Big Triathlon Weekend

Overall it was a good weekend. I had so much fun with my teammates and the 40 people from our multisport club that participated and/ or watched. Uwe was there but he was fairly nice and we did NOT spend a lot of time together.

I was on a relay team with these two beautiful young ladies and I am proud to say that we won first place in the relay. Full disclosure, there were only three relay teams competing but still we won.

I did the bike portion of the triathlon. It was a hilly sommabich.


Elevation shot from my Garmin.  Those two big climbs in the middle were killers!


Highlights: The camaraderie of awesome friends and team mates. Good conversation with Tater on the long drive to the race. Exhilarating moped ride with John to fetch my ID. Sleeping in a room with 3 other girls and not one of them complaining that it was too cold. Racing just for fun and not taking it too seriously. The excitement of watching amazing friends do their first triathlon or compete against their dad or concur their first half distance triathlon race.

Lowlights: I dropped my chain twice and took a (small) wrong turn on the bike and overall didn’t feel that strong. My poor performance reminded me that I have not been taking very good care of myself this summer. Even worse, I still had the occasional pang of sadness over the loss of my one time best friend. It can be hard at times to be around him yet not be included.

Husband’s behavior this weekend:
Most of the team went down Friday but I didn’t leave until early Saturday morning, mostly to be nice to hubby by staying home another night. When I got up Saturday I did my best to be quiet while getting ready but of course he woke up and was grumpy that I woke him. I couldn’t help but think “gee it would be nice if you wanted to see me a bit before I leave for two whole days”. I didn’t say it though….maybe I should have.

Right before I left I went to kiss him goodbye. He was sitting in bed eating yogurt on crackers for breakfast. I chirped in a playful tone “good thing you are so good looking or I would have to kick you out of bed for eating crackers” I thought it was cute and would perk him up. Instead he snapped back in a grumpy manner “like you never get crumbs in the bed”. I just turned and left. Probably once again I should have said something like “I was just being playful…lighten up.” But instead I opted to leave the room and forget he is alive for two days.

When I returned home Sunday night I asked him if he wanted to see my swag. I started to tell him about the trip and show him things and he sat there facing forward in the bed watching the TV with no volume. He didn’t look my way or say a thing. I asked if he was upset and he said no just tired. I finally just put my stuff away and said “turn the TV back up”. I am sure he was tired because he had biked 120 miles that day while a friend entertained our daughter for him.
I suppose I should have pointed out how his apparent lack of interest in my life depresses me and makes me feel our marriage is a sham. BUT, that sounds mean so I guess I should have thought of some nicer way to tell him how I felt. Still, I just decided if he was tired I would ignore him which would make him happy.

HOWEVER….I get sick of trying to say the right thing to make things better when he seems perfectly fine with the way things are as long as he doesn’t have to watch our daughter too much. George seems to think I need to press for what I want but I am not good at that and quite frankly I don’t want to have train him like a dog. So frustrating.

THE UGLY TRUTH: I really don’t think I will ever be happy with him. I really don’t think he has it in him to be the friend and partner I want. I don’t even understand how he can be so detached. I honestly believe he has way more issue to deal with than I do (part of the discussion in the car this weekend) and he has buried them so deep he thinks they are gone. That being said; I have been asking myself all weekend could I really leave him….could I actually go through with it and I keep thinking I really can’t. As much as I am unhappy, being on my own is just way too scary and overwhelming. Starting over again….no thanks. Forcing my daughter to be shuttled back and forth between two households….can’t do it. I will never leave him; at least not until she is grown up. I plan to tell a very amazing man that I can’t leave and put his hopes at ease. Problem solved.

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.

Biking, Birthdays and Electronic Failures

Friday I picked up Beanie and headed straight home.  Husband arrived right after me with groceries and a 6 pack.  I think he was willing to share, but I am not drinking because I am trying to take my training VERY seriously as this point.  Thing to note is he came right home which is a nice thing and doesn’t seem to happen very often.

I am not sure if I mentioned it here on this blog yet, but I DID actually sign up to do the Half “Ironman” distance triathlon at nationals.  That will consist of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike and then a 13.1 mile run.  The race is September 22 and now that vacation is behind me and husband is on the mend, this race is my focus for the next seven weeks.

Anyway Friday we had a good evening.  I don’t remember the details but I do remember thinking Husband was fairly pleasant.  I should also point out that he got his stitches out last Tuesday and he got his case off on Wednesday and they cleared him for normal activity as long as it doesn’t hurt

Saturday first thing I ran 10 miles with Stina and then biked 51 miles with Uwe.  It got really steamy by the end and Uwe was whining like a girl.  As soon as we finished I went home to eat and see my Bean.  We tried to nap but I failed to get her to sleep.  She was a wreck the balance of the day.

Husband however was pretty agreeable and interactive so again I was happy about that.  I kept thinking “if he was like this all the time and a romantic once in a while I would be perfectly satisfied with my marriage.” 

Then I had to go and push my luck.  Around 6:30 I asked if he would mind if I rode my bike again on Sunday morning, just for a couple of hours, I would be home by 9 a.m. at the latest and I even promised to clean the basement floor which is something he had mentioned was past due.  He then became cold and distant and avoided me the rest of the night.  I asked him several times what was wrong and even offered to skip the ride if it would cheer him up.  He had no interest in discussing it and forged ahead in full asshole mode, so I just ignored him back after my initial attempts at being a good wife and discussing what I viewed as a sudden mood change I might have created. 

I thought about what was really wrong and I decided he was just jealous because he can’t bike due to his broken wrist still being tender.  I also decided that it is ridiculous that he is so childish and selfish that he has to go pout because I am training.  He has to treat me coldly because he can’t have all the fun he likes AND, he is the one that wrecked the motorcycle causing the injuries so I don’t think I deserve any of it.

Sunday morning I showed up for the group ride and no one was there.  My rotten cell phone texting was not working or I would have known that the ride had been cancelled.   However, since I was out anyway I decided to do hill repeats on my own.  I went to my favorite hill and rode up it several times drinking in the fresh morning air as the sun rose up over the rural countryside.

I went ahead and wore my iPod (which I rarely do on the bike) because it was so early and remote I knew there would be very little traffic.  I really enjoyed my “me time” on my bike and my legs are pretty darn sore this morning.  Good sore of course.

After the ride I threw on my running shoes and headed out to run…..I was about a half a mile into it when my iPod froze up.  It was playing but the controls quit working.  I stopped to tinker with it and turned it off then it would not come back on.  I wasn’t in the mood to hear myself breathing and my feet hitting the pavement so I only ran 2 miles and then called it a day.  Why are all my electronics crapping out on me?

On the way home I stopped at Target and purchased a new iPod.  It makes my runs so much more pleasurable to have some peppy music.  I have been advised that you are not allowed to wear music in a triathlon or they will disqualify you.  This makes me sad since I know it is going to make the half tri in September even harder on me.

Sunday afternoon me and Beanie took naps and then attended a birthday party/pool party for one of Beanies classmates.  It was lots of fun.

 

We arrived back home around 6 p.m. so I watched 60 minutes and then the Olympics.  Husband was not bad but not good.  He was pretty much doing his own thing until around 9 when he came and watched TV with me until 10 and then he went to sleep.  You know he does not kiss me good night unless I ask him to.  I hate that.

I CAN Swim!

Monday after work I usually hang out with my daughter.  During the school year she takes ballet class but right now she is on summer break from that.  So this last Monday after work we headed to the lake to see if Mama can swim.  (Don’t tell anyone, but I am seriously considering doing a half iron man distance triathlon.)

The last time I swam any distance was in 2006 when I was training for our multisport club national’s competition.  That fall, I did my first and only triathlon near Las Vegas; the swim was in Lake Mead.  I will never be fast enough to actually win and individual award in a triathlon but it is still fun to go to nationals and earn points for participating which helps our club get some recognition.

Anyhow, I had decided that if I didn’t enjoy the swim…or if I struggled too much, I would not be attempting the half ironman distance.  However, much to my surprise after a ¼ of a mile, I found a groove and felt pretty good.  I actually enjoyed it and felt comfortable.  So I think I have the ability I just need to refine my skills a bit.  I know a lot about running and cycling and have been doing each of them passionately for years however; I have not swum much since I was kid. 

Thank God my mother insisted I take tons of swimming lessons and join the local swim team when I was young.  I am so grateful that I am not afraid of water and I can swim any stroke and feel competent.