neosporin on it).  I then turned to husband and said “That is why I ask you not to sleep on TOP of the comforter.  I paid $80 for it just a few months ago and hate to see it get ruined.”  He then chimes back “well Nikki bought a comforter for $300!”  I then asked a few questions about if he approved that purchase since I know he is a super tight wad.  Of course, she didn’t ask him if it was ok, she just did it (they had a joint account). Then he told me he slept on top of it too.  I asked if Nikki had complained and he said “oh yeah!”

So, husband knows that wives don’t want him to sleep on top of the comforter.  He has been told by two not one, yet, on most nights, he will just flop down on top of it and go to sleep.  I have asked him many times just to pull it down to the foot of the bed if he does not want to use it.  They are not designed to be washed a lot and body oils and such are not good for its longevity.  The last one we had was a darker color and was less expensive so I may not have complained as much but he did ultimately ruin it too.

The point is…..he does as he damn well pleases with no regard for anyone else’s feelings.

Labor Day Weekend

So my husband has either found my blog and never confessed or he has an incredible sense of timing.  I’m going to go with the second option.

Saturday was rainy and I went down to visit Friss.  Of course I took Beanie because husband could not be bothered with watching her all afternoon.  We had a great visit other than the fact that a 5 year old is incredibly good at interrupting, so the words “now what were we talking about?” were uttered so many times I can’t count.

On the drive home I phoned husband and he was working on installing a ceiling fan in Beanie’s bedroom.  I was thrilled!  He went and picked one out, purchased it and installed it and I didn’t have to do a thing.  What a nice feeling to have Daddy taking care of us!  (In hind sight he was no doubt waiting for a rainy day to do it and we all know it has been since May that we had one.)

Sunday morning I was supposed to do one last LONG brick before my race and Bob was supposed to join me; however in the wee hour of the morning he texted me that he was feeling under the weather and would not make it. SO I put my bike on the car and did it all by myself.  I wore my new GARMIN 910xt so there was some fun involved as I was trying out a new toy.  Overall it went well.  I started a bit late and rode the first 15 miles in some light rain but by the turn around it had cleared up and I had a tail wind for the last 28 miles.  Total time for my 56 mile bike was right at 3:15 hours.  I am happy with that and hope to do 3 hours in the actual race assuming it is not raining or super windy.

Next it was time to run.  I had planned a 13 mile out and back course.  I successfully switched my Garmin from bike mode to run mode (go me) and headed out.  At first I felt sluggish but figured I would feel better once I found my groove.  Later I decided that I had probably eaten TOO MANY calories.  I was being overly cautious about running out of fuel; lesson learned.  (Husband later told me no more than 300 calories per hour.) Then, around mile 3, there was a construction area that was super muddy thanks to all the rain from Hurricane Isaac.  I tried to pick my way through and not get too muddy but there was just no way.  It took me 10 minutes to scrape my shoes off so I could start running again.  Wow, was I losing steam.  As I kept running on the original course it occurred to me I needed a reroute so I did not have to traverse the mud pit again.  I mapped a route in my mind and switched direction.  At some point I figured out that the new route was not going to be long enough.  I fussed about not making my 13 miles for a bit and then decided I was too crabby, tired and sick of running tocare anymore and just ran back to the car.  It was 11 ugly miles at a 9:30 average pace.  I was hoping for closer to a 9 minute pace.  That is my goal for the race.

I spent the rest of the day puttering around the house.  I drank some beer, did some cooking and napped with my daughter.  I deemed it a successful day.

Monday was a holiday which was perfect.  I needed a day to do my weekend chores and as a bonus, I could actually join my friends for their normal Monday morning bike ride.  After the ride one of the participants always hosts a big home cooked breakfast.  This time it was my buddy who is a police officer so it was kind of fun to see what his place was like.  Also, we ate biscuits, gravy, eggs and bacon.  Wow, best breakfast I have had in years.

After enjoying the company of my friends for a long and digesting a bit I headed home and hubby disappeared down the road on his bike.  I did all my chores and got Beanie down for an early nap.  Around 2 I dropped her at a friend’s house for a play date and I scooted over to the lake to swim with my new Garmin on.  It was pretty cool to finally get a real reading on how long it will take me to swim 1.2 miles.  It was 48 minutes.  So I am estimating it will take one hour or less in the actual race.

So let’s add this up:

Swim – 1 hour

Bike – 3 hours

Run – 2 hours

Total = 6 hours  = BEST CASE!!  If I do this thing in anywhere near 6 hours I will be THRILLED.

I will be disappointed if it takes me more than 7 hours.  So that is the goal, under 7 hours.