UPDATING MY IPOD - HELP

I'm getting my iPod ready for the race and I need 13.1 miles of pounding good music. Anyone want to share some fave fast songs?

Tri Update

Well it's over a week late, but here's my last race report before the BIG race! Last weekend's race was terrific. I was recuperating from a week long cold - a BAD cold, so in that respect, I was VERY happy to just be participating at all. The morning was cool and cloudy and I wasn't thrilled to get into the water so I took my time getting my transition area set up and then headed down to the beach to eyeball the water course and refresh my memory from last year on how many buoys there were and where they were located - 6 total. I ran into Diane and Michele who were in my swim start so we hugged and chatted for a few minutes and then I figured I better get my wetsuit on. I was so calm - it felt great!

I got into the water and warmed up a bit and then positioned myself right behind Michele and figured I would try to keep up. I drafted off her almost the entire .9 miles. She did such a great job that I never once had to sight until the very very end where I swallowed half the lake and lost her toes. I must have still been right behind her as I came out of the water just seconds after her. I may just have to draft off her at Pac Crest, too! Or maybe Diane - she came out about 2 minutes before us - but I'm not sure I could keep up with her. I do better in the water and especially on the bike if I am chasing someone (and by chase, I mean keeping up with not too much extra effort) - otherwise I start to daydream and lose the point of the RACE. Yes, RACE, Julie - not a leisurely ride through the country :o)
Although I have to say that I am so NOT a racer. I don't really care about winning - which is good because I will never be the winner. I do appreciate not being last, however - so I need to keep up some kind of a pace and work enough but still enjoy the journey.

Swim was 30:48 compared to last year at 31:42 - so almost a full minute off of last year!!

Headed in and out of T1 without any difficulty - just a couple seconds slower than last year.

Hopped on my bike and never really caught my breath until after the half way point of the ride. I really kind of despised the last half of the ride - I was ready to be done. I don't know if it's because it's a boring ride or because the weather wasn't that great or what, but it just wasn't doing it for me. I felt like I was going kind of slow but I knew I was just behind several good bikers on the team. Sometimes being in such a late swim start throws me off and I forget that I should NOT be close in physical distance to some of my teammates, but that I am close in time.
Last year at this race, I passed exactly 3 people. The first two ended up actually being bums that were riding their bikes along side the road looking for bottles and cans or had just slept one off in the ditch and were getting on with their day and the final guy I passed had a flat. But this year...I passed some real racers and it felt great!

Bike time was 1:18:55. I took 14 minutes off of last years time.

So after the swim, I was 9/22 in my division - not bad!!
And with the bike, I was tied for 7/22 in my division. I likey!

T2 also went fine - I cut off 7 seconds from last year.

Now here's where it breaks down and where I realize I really need to concentrate for the time being - the run. It has helped me to look at my placing in the first two legs and see that I can be competitive if I will just get into running again. I think my fastest pace in a long distance run in the past was about 9:15 at the Portland Marathon a couple years ago. We didn't actually finish the race at that pace due to other circumstances, but I definitely felt like I could have kept it up with no problem. So - not that fast really, but still...much faster than I've been running these past two years. Especially this year! First, I had shin splints what felt like this entire season. I took our long slow distance Saturday runs to a new level of slow...AND I didn't do any track or speed workouts at all this year - 0k, one.

Then as soon as my shin splints were better, I crashed the bike on the RR tracks and my left knee has been messed up since then - not too bad, but it's not helping me get faster, either. It's swollen and starts to bug me at about mile 5 or 6, so I've been cutting my 7 or 8 mile runs short. So last weekend, once I hit the pavement with my running shoes, I already knew that I wasn't going to be running fast to begin with and I was still not completely better from my cold (you would have laughed at my face during the swim - it was just COVERED with snot - ick). So I chose to run slower than even I thought I would. I figured it wasn't the time to try to kill myself - I'm sure I'll easily have that option of death at the big race :o)

I was going so slow people were actually coming up behind me and asking if I was ok - hehe. Strangers. I told them "I feel great!!" and I was telling the truth. I started to look at all those people with red faces and pain in their eyes and I thought to myself, I'm not going to go there - I don't like pain...AT ALL. After I finished the race with nary a drop of sweat on my brow, Dan asked me if I was running "country miles" today - hahaha. He kept waiting to see me on the course and apparently thought I was taking too long :o)

My end time was 3:07:48 - I ended up taking way longer on the run than last year so didn't PR by much, but I still PRd and ended up 15/22 in my division. Now...even if I had just run a 10 m/m which is my usual easy speed in years past, then I would have placed around 9th or 10th in my division, which is perfectly acceptable to me - so I just need to start running again and I think I'll be a happy camper.

I really do love this sport!

So the big event is coming up - I can't wait to give you all a GOOD report! It's not too late to donate - just hop over to my TNT DONATION PAGE to make a donation to help find a cure!!!! Thanks to everyone who has already donated - you guys ROCK MY WORLD!!!! I'm at 82% of my goal - thanks all!

The Neighbors Honor Dave The Cat

I woke this morning to find a card on my front porch from our neighbors down the road. I've actually been surprised at how many people sent sympathy cards and understand the pain of losing a pet. I think cats don't get the credit they deserve for being loyal partners in life, although after receiving this particular card, I'm starting to wonder how loyal he actually was ;o)
The card reads:

Dear Neighbors:
We miss your cat 'Tude (short for C'attitude). 'Tude got his name early in our relationship. We would find him sprawled in the middle of our walkway and when he was asked (politely) to move, he would hiss and make as if to swipe at us, giving us cat "attitude".

We soon figured out he was really just a sweet mooch. Clearly 'Tude believed in the philosphy of "su casa es mi casa". On many occasions we found him wandering inside our home or helping himself to our cats' food, completely comfortable - almost being an extra kid in our cat family.

Our days usually started seeing him at the front door as we went to get the paper, and we still find ourselves looking for him. We miss him as you must, too.

A donation in his memory has been made to the Feral Cat Coalition, which relieves the suffering of feral cats through it's spay and neuter programs.

Sincerly,
R & C

Saturday Fun

What a great Saturday!! Up EARLY to get awake and coffeed up and out to Edgefield for our burliest ride of the season: Bull Run. 67 miles of hills, hills and more hills with over 4,500+ feet in climbing. It's brutal. Took us 2:50 to get to the half way mark and 2:25 to get back, so a little easier on the way back but your legs are so toasted, it still feels like poop. My knee started hurting almost immediately after the first hill so I popped some more advil at about mile 17 and decided that if the pain didn't subside I would quit at the half way mark rather than exacerabate the problem to the point of disabling me for Pac Crest. Fortunately for me, the advil worked and I felt great at the aid station at mile 33.5!! Not so great was that knee problems did not work themselves out for Tim or Sheryl and they ended their ride at that point. That dropped us down to only 9 riders since Coach Scott blew his tire. We heard that Sherrie wiped out on a corner descent so I wasn't sure she was continuing on either. The descents on this ride are crazy. CRAZY, I say! You'll be bombing down a hill and then realize you're right on a sign that says 10mph corner ahead...yikes!! It was raining on us, too - so the roads were SLICK and covered with debris from the big storm the other day.

Scott took over Tim's front wheel since he didn't need it and Sherrie was a stud and continued to ride even after the fall, so we still had a good group finishing the ride. I can't believe how different this year compared to last at Bull Run. Last year I was very close to bonking or actually probably was bonking for the last 10 miles and this year I really had my nutrition RIGHT ON! I should have had one more gel to really get it right, but the sweetness is so hard for me to take at that point in a long ride so I just skipped it - plus I knew I had a SKOR bar waiting in the truck for me when I finished! (I don't care if sweets don't appeal to me...I ALWAYS have tastebuds for a SKOR bar). I got off my bike at the end and felt fantastic!! My quads were cramping so bad last year that I couldn't bend over, could barely get my bike on the truck and cried from the pain. This year - I felt like a million bucks! ALSO>>>cut off 35 minutes from last year's time. I don't know that I'm any stronger this year than last, but that's the difference a road bike makes vs. a mountain bike. Legs are tired today, but not too bad. Swelling has gone down significantly since yesterday in my left knee, but I still might postpone today's 10 mile run until tomorrow.

BUT THE BEST PART OF SATURDAY was going to see Dane Cook at the Rose Garden. I decided to surprise Steve with Isolated Incident tickets, so we dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa's for the night and we headed downtown. Shared a yummy burger and onion rings at the pre-show restaurant/bar - which is unusual for me...the sharing of a burger part. Normally I refuse to go halfsies, but I managed to down a whole bag of chips when I got home from the ride and ruined my appetite :-(

I also got smashed off of two measly glasses of wine which I assume is from the ride kicking my butt. Then we headed in to what was probably the most laughing ever in the history of me!! The two opening comedians had me laughing so hard that I had tears squirting out of my eyes continuously. I finally had to use my shirt as a tissue because my face was sopping wet. By the time Dane came out, I was a mess - he had me smiling so much that my cheeks really did feel like they were about to pop off my face and fly across the room - JUST what I was looking for in an evening. I have NEVER and I mean NEVER seen my husband smile and laugh so much in the entire time I've know him. Good Stuff!

So, I guess it doesn't matter if you cry for two hours straight out of sadness or hilarity, either way, your eyes don't lie the next day. I look like I cried all night long. The bag of chips probably didn't help my puffiness out so much either.

So maybe a run today, maybe not. Definitely a long swim and Jack's school is having a big carnival today, so sounds like that's where our party's at today.
Have a Super Sunday, all!!

The Day Before The Big Ride

First, I have to give props to Mai. She is such a little athlete! I did two 90 degree runs this week in anticipation of the heat on race day and when we were at the dog park the other night, Mai did 8 laps around the park - running super fast in her flip flops. I could see people stopping her to ask her what in the heck she was doing - they were all as amazed at the determination of this little girl as I am. I overheard her telling someone she was heat training for Pac Crest. I love her so much. I am amazed by her. I am amazed by both of my kids. It just keeps getting better and better - this momhood stuff :o)

So tomorrow is our toughest ride of the year - Bull Run. It is a ride that nightmares are made of. 68 miles and last year it took us 5 hours and 50 minutes. It's beautiful, but oh so tough. I. Must. Get. Off. My. Bike. And. Walk. This. Hill. Tough. - but you don't get off, and you finish it and then your quads cramp up so bad you cry all the way home. Well, that was my story last year. We'll see how it goes tomorrow :o)
I still don't have my bike fixed so I've got limited gears, and I had hoped to have the larger cassette dropped in by the time we got to this ride, but I'm out of money, so I'm just going to give it all I've got with what I've got and not worry about it. It can only make me stronger!!

My main concern is that it is going to take so much out of me that I won't be able to stay awake to enjoy our DANE COOK!!! tickets tomorrow night. I am so ready for an evening of laughter!! The kind of laughter that makes your cheeks feel like they are going to fly off your face from smiling so much.

Purim Prep

Our latest Beth Moore bible study "Esther" ended last week. It was a great study!! Ask me anything about Esther :o)
The book read like a dramatic novel!! In fact, it has been made into a piece of fiction called "Hadassah - One Night With the King" which I am currently reading. It has also been made into a movie, which our group will be watching tomorrow after we feast! We are having our own Feast of Purim at the church and we are all bringing homemade Hebrew food. I am in charge of the Shirazi Salad, which I chopped and chopped and chopped this morning over at Debby's house. The girls played outside while I chopped veggies and while Debby managed to create two entire main dishes while I tried not to cut off a finger chopping cukes. She's definitely a good cook and I can't wait to taste her final products.

I am sad to see this study end, but Debby and Lori have seen to it that we'll have small groups meeting this summer for 4 weeks to do a shorter Beth Moore study "Loving Well" in homes rather than the church. They'll be small groups of 5 or 6 and the study sounds so good!! I can't wait to meet my group and get going. I love that I don't have to wait until Fall to have a good group study again. I'm also dedicating this Summer to A Wife After God's Own Heart and a Mom After God's Own Heart on my own.

So, it's 'bout time to hit the road for a "hot run" and then our first swim at "the pond" tonight. Klineline pond will always be my favorite over Vancouver Lake. Small, protected, warm...