The Rest of the Story: Sandman Race Report

I should have written this before, the day I got home from the race while I was still tired from it. I have been taking the week off. I think as I mentioned before I had been sick right before the race and my nurse practitioner had asked me not to. The deal was that I would take one whole week to do nothing after the race and well, that is exactly what I have done. Nothing. No strength training Monday or Wednesday, no Sunday swim, no brick on Saturday and no run on Thursday morning. Truly I've done zilch.
So, now that I'm writing the race report, I hardly feel like a triathlete. It's funny how fast you forget all of those long workouts. Here are some photos. OK lets see if this helps me remember.
Yep, this is my favorite part of the race. Daisy was so excited to see me. Her dad had miscalculated my swim time (I was too fast) and then had gotten distracted, so she, Redfish and Mr. Preschool missed me on both my transitions. I hadn't really thought about missing her or wondered where they were, I was too busy concentrating on my race. But all of a sudden, there she was! She and Redfish were so excited to see me. And, she just started running. I held her hand and we ran together to the finish line. It was really nice to show her one of the many reasons I do triathlons. Because she was running with me, of course we got all this attention. Actually, I don't think I've ever heard a crowd cheer so hard for me. Wait, it must have been here they were cheering for. Anyway, she got to truly sense what it feels like to cross a finish line (regardless of your place). And I think, and I hope, she found that inspiring.
We talked about how the next time I volunteer at a race, she'll come help too. I think she is finally ready. And next spring, she'll do her first race (and no, I won't be running across the finish line with her then.
Actually, I've never published a photo of either of my kids. So, here is her official internet debut. I guess she's old enough for that too. Not much of a race report. Sorry. I guess I waited to long.

Photo available at Triduo.com

Unempty Pancakes

I was checking in on Ironmom, a blog a used to read alot, but recently I just haven't had as much time to check blogs. I guess the Near West End News, my other blog, has been taking up most of my computer time. Anyway, Robin has a great post on kids eating healthy, and I just love her pancake recipe (although I can see myself adapting it to use soymilk since that is what we usually have in the house).
She has a really good point about what we teach our kids to eat. My daughter can't stand lemonaid, Kool Aide, snow cones, icey pops and the like. She thinks they just taste wrong. My son, who sampled lemonaid at a young age is much less choosey, and will drink anything, well, maybe not soda.

Anyway, here is the recipe:
Robin's Non-Empty Pancakes
1 cup raw milk (ours is goat's)
1 cup yogurt
1 1/2 cup whole grain flour (sometimes I combine oat, spelt, wheat, coconut flour, whatever I have available)
1/4 Cup Ground Flax Meal
1/4 Cup Hemp Seeds
If I have time, mix everything above together and let it soak for 12 - 24 hours to ferment a little bit.
Then, the next morning, I mix in:
6 eggs
4 Tbs coconut oil or butter
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Tbs Raw Evaporated Cane Juice (Sucanat)
1 tsp sea salt
Sometimes I make them with bananas and pecans or blueberries or huckleberries in season. These also make great rollups with peanut butter and honey for a middle of the day snack. If I have the time, I'll mix up a double or triple batch and freeze a bunch so the kids can get pancakes any day of the week. It's both more nutritious and much more cost-effective than breakfast cereals.

Sandman Triathlon Race Results

I love haw Kale Running actually emails your race results to you in a summary format, and just hours after the race none-the-less. It just simply rocks!

Well, I didn't blog about this race beforehand at ALL, because not only did I stay up all night with 2 kids with the stomach flu this week, but I also had it myself on Friday night. YUK! I was so tired and wiped out I didn't know if I'd make it to the race. And, on top of that, I was already fighting an infection and on antibiotics. My nurse practitioner said not to race. Wanna hear something really funny? She said she thought I was over training. He he. She obviously doesn't know what a slacker I've been recently. She had herself convinced. Anyway, It's alot to pack up the kids, drive them 2 (or more) hours each way, and stay in a strange place. When you don't feel your best. It's even scarier to do that when you've been medically advised not to.

Plus, I just can't stand it when folks start a race and don't finish and I was worried I'd do that. And I REALLY can't stand it when someone says they are going to do a race and then don't. Well we've all done that once or twice (including myself) but I still can't stand it.

I ended up having a great race. It was a beautiful (but windy) day. Perfect weather. I had a PR by almost 4 minutes over last year. And that was significant for 2 reasons. 1. My run was 2 minutes slower and 2. The race management decided to be lazy and only put out 2 buoys. One at the start and one at the finish, instead of the 5-6 they normally have. We were told we had to go around them both. Only one problem was that I didn't know that the second buoy decided to go for a swim in the Atlantic. I kept waiting for a large swell, and then I'd ride it to the top and look for the buoy. I never found it. I was told we'd be disqualified if we didn't go around them both, so I decided to go looking for it for a while. I figure I lost about 50 yards swimming on my wild goose chase before I realized that it wasn't going to happen. I had never had waves come crashing down on me like the did today. You just couldn't really get out there past the breakers. I'd see this giant shadow, and think I was close to a boat or something and then...BAM a wave would crash over me. It was the weirdest thing.

I'm getting carried away. This wasn't supposed to be a race report, just the results, with the report later. Photos and details about my fantastic favorite finish will be posted soon.

Anyway, here are my results:

I came in 5th out of 15 Athena's in the Under 40 division. I had the second fastest Athena bike split in my division as well, thanks to my new bike.

Total time: 1:54:17

Last years time was 1:57:53.80

Swim was 1,000 meters (or more) 21:17
T1 2:20
Bike 14 miles 48:09
Bike average 17.4mph
T2 2:15
Run 40:13
12:58 pace per mile

The First Real Day of Preschool (No Mamas Allowed)

Redfish left for his first REAL day of preschool today -- No Mamas Allowed! I'm not sure why it is such a big deal, but for the first time in a long time I have the house to myself. It is a exciting feeling, but a little scary! You should have seen him, so proud as he put on his back pack!

At his school, they want the kids to feel empowered and let them do the "leaving" so drop at drop off the kids hop out of the car and walk to class on their own (with a little help from teachers). It is such a big kid thing to do ....on the first day of school!

And tomorrow he'll be 3, he's growing up so fast.


Here are some photos from this morning.

Back to School

Redfish started school today. Am I allowed to say that even though I didn't leave him? Actually, since it was the first day, we weren't supposed to leave, but still he had a great first day of school. I think he fell in love with 2 of his 3 teachers already.
"Mama, I LOVE her name!" he says to me, 2 seconds after I finally persuade him to leave the classroom by enticing him with the playground.
"Which one?" I say. "Elizabeth," he says.

After the 30 minutes of classroom time, we played on the playground for an hour and a half. He still didn't want to leave. The only way I got him out of there was to let him bring a piece of the playground with him. He finally settled on a pine tree pom pom, when I told he couldn't bring a giant tree branch stick that he had become attached to.

We'll see if he goes running out of the car when he goes back for his first real day of school on Wednesday. The teachers take them out of the car at carpool so that the kids are doing the leaving, not the parents. That will make for an awkward good bye, but I bet he'll go running into class, even on the first day. He is so ready! No one can tell he is still 2.

I think this is going to be a good school year for both the kids. Daisy has an excellent teacher, and she loves first grade. I'm going to have some free time, for the first time in 6 1/2 year. I can't wait to clean the house!

Do You Know Me?

I got TRIgirl tagged. Everyone knows I've been putting this off. I'm going to change the format a bit for my own sake, but here goes -- 26 things about me (that maybe you did, or maybe you didn't know):
1. I've held almost every job you can imagine. Some, just for the sake of wanting to know what it felt like to, say, pull a double shift on a Sunday as a dishwasher in a fancy restaurant. I worked at Fan Thrift for one day. I was a editor and reporter and photographer for Style Weekly. I even freelanced for the Times Dispatch. I even worked in a Visa call center and as a corporate concierge.
2. Favorite jobs are my current jobs: TRIgirl Team leader, Travel Councilor
3. I love that movie Say Anything. I could watch it a million times. But I still giggle every time I see this photo of John Cusack. He looks like such a geek! I also love My Own Private Idaho.
4. In general I absolutely hate movies. I get too emotionally involved. Or, it takes me two hours to realize that they aren't worth my time.
5. Survivor, on the other hand, is totally worth my time. How does that work? Also, I love The Office . I think I like TV way better than movies. TV is like eating ice cream out of the carton rather than actually having to commit to a bowl (which is movies).
6. I hate to fly. The last time I flew was 1995, I think. We were escaping a horrible honeymoon in Jamaica where the cruise ship went bankrupt while we were on it. They served us rotten food and ran the ship aground. A water main broke in the dining room. Everyone cheered when we boarded the plane in Jamaica and lifted off the ground. We were seriously lucky to get a flight back to the states considering. That is the only time I truly enjoyed a flight. 7. This also might explain why I mostly hate to travel. I hate hotels. I hate airports. I hate uncertainty. I love my own bed, in my own house.
8. I always wanted to go to Europe. Both my parents lived there for years. Maybe someday I'll go. Also, I've always wanted to go to South Africa. oh and Brazil. And Thailand. Maybe I'll have to rethink that flying thing.
9. I love food. Mostly anything that is homegrown or homemade. I hate Twinkies, Kool-Aid and especially Hi-C. I hate fake. I love real. I hate cherry Popsicles, but love cherries. You get the idea.
10. Favorite foods include: TomKha (coconut, mushroom & tofu soup) and
just about anything from Tara Thai. Also, homemade Chili Rellenos from the 17th Street Farmer's Market. And at Christmastime homemade Bourbon Cake. I think I'd rather eat it than drink it.
11. I love SPROUT Organic co-op. It has made me really appreciate fresh vegetables. Because of Sprout, we almost never eat out anymore. Last week I looked at the veggies in the grocery store and actually feel sorry for them!
12. Last week I bought black-eyed peas and me and the kids pulled them out of the shell ourselves. They were the best beans I've ever tasted. They tasted sort of like Hot Boiled Peanuts...yet another food I love.
13. I swam competitively and played soccer from when I was 5 until I was 18.
14. When I was 12 I broke my big toe kicking a goal kick. I miss-judged and kicked the ground instead. Ouch.
15. My soccer coach told me I was fine....at the end of practice he told me to ride my bike home. That was the most painful bike ride yet. Hmmmmmm, well maybe there was that one 75 mile ride not too long ago where my girlparts hurt almost just as much.
16. I was voted "Most Likely to Start a Revolution" in Senior (high school) superlatives.
17. I earned a Society of Professional Journalist merit-based scholarship at Virginia Commonwealth University.
18. I had dinner with Allen Ginsberg at the 3rd Street Diner. He made a lewd comment to me about how I wanted Jim Morrison to.... wait, I cannot finish this sentence it would be obscene.
19. I auditioned for and was chosen to be in a GWAR video. Now that I was proud of! Had to miss it because I went to diner with Allen Ginsberg that night.

20. I took a really cool photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Eugene Trani (VCU's President). One of these days I'll scan it in to the computer.

19. Had dinner with Chuck D from Public Enemy. We ate at Bluepoint Seafood, it used to be in 6th Street Marketplace, next to the Carpenter Center. He was much more civilized than Allen Ginsberg.
20. I have stage dived at an Avail concert.
21. I rode a motorcycle for 10 years. Gave it up when I got pregnant with Daisy.
22. My husband proposed to me at the former East Coast gas station at Cary and Meadow in the Fan. I know you want to know more!
23. Our first date was on the train trestle down at great ship lock park. Not far from the only triple train crossing in America.

24. I knew I loved my husband on our first date.
25. Websites I visit everyday or often:
http://www.nearwestendnews.net/
http://www.trigirltraining.com/ forum
http://johnmholland.blogspot.com/
http://ironmanlife.blogspot.com/
http://www.nancytoby.blogspot.com/

26. I have a tattoo on my head. No questions please.

Tri One O One is Gone

"All Triathlon One O One events have been cancelled until further notice.

All participant entry fees and 2008 transfers will be refunded within the next two weeks. "



So sad that Tri One O One didn't Make it. I liked the distance. I liked the branding. I wished they had a race close to Richmond! I feel bad for all those people have been training for a race and may even have paid for hotels and airline tickets. Hopefully some 70.3 races and Ironman races will open some extra slots for them. We really needed a new race like this.

http://www.trioneoone.com/

Patriot Half Ironman Bike Test Ride

Here's a great photo of us after the Patriot Half Ironman bike test ride. One of the most beautiful courses ever -- well except for the part on Route 60 and the part where I had to walk! Dope!

I think we look mighty happy considering we just rode 56 miles!
From left to right, Back: Deanna B., Deanna L., Carmen and Jonah
Cyndi, Melissa, Anna Mac, and Kate O. in front.

New Near West End News Blog

So you know I'm a triathlete. And you know I'm a mom. But did you know that I have an alter ego? I used to be a journalist. Became jaded. Way jaded. Finding my way back to writing, I started my Triathlonmom site. And, as a way to further express myself and support my community, I recently co-launched a new blog.
My old buddy John Sarvay, was broadcasting a call from John Murden (another old friend) over at the Church Hill People's News for folks to start West End neighborhood blog, and Kory Mohr and I answered the call.
Anyway, with out further adeau here it is:
http://www.nearwestendnews.net/

Please forgive my lack of links, I'm on a strange computer and it seems to not be an option!

Purple Martins

The Purple Martins were amazing! I only wish we could have stayed until they were swarming at their peak. The severe thunder storm came through just as they were starting to really collect in numbers.

At 7 p.m. when we got to the 17th Street Farmer's Market, we thought it was a bust. No birds anywhere. Then, suddenly out of nowhere they started to appear. Redfish, kept saying "several"...which I thought was a pretty good word for him considering he's 2, but it hardly described the number of birds there were. Thousands. And more frantically coming to get in the trees right by the Farmer's Market parking lot. The storm was coming and I'm not sure what protection the trees offered them from the 75 mph winds.

That was the meanest, longest, loudest thunderstorm I have ever seen. It lasted from 7:45 p.m. in the Bottom to 2:45 a.m. in the West End. Needless to say I slept, if you can call it that, on the floor in Redfish's room. Mr. Preschool spent part of the night in the guest room with Daisy. Horrible night! I feel like I got hit by a truck. I think that would be the combo of strength training and not sleeping much--sleeping on the floor.

Off to a nap for me!

Birds, For Real?

Mr. Preschool loves himself some purple martins or chimney swifts, or any flocking bird that swirls and swarms. He and I have been facinated with them since we moved to Richmond. Often he paints them. And now, I hear they are back. I'll be at the 17th Street Farmers Market with the kids tonight!

Patriot Half Ironman Bike Testride on My New Bike

Today a bunch of the TRIgirls rode about 58 miles on the Patriot Half Ironman bike course. We were testing out the ride, getting a feel for things. One of the biggest things I regretted about Eagleman was that it was so far away, we never really go to do a practice ride of the course. I'm never truly able to enjoy a bike ride until I've ridden the course at least once. The first time I ride a bike course I'm incredibly distracted by the scenery, the hills and the road conditions. I'm always wondering what obstacle is next.

Anyway, I knew today would be a challenging ride. I was riding my new bike for the first time. I wasn't too excited about my first ride being a half iron distance, but I also didn't have much of a choice. The day I bought the bike, and each day since, there have been heat advisories every day...alternating with thunderstorms. So aside from taking it around the block during the 115 degree heat index, I hadn't ridden the bike much at all. New gears, new saddle, new fram, new water bottle cages, new pedal, new aerobars. So many new things to get used to!

The Patriot bike course was beautiful. It was farmland, water and beautiful rolling hills. The bike road well...with a few exceptions. The techincal things I'm not going to get into because I want to give the bike shop a chance to fix them, but I will say that I had some trouble getting used to the gearing on the bullhorn shifters.

The first half of the ride I loved. It was so beautiful and I got to draft off of a really nice guy from Final Kick and his friend from Virginia Beach. When I was drafting, it was almost like it wasn't a workout. Good thing I got my workout in -- they always dropped me on the hills!

There was one hill that just came out of nowhere. It was the steepest grade I've ever ridden on. Needless to say, I wasn't prepared in my gearing and I had to hop off the bike for a portion of the hill because I came to a dead stand still and I was pretty sure If I didn't unclip I was just going to fall over. I was still feeling pretty good after walking up the steepest part of the hill, but getting a flat sort of spoiled things for me. I got half way thru changing the tire, when the sag crew came up and offered to finish. (I let them, which was good, because my new wheels have need tubes with longer stems than I was carying.) Things certainly could have been worse! And Tgirl Carmen was so sweet to wait with me until I could get back on the road.

The practice ride was run by the Colonial Area Triclub. The were well organized but above all NICE! I certainly got my $10 worth. There were lots of super nice people we met and got to see today.

I'll post some photos tomorrow I hope.

USA Triathlon Rankings are Up

USAT just published their preliminary rankings for 2007. I've linked to the mid-atlantic results for females 30-34 here. The rankings for all females, in mid-atlantic, regardless of age are here.

Although rankings are the farthest of my concern when I'm training or even competing in a race, I've found that it is fun to look at how I might compare from year to year ...or even (God forbid) compare myself with others, just for the fun of it. And yes....EVEN YOU are ranked. You know who you are!!! If you've done 2 races so far this year, then you are ranked nationally, regardless of how long it took you to finish as long as you are a USAT member. Isn't that cool?

Eagleman

Eagleman registration is open for next year. And this year Eagleman is going to be the Elite Long Course National Championship site, so word on the street is that the race will sell out even earlier than in past years. So if you are thinking about doing this race this year...sign up NOW! Before it is to late.

As for me, I am out for Eman this year. Last year was a blast, but I'm thinking of a race close to home next year. If I can do a half ironman and sleep in my own bed... then that is my kind of race. Eagleman was fun, but it also made me appreciate all of the local small hometown races. Not that I'll ever do a pool swim again, but sometimes having all the Elites there makes it more stressful and less fun, if you are just a back-of-the-packer like me.

Feeling Fast

Last night when I went to bed I was sure I wasn't going to run today. I've just been feeling like taking a little vacation from training. And I finally managed to convince myself that would be ok right about now. For the past couple of nights I've been so wiped out -- asleep by 9 for no apparent reason. And then I'll keep sleeping until 6 or 6:30. It's crazy! I keep wondering what is wrong with me. Since I still lacked a reason, just figured I needed a little break.

Which is why I was completely shocked when after staying up until 10 p.m. last night, I woke up at 5 a.m. with no alarm clock. I was wide awake. No way I was getting back to sleep! "I might as well run then," I thought. And, when I got there 10 minutes early, I said, "Well I might as well get a mile in before everyone else gets here" And surprisingly, that is how I was able to run 4 miles and call it a good workout too. Yes it was hot. Yes it was hard. But still, today I didn't feel slow or like a slug. Today I felt fast. And sometimes that is all it takes to have a good workout (even if fast is only relatively speaking).

Hands On Greater Richmond

I'm sure y'all have heard me talk about my fried John Sarvay's blog, Buttermilk & Molasses more than once. He's always informing me about such great stuff going on in Richmond, which is why he is one of 2 people that I nominated for Style Weekly'sTop 40 Under 40. (He's 39, so time is running out).
Today, he he posted about Hands On Greater Richmond (and its founders) and why they also should be nominated for Style's Top 40. And rightly so. I mean look at the is organization, it is so simple and yet fills such a need. It "advertises" volunteering opportunities and matches volunteers with local non-profits. What a great idea. Makes me want to get out there right now and volunteer. Well, as soon as I don't have a 2-year-old at home all the time with me.
This week they are publicizing a volunteering opportunity that I've been trying to get to for years and years. In fact, when Redfish was 9 weeks old, I went to the orientation for it. That is how badly I wanted to do it. But I realized for then, it was just to much. One day, not to far from now, I'll go down to Refugee Immigration Services and get them to assign a family that needs getting settled in their new life here in Richmond.
Clicking on a "featured refugee" just reminds me again how important it is to me to help guide a new family get settled in a new culture. So many of the families have had so many hardships that I cannot even imagine.
Yesterday, a dutch family that we befriended went back to their country after a year here in America. At the goodbye party I realized that we were one of only 2 families that they had befriended who was not in some way international. I'm not sure if this says more about us or about America. But I really hope that when my kids grown up they value cultures different from their own and continue to make friends from other countries.

Sometimes You Just Have to Laugh (Not Triathlon Related)

Know how when you live out of a gym bag you sometimes forget things....like say your bra, or your shoes? Well, when you live out of a pool bag you sometimes forget stuff too. Today I forgot Redfish's underwear. I had his cute little pool cover up thing. But nothing for his bum. By the time I realized it he was already clean and dry. I couldn't put the wet suit back on him.

Sooooo since he's only 2 I figured I'd let him go naked. NAKED! Only one person asked where his pants were!

Do you know how boys are? Put him in the car seat. OK. Noone else will see him, YAY. Almost home.....

"Mama, I'm trying to tie my penis in a bow!"

"WHAT?"

"I want to tie it in a bow!!!" Redfish says again.

"You can't tie it in a bow, Redfish!" Daisy says.

"you need two penises to tie it in a bow!"

"no five!"

"no six!"

I guess you get the idea. I tried so hard not to laugh, but couldn't help myself. Those kids are funny!....and yes, I got it all on video to show at his wedding.

Sprout Organic & Good Eats

i can't say enough good things about Sprout. Our family joined this organic veggie co-op at this spring and we share it with another family. We are eating so much more healthy and not going out as much because I always have something to cook and use quickly before more veggies arrive!
Plus we are trying new foods. Tonight I cooked with fennel for the first time, and came up with a great improvised recipe.

There is a waiting list for next year, but I thought I'd tell you about Sprout in case you think you might want to get on the list. We paid $525 for the whole summer May-Sept and have had plenty of veggies splitting just one share. Anyway, it works out to about $13 a week per family if you split it or $25 per share per week.

This week we got:
1 pound award winning sun gold cherry tomatoes (the best in the world)
2 lbs. heirloom tomatoes (I like the zebras)
3 lbs Hanover tomatoes
3 lbs. cucumbers all different kinds...and exotics, my favorite are the Armenian striped
3 lbs eggplant
2 lbs summer squash
2 heads Swiss chard
1 bulb fennel
2 green peppers
1 cantaloupe
1 Israeli honeydew

and there are always tomato seconds in case you are making sauce or salsa.
I guess you can tell I want to spread the word about this awesome group. Everyone is so nice and friendly, and picking up my share has become a weekly ritual I always look forward to. Daisy is learning how to pick out veggies, and she loves to divide our share for the other family when we get home, making sure everything is just exactly fair.

I posted some recipe's on the blog today. But then for diner I made this one inspired by one of the Sprout workers who says they serve a version of this at the Edible Garden in Goochland. Fennel is my new favorite vegetable!

1 cucumber, sliced (if there are large seeds or a tough skin discard them)
1 small bulb fennel, slivered vertically. discard the stalks but keep and chop the fronds
3 T sugar
3 T white wine vinegar
dash of virgin olive oil
salt and fresh groud peper to taste

Serve immediately , but also it is good the second day. It has a sort of lemony, licorice flavor.

The Religion of Triathlon

Wow. Just wow.
I know a couple of you know about Iron Kahuna and the Tri-Geek Dreams bloggers alliance. But I didn't know this about the Iron Kahuna's (aka William Lobdell's) soul.

Check out this article he wrote for the LA Times. It is long but worth it.

One of my favorite songwriters, Ani Difranco, once said, "God's work isn't done by God, it's done by people."
So far I've found that to be just about right. You know I'm talking about folks like us...not folks like them. Too bad there aren't more of us.

Sometimes You Just Need A Great Workout

Thank God for beautiful days right smack dab in the middle of summer! Low humidity, cool mornings, so cool in fact that this morning on the bike, I almost wished for my jacket!
Well that was until TRIgirl Ann got my butt in gear and things heated up quite a bit trying to keep up with her.

I had a great workout today! It was about time right? I rode just under 32 miles, and was smiling the whole way home. Tomorrow I'll get up early again to do body marking at the 3Sports Richmond Tri Club Sprint, then I have to cut out early to make it to work.

Monday I turn 34!!!

Kids are fighting -- better go be a mom.