Princess Runner

NOTE: I will be talking about results of several events at the Olympics. If you still have footage in your TiVo or haven’t gotten around to watching events online, consider yourself forewarned.

Watching the Olympic Games this year was different than it has been in the past because this was the first summer games that I have watched since I became an athlete. I just passed the 4th anniversary of that fateful day that I started to try running. As a result, while I still marvel at the competitors and their amazing physical abilities, there is also a sense of “I can do that.” No, I don’t mean that I can swim as fast as they can and certainly not run as fast as they can, but I can run, I can swim, I can cycle.

I watched the marathon and triathlon with a different perspective. No longer did I think “How can she run that far?” but rather “I wonder what her training schedule is like.” and “I wonder what they eat.” When there was a crash during the bike portion of the women’s triathlon, I could feel for them, having crashed myself (although luckily not in a race and thankfully not resulting in serious injury). It was a strange sense of camaraderie that I felt with the distance runners and the triathletes, because I know at least a little bit of what they were going through.

However, I could not really relate to Ryta Turava from Belarus who competed in the 20k women’s race walking event. Although she was in the top three for a large portion of the race, at some point she must have begun to start getting an upset tummy because several times she stopped and shoved several fingers into her mouth in an attempt to make herself vomit. I recognize that there are times when you feel so ill that vomiting is the only way that you will feel better. However, I cannot imagine it ever being bad enough that I would try to induce vomiting. I suppose if it was me, I would have continued at that blazing pace (the leaders in the event averaged about 7 minute miles) and the vomit would have happened on its own. The worst part of the whole thing was that the cameras kept focusing on the poor woman every time she stopped and stuck her fingers in her mouth. They were really hoping to catch her puking. Is that great television?

The race walking to me, overall, was fascinating. I imagine that it is extremely difficult to walk that fast and keep that particular form. They had to have at least one foot on the ground at all times and have their leg fully extended when that foot was on the ground. The women who broke form were given stern warnings by having judges run up to them and shove a yellow paddle in their faces. Several women were disqualified for breaking form too many times. I cannot imagine the stress of having to worry about form, in addition to pace, breathing, fluids, and nutrition. Did I mention that the weather for the event alternated between torrential downpour and blazing humidity?

Although the winner of the event was never in doubt, Russia’s (95 pound) Olga Kaniskina was way in front from the very beginning, I thought it was entertaining to watch. However, that does not explain while immediately after the showing on Universal HD, they started showing the race again from the beginning. Entertaining, yes, but not that entertaining.

This is part two of my Danskin Chicagoland experience. To read part one, go here: Danskin Chicagoland Part I.

During the night, I kept waking up every few hours, something I do anytime I have to get up early for something. The alarm had been set for 4:00 a.m. because I was worried that we would encounter the insane amount of traffic that we had on Saturday and didn’t want to miss out on having plenty of time to set up my transition area, which would close at 6:30. However, I woke up at 2:45 and could not fall back asleep so I went into the other room (it was a small suite) and watched two episodes of Roseanne (David secretly moves in with Darlene and Dan has lunch with an old flame) while having some food. I then put on my sunscreen, freaked out a bit when my number ran down my arm, and then got dressed. I re-checked my bag three times before waking Prince E up at 3:50am as visions of a full parking lot danced in my head.

We left pretty shortly after that, maybe 4:15 or so. Back in February when I originally signed up for the Danskin Triathlon, I remembered thinking of how potentially hot the weather could be come July 13th. I was shocked that the high for the day was in the 70s and I was actually chilly prior to the event. I remarked to Prince E the irony that an event in July would be approximately 20 degrees cooler than the marathon last year which was in October. Weather is a strange thing.

We went to get on the highway (the hotel was a few exits away from the mall/parking lot) only to discover that the on-ramp was closed! It was not that big of a deal, though, because there was an access road that paralleled the highway and we were able to get where we needed to be. Although I had envisioned a parking lot filled with hyper women, when we got to the mall it was practically empty. There were maybe 25 cars there.

We quickly got all of our things together and began the mile and half or so walk to the race start area. It was not soon after we began that I realized that despite my extensive planning, there was one thing I forgot: insect repellent. Given that we were walking down a highway next to a marshy area, it was still pitch black out, and I had on sweet smelling sunscreen, I was a prime target for the mosquitoes. We walked and swatted bugs away left and right. Prince E had an emergency rain jacket in his bag, so he was a bit more protected than I was. I tried jogging, but the mosquitoes still ate me and it made it more difficult to swat them. We finally got to the race site, but not before I had acquired 23 bites (yes, we counted). There were several on my neck which would get a horrified reaction from the EMT at the medical tent when I inquired about anti-itch cream (they didn’t have any because their supplies had not yet arrived, given that it was not even 5:30 yet).
(more…)

Details to come soon.

I was not kidding when I wrote that there is way more gear involved in triathlon than in running. Here is photographic proof (I stole the photo idea from Sherry, whose blog I found when I was searching for Danskin blog recaps).

Swim

Bike

Run

Extra Stuff

Today was my last swim workout before Sunday’s triathlon. I had hoped my last swim would be calm and relaxing. Unfortunately it was not to be the case. The “open swim” area was filled with about 10 children and adults who did not understand the concept of “inside voices.” They screamed and shouted and splashed and made my 32 minute swim quite unbearable. I could not even hear the cheesy pop music that the pump through the loud speakers. How can I swim properly without hearing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”?

Over this past weekend, I had a second go at the bike time trial, but settled for 10.3 miles instead. I just got too frustrated with all the people on the path since I had waited until too late in the morning to go (around 10:00 am). There were people walking and talking on cell phones, people walking and smoking (??) and way too many rollerbladers for my comfort. Then there was the man who actually steered his daughter and her bicycle from the side of the path into my lane, despite the fact that I was moving along at a decent speed and had run my little bell. People annoy me. (Are we sensing a pattern here?)

I did my 5k run time trial on Sunday and I actually made myself run quite a bit more than I have been during my run/walks. I initially thought that I would get up and go participate in a 5k race in a neighboring town, but I decided when I woke up at 6:00 that I would rather sleep another hour and save the $30 entry fee. I managed to finish the humid 5k in 44 minutes which is slow based on my past, but pretty quick based on where I am at currently.

I think I will be pretty good at the transitions. I practiced both transitions on Thursday, even using the apartment complex’s mini pool to get soaking wet in my trisuit to simulate race day conditions. (By the way, I have no idea why that pool is heated when it is the summer and it gets direct sunlight. It was about 85 degrees and almost completely unbearable. I thought most people used the pool in the summer to cool off, not as a sauna). I have decided not to wear socks on the bike after trying it out. I hope that I don’t regret that later. I also think that I may have to put post-it-notes on my stuff to remember certain things like putting on sunscreen.

I have emailed with Running Jayhawk about this weekend’s event and asked her lots of nervous energy inducing questions and she has been so patient to answer them all! It has really helped me relax about lots of the little details hearing more about what things will be like.

For fun later this week (perhaps on one of my two “rest” days) I will post some pictures of all my stuff that I will be taking. It really adds up to a lot when you have three sports to do. The days of running only seem so simple now.

I have been doing several things lately to get ready for my triathlon which is now two weeks away. Here is a list of things I have been up to.

Schools let out this week in my area. When I got to the pool today, I was shocked to see about 40 LOUD children in the “open” part of the pool and only three lap lanes open. I took one and was soon joined in my lane by an older woman who bounced up and down in the corner on a noodle.

As I swam, doing an interval workout, I thought how awful it is going to be to spend the rest of the summer with all of these extremely loud children. They were running and jumping in the pool, screaming, and loudly play Marco Polo. In short: pool hell. Thankfully, after about 20 minutes, a whistle blew and they all got out of the pool. This makes me think it was some kind of pool party and the monstrosity will not be repeated everyday this summer. At least I hope so.

My workout called for 30-40 minutes total and, in my slacker ways, I planned to do the low end. After thirty minutes, I was at 800 yards. I thought about my goal of swimming 1000 yards and decided that since it was so peaceful and quiet, and the bouncing lady had departed, I would do the extra 200 yards at a very very easy pace. I finished the 1000 yards in 39:55.

I went swimming today and there was NO ONE ELSE there. Well, except for the lifeguard and the old lady bouncing in the open part of the pool. It was very nice. Does anyone else have a problem keeping track what lap they are on? I always have to think, “Am I at 300 yards or 350?” I did about 525 yards today.

As I was leaving the gym, I saw a guy with a workout bag put out a cigarette as he entered the building. It was just like the dream I had last night where the lady was smoking at a weight loss meeting.

After the glorious swim in an empty pool, I took my chances and went to Target to see if they had any Wii Fits. My mom had called me this morning to tell me that she and my dad had acquired one at their local Target, so I thought it was worth a chance. And . . . they had them! I am looking forward to Wii Yoga and Wii Hula Hooping. Maybe there is finally a game that I can beat Prince E at! (He has been beating me at MarioKart repeatedly).

I have only missed one workout so far this short training season. We were going to do Bike the Drive on Sunday and that was going to count as my Sunday bike ride, but we were lazy and stayed home. And played MarioKart.

Which of the following things do you think that I did today?
A. Biked For 4.6 miles
B. Swam 600 yards
C. Got insulted by a 12-year-old
D. Spent 10 minutes trying to lock my bike.
E. All of the above

If you said, “E” you are right! I biked the 2.3 miles to the gym, swam 600 yards, and then biked home. I felt just like Audrey, who is always biking everywhere, including the pool.

The whole thing went quite well, except for “C” and “D” above. Actually, getting insulted by the middle schooler was pretty funny (He said, “Your bike is gay!” when I politely rang my bell and said “On your left.” By the way, my bike is totally awesome). It was navigating the minefield of middle schoolers that was the problem.

In order to get to the pool before it gets too crowded, I need to finish work and head out around 2:30, which is the time that the school lets out. I had to weave in and out of all the kids on the sidewalk. It was either that or deal with the crazy parents in their giant SUVs and ride on the road. Tough choice. I may have to start finishing work at 2:00. That would mean getting up before 6:00 a.m.

As for the bike locking difficulty, I don’t think that I have locked a bike since 1996?? I honestly can’t remember. I couldn’t get the lock to close and I ended up realizing I was putting the one part in backwards. I think I will have to put a sticker on it or something to remind myself.

Week two of triathlon training is underway. I had my third trip to the pool today. It was super crowded. I shared the open area (the lap swim lanes were filled) with an old man who leered a bit too much and a lady who hopped up and down the pool length.

I couldn’t bear to walk/run around the indoor track because it was so sunny outside, so instead I walked around the perimeter of the gym. I really need to get used to people’s shock and amazement at seeing a pedestrian, even on the sidewalk. It’s getting old.

The most exciting news is that even if it stays cold (not that I am hoping it does), I can still get my bike workouts in, thanks to the acquisition below. We got a great deal on it because it is now the off-season for indoor biking, I guess.

Last night I used the stability that the bike trainer provides to learn how to clip in and out of my pedals. I have more trouble getting out than in right now, but will need more practice overall once I get outside.

I was surprised by how tired my legs got by biking and I had to stop a few times during my 25 minute workout.