Daisy -- My Little Triathlete

This is just a shout out to Daisy who finished her first real triathlon this morning! I am soooooo proud. She did it all by herself and she had fun the whole time! I almost cried while she was in the pool. I was so nervous (more than she was!) and so worried about how she'd get out of the 6 foot deep water and then get across the wet tile floor without slipping, but she did great. Kudos to all of the PowerKids volunteers who helped her. They were amazing, took her bike from her and racked it, even helped with her shoes! How come no one told me that kids triathlons are like Ironmans?

God I love her, I cannot tell you how proud I am!

Also, a shout out to all the other TRIgirls kids who raced -- especially the other first-timers Christopher M, Rylee D, and Reilly R.

New Swim Distance PR

Yes, I swam 7,000 meters today. Yet another distance PR. I think it was closer to 4.4 miles than 5 miles, but I'll take it. Especially since I hadn't planned on swimming alone. It took me 2 hours and 30 minutes.
I did 4 x 1,000 meter sets then at timed mile -- 1650....which was a PR (31 minutes)....then some odds and ends to make up the last bit. With shoulder pain, I did lots of kicking those last couple of 100's with a kick board.
More later, gotta run.

Swimming Straight

I couldn't make 4 swims this week, especially considering 2 of them were supposed to be 4,500 meters. So, today, I combined 2 workouts. The one hour non-stop swim and one of the 4,500 meter swims. I hope it will work, or go with the FLOW of my training as Coach G stresses.
I dropped off Redfish off in childcare at the Y and I had exactly 2 hours before I had to pick him up. I spent the first 10 minutes chatting with Patty and Lil' Sis Jessica...then a good solid 1:45 minute swim straight. I stopped a few times to adjust my goggles. Tried to imagine doing that while I floated on my back in the Bay. Hopefully, I won't need to on race day....as it wasn't so easy.
Swam by myself for about 30 minutes. Then shared a lane with Lona. She left, then Lynn was next. Swam alone again until Wendy joined me. I have no idea who these people are. I just like to introduce myself to the person I'm swimming with. Seems to make things go better. Then I swam by myself again. Anyway, it was a LONG swim. Afterwords, I had about 3.5 minutes left for a shower, before I had to pick Redfish up again. I think I'm gonna be fine on race day. And looks like the open water swim is rescheduled for next Friday, so hopefully, i'll work out my wetsuit issues then.
Oh, one more thing. I guess this shouldn't be a footnote, but it's own post. But, oh well. more later. I've decided to do Ironman Florida in 2009. And, I'm going to do it for a cause....more on that later. In the meantime, can I just tell you that Chlorine is not a cologne, but I feel like it's my new scent. Should I layer something over it?

Double Dip

This week, instead of a super long Thursday night workout, I tried something new. John Pace's Masters swim at the Y. Followed by Annie's TRIgirl workout. Both workouts focused on speed, so needless to say, I slept well Monday night.
Last night I swam 2600 at masters in the fast lane. Long story as to why I was there....but I'll tell you, It wasn't because I'm fast.
Off to the pool AGAIN now. ...not sure how long I'll last. I still smell like chlorine from last night! Confession: I've been using swimming as an excuse not to run. This has got to stop, or I won't be able to call my self a triathlete anymore!

TRIgirl Style

New distance PR in swimming tonight. 6,000 yards....or is it meters? I can never remember. Got a giant charlie horse when I got out of the pool!
You know I was tired, because how much I would have loved to swim the extra 400 so I could say I swam 4 miles. Well, not tonight anyway. If I did another flip turn I was gonna be sick! And I'm getting so tired of the smell of Chlorine. ON another thought, maybe I would have made the extra 400 if I hadn't had wine and appetizers before I started? True TRIgirls style, right?

A Beautiful Day for Triathlon

A beautiful, perfect day. I didn't quite make it the 20 miles on the bike, but figure I was closer to 18 miles. A short run-off, and then rushing home to meet the sitter. Mr. Preschool got to ride with me today! And I'm not sure if it was because I'm just fast or his bike was malfunctioning, but I actually smoked him! Hey, I'll take what I can get.
Then, off to Daisy's soccer game. Her team is full of so many players she didn't get to play much, but she had lots of fun.
Then a nap. Then the park, dinner. And some bike riding -- for her. Trying to get her ready for the big race -- her first real triathlon, the PowerKids Triathlon. Luckily they are allowing training wheels!
I was thinking lots about all my teamates and friends doing Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon and White Lake Half today. I'm glad they had a beautiful day for a race.