So today our work had to go to this Insights Training about our Personality and how we work with others. We learned about our Strenghts and Limitations (the facilitator did not like to call them Weaknesses). After 5 hours of reading about yourself, analyzing, discussing.....my head hurts a lot. I mean, I have done this before in groups but do you ever feel like God might have made a mistake when He put you together? Cause that is how I felt by the end of the session. More on this later, I will share part of the test with you all.
I am tired and I have rehearsal in one hour.
**As a side note, whatever you do in your life, pray...meditate.....talk at the Universe....positive thoughts....my friend Angie Davis at the age of 34 had a masectomy a few days ago. The pathology test came back with pretty bad results. She has 3 small children and it having a difficult time. Her family could use lot's of love right now. They have a long road of treatment ahead of them.
Until later.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Songs to go to Bed with....
- After my list of songs to wake up to....I thought to myself..."Self, what do you like when it is time for bed?" Here's my list! (The other reason...music is on my brain a lot these days. I have an exciting month coming up....Spoon on the 13th, ACL festival 14-16, Brandi Carlile 19th.....I might explode!!!)
- Peter Pan, Patty Griffin- Really anything of hers would suit me just fine. I love her stuff in a lady crush kind of way. She lives in Austin. Maybe we will become best friends. This song just gets me.
- Lover, You Should’ve Come Over, Jeff Buckley- “She’s the tear that hangs inside my soul forever” Nuff Said.
- Grace, Kate Melankton- If you don’t know her, you should be slapped right now. She is my newest find from SXSW festival. Her voice-haunting. Her lyrics-engaging. This song done with upright bass, a little piano and her voice. Can you see me with my woobie…off to bed I go.
- Nice Dream, Radiohead- off one of my favorite albums The Bends. (and to think after Pablo Honey I didn’t want to give them a chance, I would have missed out. I have Andy Simonds to thank for this) This song is hypnotizing which is why I don’t listen to it when I am driving.
- Night Time Is (The Right Time), Ray Charles- first memory is watching The Cosby show like every other family did in the 80s…waiting to see what the Huxtables would do next. Other than that memory, this song makes me want to sleep…..not alone though. Sigh.
- 1963, Rachel Yamagata- Her sound is retro, her guitar licks are delish. You go to bed with a smile. “I feel like I’m loving you in 1963.” That has to mean something good.
- Hai Luli, Cecelia Bartoli (singer) Pauline Garcia (composer)- Bartoli is my favorite Italian Operatic singer. A seductive treatment of a song asking, “where can my love be?” Funny, I ask myself that a lot.
- Letting You Go, Lauren Kennedy (singer) Jason Robert Brown (songwriter)- I couldn’t do this list without one true shout out to some show tunes. If you aren’t a fan of showtunes, Jason Robert Brown will change your mind. Just go buy The Last Five Years (and then thank me later) JRB is genius on the piano and everything about his writing is tasteful. Always a story…and not a cheesy, put on your tap shoes kind of story.
- Most of the Time, Bob Dylan- Most of the time I'm halfway content, Most of the time I know exactly where I went. Most of the time. I couldn't say it any better. God Bless Dylan.
- Come Pick Me Up, Ryan Adams- Harmonica, Harmonica, Harmonica. I wish you would. This was my first Ryan Adams song….not my last.
- Feelin’ Love, Paula Cole- I don’t think I want to explain this song. If you know it….you get it. Plus anyone that can work damn skippy baby into a song deserves a lot of play time.
Radio Retro Band....Austin Tri....Come on out!!!
MONDAY – SEPTEMBER 3, 2007 – Radio Retro will be performing this coming Monday, Labor Day, September 3rd at Auditorium Shores on the Finish Line Stage for the Austin Triathlon. Come out and support the band and all the amazing athletes on the shores of Lake Ladybird. The band will start at 10am and play until 12pm to entertain the projected crowd of over 3000. Yours truly will be racing this event AND then will jump up on stage and give you some Journey, Blondie, Eurythmics....good sounds of the 80s!!!
Here’s some info on the event:
The Austin Triathlon will be a premier international distance triathlon event held in downtown Austin. The Austin Triathlon is an International Distance event: 1500m Swim, 40kM bike, 10 kM run. This will prove to be an event you definitely don't want to miss. Event features include:
- Live music on the bike and run course and a special featured performance by Austin 80’s band, RADIO RETRO, on the main Finish Line Stage.
- Post race massage and ART for racers.
- Post race food, drinks, beer, and ice cream.
- Don T. Bonk.
- Squirt guns on the run course.
- Multi-sport expo.
- Finish Line Carnival with games and over $4000 in free stuff!
More info and registration for racers - http://www.texastriseries.com/events/austintri/info.asp - http://www.jackandadams.com
Flugtag- what the?
My Saturday night consisted of going to Town Lake and watching the Red Bull Flugtag (pronounced floog-tag) USA. Yes, it's a competition of sorts and my stomach was hurting from so much laughter. It is what you call an Extraordinary Flying Contest. And extraordinary it was....this competition did not disappoint. Teams are judged on three criteria: distance, creativity and showmanship. What constitutes a craft is purely up to the imagination of the participating teams. And well, I learned on Saturday night that imagination is truly relative....Past Red Bull Flugtag entries have included a pregnant cow, a diaper-delivering stork, a pimped-out Cadillac, a giant Oompa Loompa, and yes folks -- a lobster named Larry. ALL being launched off a 30 foot flight deck.
The event in Austin was the first time that flugtag had gone nighttime in Northamerica. Yeah, Texas is always looking for ways to go bigger and better! (and maybe this is why they say everything is bigger in Texas?) Local team Skate and Destroy took home first place and soared into Red Bull Flugtag history on an enormous skateboard as they climbed their ultimate ramp and performed tricks off of the 30-foot flight deck before splashing into the waters below. At this point, those of you in Orlando are like....."what? Where the heck have you moved? It's not too late Colleen. Come back!!!"
All those involved in launching themselves off of this deck deserve an award of some sort. I wish you all could have seen this. You should checkout the website: http://www.redbullflugtagusa.com/Default.aspx
be prepared...flugtag may be coming to a city near you, get your flying machine ready!!!
The event in Austin was the first time that flugtag had gone nighttime in Northamerica. Yeah, Texas is always looking for ways to go bigger and better! (and maybe this is why they say everything is bigger in Texas?) Local team Skate and Destroy took home first place and soared into Red Bull Flugtag history on an enormous skateboard as they climbed their ultimate ramp and performed tricks off of the 30-foot flight deck before splashing into the waters below. At this point, those of you in Orlando are like....."what? Where the heck have you moved? It's not too late Colleen. Come back!!!"
All those involved in launching themselves off of this deck deserve an award of some sort. I wish you all could have seen this. You should checkout the website: http://www.redbullflugtagusa.com/Default.aspx
be prepared...flugtag may be coming to a city near you, get your flying machine ready!!!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Mr. Roosevelt
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt
I came across this quote in an old journal, copied it and put it on my mirror in my bathroom. I think Mr. Roosevelt knew what he was talking about. I guess that is why I do the things I do. I know my move to Austin did not make sense to a lot of people after 9 years in Orlando, I know that leaving the world of Mickey Mouse & full time entertainment to go work for a non-profit certainly didn't make sense to a lot of people. I know that cycling 100 miles on a given weekend, racing 70.3 on another seems absolutely crazy. But i do it because when my time is done on earth I want to know I lived it.....that I am entering the grave totally worn out!! (as my other favorite quote says)
I guess we all have our ways of doing that. I have friends that dwell on what they don't have and it makes me sad (for them). The world at time can tell us that in order to have some kind of significance we have to have a spouse, 2 cars, the house, the kids and a savings account by a certain age. hmmmm....I am really sick of what the world says. It is said that many good things come to those who wait....but in my life the best things have come when I have seized the moment and made it my own!!!
In truth there are times when I have doubted in HUGE ways that God doesn't know what He is doing with me. And there has been disappointment....but today I learn to anticipate. I wish, I wish that I could know the places I have yet to go, the ways I will change and the things I will get to do! (and in that all the good music I will add to my collection!)
Crazy that looking back to those words I read as a child ...... teach me more today:
"The more things that you read, the more things you will know. The more things that you learn, the more places you'll go." Dr. Seuss
I came across this quote in an old journal, copied it and put it on my mirror in my bathroom. I think Mr. Roosevelt knew what he was talking about. I guess that is why I do the things I do. I know my move to Austin did not make sense to a lot of people after 9 years in Orlando, I know that leaving the world of Mickey Mouse & full time entertainment to go work for a non-profit certainly didn't make sense to a lot of people. I know that cycling 100 miles on a given weekend, racing 70.3 on another seems absolutely crazy. But i do it because when my time is done on earth I want to know I lived it.....that I am entering the grave totally worn out!! (as my other favorite quote says)
I guess we all have our ways of doing that. I have friends that dwell on what they don't have and it makes me sad (for them). The world at time can tell us that in order to have some kind of significance we have to have a spouse, 2 cars, the house, the kids and a savings account by a certain age. hmmmm....I am really sick of what the world says. It is said that many good things come to those who wait....but in my life the best things have come when I have seized the moment and made it my own!!!
In truth there are times when I have doubted in HUGE ways that God doesn't know what He is doing with me. And there has been disappointment....but today I learn to anticipate. I wish, I wish that I could know the places I have yet to go, the ways I will change and the things I will get to do! (and in that all the good music I will add to my collection!)
Crazy that looking back to those words I read as a child ...... teach me more today:
"The more things that you read, the more things you will know. The more things that you learn, the more places you'll go." Dr. Seuss
Friday, August 24, 2007
Word of the Day-thanks Maggie!
SUPERFLUOUS- su·per·flu·ous Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[soo-pur-floo-uhs]
–adjective
1. being more than is sufficient or required; excessive.
2. unnecessary or needless.
3. Obsolete. possessing or spending more than enough or necessary; extravagant.
Examples:
And it's hard to realize economies of scale without shedding superfluous jobs.
Everything superfluous is more noticeable in him [Hemmingway] than in other writers.
An authority which makes all further argument or illustration superfluous.
There is even a website. http://www.superfluous.com At this site, pictures are posted that were found on the sidewalk, in the park, or on the street. GENIUS!! Good use of the word.
ok....I better watch it or I am going to have a superfluous blog....YIKES!!
Any good uses...please share.
And thanks Maggie for bringing this word to my vocab. You are a good friend.
–adjective
1. being more than is sufficient or required; excessive.
2. unnecessary or needless.
3. Obsolete. possessing or spending more than enough or necessary; extravagant.
Examples:
And it's hard to realize economies of scale without shedding superfluous jobs.
Everything superfluous is more noticeable in him [Hemmingway] than in other writers.
An authority which makes all further argument or illustration superfluous.
There is even a website. http://www.superfluous.com At this site, pictures are posted that were found on the sidewalk, in the park, or on the street. GENIUS!! Good use of the word.
ok....I better watch it or I am going to have a superfluous blog....YIKES!!
Any good uses...please share.
And thanks Maggie for bringing this word to my vocab. You are a good friend.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
what IS music?
Me again. Get your shopping done, put your kids to bed, open a bottle of wine or a beer, ok? Then I'll begin...
As most of you know when I lived in Orlando, Infusion was my satellite office. I loved getting my tea, a bit of vegetarian cuisine and would sit with my laptop, a book or a journal. I have not found my place here yet…but I do take the time to get away and reflect. And I love sitting and chatting with people…
Anyhoo, about two weeks ago I got into a discussion with a few other music folk here and we asked the question 'what exactly IS music?'. It's a good one.... Music is very odd. It is colourless, odourless (apart from acid jazz which stinks of fish) invisible and only exists in the heads of people who listen to it. And people who write it. And it is tremendously powerful and important and universally valued (apart from switzerland where they prefer mime). But WHERE IS IT? IF I PUT IT IN A BAG, the bag REMAINS EMPTY.....
Nonetheless I am a Musician/Artist. I sometimes even get paid for doing it. (not really, that would be ridiculous...)
So i'm like a builder who makes walls out of nothing, that you can't put anything on, but that everyone agrees are there. Unless they don't want to .... listen to them. Analogy poorly thought out. Abort. (step away from the cabernet Colleen)
Music and art and new ideas and insight are all around us all the time like a celestial fart. Some people can't smell it. Artists and musicians and geniuses are just odd people who can smell it. Who love smelling it, who try and get him to do one under the covers and dive under, nostrils gaping. Because we live on it. And we can turn it into something that lots of people can smell, or read or hear. And that makes people happy. And that's why it's good being a musician.
If you listen to music. It will exist. And I like that.
As most of you know when I lived in Orlando, Infusion was my satellite office. I loved getting my tea, a bit of vegetarian cuisine and would sit with my laptop, a book or a journal. I have not found my place here yet…but I do take the time to get away and reflect. And I love sitting and chatting with people…
Anyhoo, about two weeks ago I got into a discussion with a few other music folk here and we asked the question 'what exactly IS music?'. It's a good one.... Music is very odd. It is colourless, odourless (apart from acid jazz which stinks of fish) invisible and only exists in the heads of people who listen to it. And people who write it. And it is tremendously powerful and important and universally valued (apart from switzerland where they prefer mime). But WHERE IS IT? IF I PUT IT IN A BAG, the bag REMAINS EMPTY.....
Nonetheless I am a Musician/Artist. I sometimes even get paid for doing it. (not really, that would be ridiculous...)
So i'm like a builder who makes walls out of nothing, that you can't put anything on, but that everyone agrees are there. Unless they don't want to .... listen to them. Analogy poorly thought out. Abort. (step away from the cabernet Colleen)
Music and art and new ideas and insight are all around us all the time like a celestial fart. Some people can't smell it. Artists and musicians and geniuses are just odd people who can smell it. Who love smelling it, who try and get him to do one under the covers and dive under, nostrils gaping. Because we live on it. And we can turn it into something that lots of people can smell, or read or hear. And that makes people happy. And that's why it's good being a musician.
If you listen to music. It will exist. And I like that.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Sinead O'Connor
My friend David recently got to interview Sinead. His interview is at this link below. I have always been a Sinead fan from the very first time I heard Nothing Compares 2 U and I thought I would never recover from my first broken heart. Read this interview. It rocks.
http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=15022&c=2
http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=15022&c=2
Neologism Contest
Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. Some of the winners are:
☼ Coffee (n): the person upon whom one coughs.
☼ Flabbergasted (adj.): appalled over how much weight you have gained.
☼ Abdicate (v.): to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
☼ Esplanade (v.): to attempt an explanation while drunk.
☼ Negligent (adj.): describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
☼ Lymph (v.): to walk with a lisp.
☼ Gargoyle (n.): olive-flavored mouthwash.
☼ Flatulence (n.): emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
☼ Balderdash (n.): a rapidly receding hairline.
☼ Rectitude (n.): the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
☼ Frisbeetarianism (n.) ~ (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
☼ Coffee (n): the person upon whom one coughs.
☼ Flabbergasted (adj.): appalled over how much weight you have gained.
☼ Abdicate (v.): to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
☼ Esplanade (v.): to attempt an explanation while drunk.
☼ Negligent (adj.): describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
☼ Lymph (v.): to walk with a lisp.
☼ Gargoyle (n.): olive-flavored mouthwash.
☼ Flatulence (n.): emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
☼ Balderdash (n.): a rapidly receding hairline.
☼ Rectitude (n.): the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
☼ Frisbeetarianism (n.) ~ (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
Songs to wake up to
Songs to wake up to:
I don't want a buzzer. I don't want the local shouting DJ. I want splendid music to wake me up with a smile, a wink ....
1 just kissed my baby the meters
Oh my. God. I am up up and away. No way this day is getting away from me. No sir.
2 good vibrations the beach boys
No less joyful than the meters. Ideal for sundays.
3 ticket to ride the beatles
Perfection. Heavy and light all at once. Leave the light off just let your eyes adjust to the morning glow.
4 I am a wheel wilco
More coffee? MORE COFFEE?
5 walk round the corner the 45s
Not sure if i'm allowed to choose stuff from my own back catelogue, but here's me in 1999 when my mornings generally started in the afternoon. Guitars are cool.
6 rock steady aretha franklin
Somebody hold me down somebody sit on my chest I will EXPLODE if I can't get up and jiggle around in the kitchen feeling like i'm in an excellent film from 1974.
7 neighbourhood #1 arcade fire
This album is like a day. A day in which a load of bad stuff happens but neverthless a day you wouldn't change. This is the first song so it's time to wake up.
8 rag mama rag the band
What a bunch of freaks. I love the band so much.
9 oh you pretty things david bowie
I think this is about time with my daddy. Let's get our stuff together and go swimming and after you can choose something from the dangerous vending machine. Saturdays with my dad. (i miss them and hold those memories close since we don't live near and our relationship has severely changed over time)
10 harlem bill withers
Ok. Technically a nightime/evening song but something about the way it builds and builds and then steps up a key and the cymbals come in... Seems like a better way than most to start your day.
As my alarm went off this morning and the random DJ came on and then some idiot pop princess with auto tune started with some funky beat, it made me think. I need to find a better radion station & it made me come up with this list.
I don't want a buzzer. I don't want the local shouting DJ. I want splendid music to wake me up with a smile, a wink ....
1 just kissed my baby the meters
Oh my. God. I am up up and away. No way this day is getting away from me. No sir.
2 good vibrations the beach boys
No less joyful than the meters. Ideal for sundays.
3 ticket to ride the beatles
Perfection. Heavy and light all at once. Leave the light off just let your eyes adjust to the morning glow.
4 I am a wheel wilco
More coffee? MORE COFFEE?
5 walk round the corner the 45s
Not sure if i'm allowed to choose stuff from my own back catelogue, but here's me in 1999 when my mornings generally started in the afternoon. Guitars are cool.
6 rock steady aretha franklin
Somebody hold me down somebody sit on my chest I will EXPLODE if I can't get up and jiggle around in the kitchen feeling like i'm in an excellent film from 1974.
7 neighbourhood #1 arcade fire
This album is like a day. A day in which a load of bad stuff happens but neverthless a day you wouldn't change. This is the first song so it's time to wake up.
8 rag mama rag the band
What a bunch of freaks. I love the band so much.
9 oh you pretty things david bowie
I think this is about time with my daddy. Let's get our stuff together and go swimming and after you can choose something from the dangerous vending machine. Saturdays with my dad. (i miss them and hold those memories close since we don't live near and our relationship has severely changed over time)
10 harlem bill withers
Ok. Technically a nightime/evening song but something about the way it builds and builds and then steps up a key and the cymbals come in... Seems like a better way than most to start your day.
As my alarm went off this morning and the random DJ came on and then some idiot pop princess with auto tune started with some funky beat, it made me think. I need to find a better radion station & it made me come up with this list.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Man-Pants
Apparently a few of you felt I did not tell the full story on the man-pants. Did they bother me? No. Did they enhance my performance? hmmmm...maybe? Actually, NO...they did not enhance me. I did the hard work, they were just pants and what made them man pants is they came down to my knees. My regular racing shorts are about mid thigh so now I have two really colorful tan lines that make my legs even HOTTER. It just makes me laugh to say man-pants. That's all.
Arkansas 70.3
Well, well, well.....yes, I have raced in Arkansas. And I wanted to give a full report. Now I realize that some of you out there might not be so keen on the Triathlon thing. But I say, read on...my play by play will give you much joy. And if it doesn't, just lie to me and say that it did.
FRIDAY- August 17th, 7:00 AM Maggie, Amber and Colleen throw three bikes on the back of a SUV and hit the road for Arkadelphia, Arkansas where the Iron Mountain Half Ironman will take place the following day. To prepare for this 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run (yes, all in one day) it has been about 5 months of hard work, some injury along the way and MUCH perseverance!! We begin the 7 hour drive to our destination and there is much chatter in the car of anxiety, nervousness, fear of really hot weather, constant potty breaks because we are trying to stay hydrated, and outright laughter ...well the list could go on.
Music was key in the trip out as we had several different artists to entertain us and each person was responsible for ONE Arkansas mix. Mine consisted of Brandi Carlile, Ryan Adams, Salt -n- Peppa, Jeff Tweedy, The Ditty Bops, Five For Fighting, Rachel Yamagata, Citizen Cope....in other words good stuff.
As we got closer....a thought occurred to me. In my rush that morning, I forgot to take my racing shorts OFF the drying rack and put them in my bag. At our next potty break, I open my race bag and find that yes folks....I have no shorts. My next hope is that the Expo at Packet Pick-up will have shorts. So, I have 3 hours to wait and see. We get to the Expo, no Women's Shorts my size, so I buy a pair of Men's Tri shorts which are virtually the same except they are longer than I would like. So, I begin to talk about the "man pants" I will have to wear in my race the next day.
next stop....Cabin Fever! I had reserved a cabin right near the race start, that sleeps 5 people (we had two others joining us later that day, Tina & Naomi) This cabin was SWEET! We had the upper level of a cabin home, complete with a deck, grill and retro furniture. We got settled in, waited for Tina & Naomi to arrive and left to go drive the bike course.
As we started to drive, I made notes in my binder of where the difficult climbs were, where the aid stations and bottle swaps would be and I began to visualize myself ROCKING this course from mile 1 to 56!!! We finished that, went back to the cabin, cleaned up, made dinner, got our bikes and gear ready for race day and were in bed by 930!
SATURDAY, AUGUST 18th 5:00 AM, RACE DAY!!!!- My alarm went off at 5 am, got up started the hot water for oatmeal, started the coffee maker and changed into my race top and "man pants" Ate my race morning meal of oatmeal, banana and coffee, loaded up the bikes, used el bano one more time and we are OFF to set up our transitions!
RACE CAP!
Swim: The swim began at 7:08 AM for All Women in the Half Iron. I took off, just trying to think about my method of swimming. Swimming is what I have had to work on the most and it is my least favorite. I am NOT competitive in the water, I just want to get through and then my race begins!! I popped out of the water at 46:01 (I took off 2.5 minutes from my Half in October 48:25) I was happy and took off for my bike.
Bike: The weather was kind to us as we had TOTAL cloud cover and no high temps for the majority of the bike. I was so glad we had driven the course the day before. I knew where each difficult hill came up, I was shifting as if I had ridden this course 10 times. I was confident on the flats and I rode the course in 3:05 (my time from October 3:12) I had kept an 18.5 mph average on this course, and with two 5 mile climbs in the course and some random steep climbs along the way, I knew I had gotten stronger and was had ROCKED the bike.
Run: Now 13.1 miles. This course was tougher than I had anticipated. A lot of difficult climbs, and they were long climbs...so endurance on hill work was key. I have started to work on this, but I am not rockstar YET. My goal was to watch my heart rate and stay in the 75-80% of my max. Not pushing it until I hit the last 3 miles. I really stayed true to this and when I hit mile 10, I had a lot of juice let in me to really run hard. My final run time 2:21. (October's time, 2:29) I only took off 8 minutes but this course was tougher and I raced smarter finishing with a smile on my face and a first place finish in my division!! My final time 6:16....in October I raced 6:36...I am happy with 15 minutes off on a tougher course)
We opened up our celebratory beers...oh because Maggie and Amber had placed SECOND & FIRST in their divisions!! We fired up the grill for our Buffalo Burgers and sat out on the deck talking about our day, what we had learned and how we can't WAIT until our next race.
Austin Tri- Labor Day, Olympic Distance
Longhorn Tri- October 7, Half Ironman
In this race I learned that I am stronger than I give myself credit and I was reminded of how much this sport ignites me!! I am thankful for fun girls to race with that are encouraging and so completely supportive! It was a great day of racing....
Until next time.
C-C Nay Nay (that is what Maggie calls me)
FRIDAY- August 17th, 7:00 AM Maggie, Amber and Colleen throw three bikes on the back of a SUV and hit the road for Arkadelphia, Arkansas where the Iron Mountain Half Ironman will take place the following day. To prepare for this 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run (yes, all in one day) it has been about 5 months of hard work, some injury along the way and MUCH perseverance!! We begin the 7 hour drive to our destination and there is much chatter in the car of anxiety, nervousness, fear of really hot weather, constant potty breaks because we are trying to stay hydrated, and outright laughter ...well the list could go on.
Music was key in the trip out as we had several different artists to entertain us and each person was responsible for ONE Arkansas mix. Mine consisted of Brandi Carlile, Ryan Adams, Salt -n- Peppa, Jeff Tweedy, The Ditty Bops, Five For Fighting, Rachel Yamagata, Citizen Cope....in other words good stuff.
As we got closer....a thought occurred to me. In my rush that morning, I forgot to take my racing shorts OFF the drying rack and put them in my bag. At our next potty break, I open my race bag and find that yes folks....I have no shorts. My next hope is that the Expo at Packet Pick-up will have shorts. So, I have 3 hours to wait and see. We get to the Expo, no Women's Shorts my size, so I buy a pair of Men's Tri shorts which are virtually the same except they are longer than I would like. So, I begin to talk about the "man pants" I will have to wear in my race the next day.
next stop....Cabin Fever! I had reserved a cabin right near the race start, that sleeps 5 people (we had two others joining us later that day, Tina & Naomi) This cabin was SWEET! We had the upper level of a cabin home, complete with a deck, grill and retro furniture. We got settled in, waited for Tina & Naomi to arrive and left to go drive the bike course.
As we started to drive, I made notes in my binder of where the difficult climbs were, where the aid stations and bottle swaps would be and I began to visualize myself ROCKING this course from mile 1 to 56!!! We finished that, went back to the cabin, cleaned up, made dinner, got our bikes and gear ready for race day and were in bed by 930!
SATURDAY, AUGUST 18th 5:00 AM, RACE DAY!!!!- My alarm went off at 5 am, got up started the hot water for oatmeal, started the coffee maker and changed into my race top and "man pants" Ate my race morning meal of oatmeal, banana and coffee, loaded up the bikes, used el bano one more time and we are OFF to set up our transitions!
RACE CAP!
Swim: The swim began at 7:08 AM for All Women in the Half Iron. I took off, just trying to think about my method of swimming. Swimming is what I have had to work on the most and it is my least favorite. I am NOT competitive in the water, I just want to get through and then my race begins!! I popped out of the water at 46:01 (I took off 2.5 minutes from my Half in October 48:25) I was happy and took off for my bike.
Bike: The weather was kind to us as we had TOTAL cloud cover and no high temps for the majority of the bike. I was so glad we had driven the course the day before. I knew where each difficult hill came up, I was shifting as if I had ridden this course 10 times. I was confident on the flats and I rode the course in 3:05 (my time from October 3:12) I had kept an 18.5 mph average on this course, and with two 5 mile climbs in the course and some random steep climbs along the way, I knew I had gotten stronger and was had ROCKED the bike.
Run: Now 13.1 miles. This course was tougher than I had anticipated. A lot of difficult climbs, and they were long climbs...so endurance on hill work was key. I have started to work on this, but I am not rockstar YET. My goal was to watch my heart rate and stay in the 75-80% of my max. Not pushing it until I hit the last 3 miles. I really stayed true to this and when I hit mile 10, I had a lot of juice let in me to really run hard. My final run time 2:21. (October's time, 2:29) I only took off 8 minutes but this course was tougher and I raced smarter finishing with a smile on my face and a first place finish in my division!! My final time 6:16....in October I raced 6:36...I am happy with 15 minutes off on a tougher course)
We opened up our celebratory beers...oh because Maggie and Amber had placed SECOND & FIRST in their divisions!! We fired up the grill for our Buffalo Burgers and sat out on the deck talking about our day, what we had learned and how we can't WAIT until our next race.
Austin Tri- Labor Day, Olympic Distance
Longhorn Tri- October 7, Half Ironman
In this race I learned that I am stronger than I give myself credit and I was reminded of how much this sport ignites me!! I am thankful for fun girls to race with that are encouraging and so completely supportive! It was a great day of racing....
Until next time.
C-C Nay Nay (that is what Maggie calls me)
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