Texas Tri Mom

What I Learned at School Today

2011-08-26T06:24:00.000-07:00

It seem counter-intuitive, but sometimes it is really, really hard to do nice things for other people.

Lately there has been an over-abundance of ridiculous, over-bearing, political and ego-induced hurdles thrown up and blocking progress. In the working world, I expect that sort of thing...it goes with the territory, that's why you get paid, etc. etc. But when it comes to volunteer work, I mean, come on... I'M TRYING TO HELP KIDS, people.....why are you making this so freakin' difficult? #!$^*%!#!!!

And just when I feel like saying to hell with it all, the universe responds with a couple of well-placed, much-needed words from a young girl who's not even involved in any of my programs but sees us around and has friends involved.

Thank you Jenna S. for letting me know that I AM making a difference and what I do is important. You couldn't have known how much I needed to hear something like that....thank you.

Our conversation this morning reminded me of two things:
1. Never underestimate your influence and impact on those around you. Even the smallest efforts may reach beyond your expectations. People respond to what you do as much as to what you say.

2. If you are thankful or proud or motivated by someone, let them know. Your kinds words could be just the thing they need to hear. You don't have to wait for a special occasion or anything. Say it when you feel it -- it will go far.

I challenge each of you today, to think about someone you appreciate and let them know, NOW. Let's make it a great Friday.

Ironman Florida - The Race Report

2010-11-12T10:12:00.001-08:00

It was quiet. Eerily so. I could see the wind briskly blowing the branches of the palm trees. I could feel its coolness lifting my hair away from my face. People were bustling around, bundled up against the cold, laden with transition bags, porting bike pumps, sipping water and nervously chattering.

Yet I heard nothing.

I had parted ways with my teammates a few moments back just after stepping out of the elevator on our way to transition. I had a couple bottles of water in my car that I wanted to grab to fill my bike bottles and to drink pre-race. They set off on the 5-minute walk to the race start together and I circled back to my rig, alone.

After retrieving the water, I set out on my solo walk to transition. According to my plan, I had enough time to add a few things to my transition bags, get my tires pumped, fill my water bottles, load my nutrition on my bike, drop off my special needs bags then head on down to the water just in time to see the pros take off on the swim.

As I walked steadily towards the body marking line, my mind was clear. Calm. Absent were the pre-race butterflies that send me to the bathroom at least three times before the race. Gone were the questions and re-thinking of clothes selection. Missing was the buildup of anxiety before the gun goes off.

It was just quiet.

I walked right up to an eagerly awaiting body marking volunteer who was excitedly waving his Sharpie in the air. “Body Marking!” I could see his lips say but I couldn’t tell you what his voice sounded like. He began with an exuberant “Good Morning! It’s gonna be a great day to race! What’s your number?” “Twenty-four Sixty One”, I must’ve said as he began writing on me, turning me this way and that to get both arms and both quads. “This is one of the few times it’s okay for me to ask, how old are you?” he mouthed through a toothy smile. “Thirty-nine”, he heard and etched for the last time a pre-masters number on my calf. “Good luck today!” he smiled, turned, thrust his trusty sharpie into the air, “Body Marking!”

I quietly walked on.

I stopped off at the Bike to Run Transition bag area and deposited my Garmin. It was all charged up, display set for just how I like it, distance in the big spot, pace in the bottom left and everything reset to zero. Check.

I passed by the long line at the bike mechanic tent and saw the stress written on faces of those athletes who arrived in transition that morning only to find some sort of technical issue with their bike. A flat or a seat post that mysteriously went all the way down. Behind that line were two bike guys manning the air compressors, servicing other athletes who just wanted to top it off that morning. On the left, a huge line to two porta potties. I didn’t concern me. I walked on.

I arrived at my bike and gave it the once over. Nothing seemed amiss. All black with a hint of red on the race wheels. The Katana looked ready. Stealth. Fast. I loaded my nutrition bottles and gave the cages an extra squeeze so as to not launch anything on the roads that afternoon. I filled the aero-bottle and dropped in a Nuun and watched it fizz and slowly sail and sink its way to the bottom.

I took it off the rack and walked it over to the air compressor line, it was already down to only one person. The person in front of me was nervously checking and rechecking the pressure of her tire. I could see her squeeze it and look at the bike tech, head tilted to the side as if to say, “are you sure it’s good?” He steadily looked back at the Ironman rookie and simply nodded with one eyebrow lifted…I’m sure thinking, “Listen, honey, it’s fine. I know what I’m doing.” She turned her bike around and ran it back to her transition rack. I pulled up the Katana and exchanged side smiles with the bike tech as he slightly shook his head back and forth.

I returned the Katana to the rack and headed out of transition to drop off my special needs bags. The drop off was about another 1-2 minute walk away from transition. Other athletes were hustling down the road to go drop their bags and freaking out as transition was closing shortly, but I just steadily stepped my way in the silence towards the drop off.

As I approached a volunteer taking bags, he turned towards me after having helped someone else and extended his arms to take my bags. “Twenty-four Sixty-One,” he read off the bag number and then his eyes traveled from my bag to me and gave me the once over. He paused and I could see his lips say, “Wow. You are ready.”

I gave him a single nod, turned and headed back towards transition.

As I walked, in my mind’s eye, I could see me walking. It was like those scenes from Top Gun or Apollo 13 or something were the pilots are walking in slow motion, steadily, calmly towards their planes. Some motivational music playing in the score. Arms confidently swinging, eyes piercing, focused, ready.

At that moment, I realized the quiet was my inner competitor getting into the zone. No fear. No anxiety. No Nervousness. Just quietly gearing up to get the job done today. Yes. Yes, I am ready.

The woman freaking out in transition because she couldn’t find her goggles and screaming at her husband for losing them didn’t faze me.

The folks coming out of the portapotties saying there was no more toilet paper and that you should only go in there if you really, really have to because it wasn’t pretty didn’t faze me.

The volunteers hurriedly rushing athletes out of transition because it was closed didn’t faze me.

It was time to do this thing.

Finally the sounds of the event began creeping in as I heard the announcer start the pros off in the swim. I could hear the waves crashing on the beach, the friends, family, volunteers and supporters all wishing everyone good luck, clapping, cheering, hugging. It was going to be a great race day.

I waded into the water quickly as, oddly enough, the warmest place to be all day would be in the water. Go figure. The air temps that morning were a brisk 41 degrees but the water was in the high 70s. We’d frolicked in the waves the day before so I knew that water felt great. The swells were significantly less than the 4-footers we had experienced in our practice swim, so the little waves we saw on race morning had nothing on me.

I followed my usual starting plan of starting on the far outside – fortunately it was again a counter-clockwise swim and for those of us who breathe only on the left it is PERFECT! I can swim on the outside edge, keep an eye on everyone else and on the buoys. Piece. Of. Cake.

The gun went off and I waited for the crazies to jump out there and start beating each other up, then slipped quietly into the water and started swimming. I felt good in the water. The temp was warm, the waves were minimal and before I knew it, I was quickly into my groove. The salt water/wetsuit combo makes you feel like you are literally just floating on top of the water. It was easy and fast to move through.

The whole drafting thing still escapes me. I tried following some feet that I found, but when I was there I felt like I was going slower than before instead of faster – which is probably true since I came up on their feet, right? Or is that I was actually drafting so the effort felt less – I couldn’t’ figure it out. So, I would pull around them and go on about my merry way.

Touch, pull, roll. Touch, pull, roll. Breathe to the sky. Swim. Swim. Sight the friends. Swim. Swim. Sight the buoy. Passing caps. Stearing clear of the masses. Skirting around the edges. Swim steady. Swim strong.

The water is so clear you can see the bottom a lot of the time. It seems close but when you come up on someone who is stopped and they are treading water, their feet are no where near the bottom. So I was a little bit surprised when I was swimming and during my pull I hit sand! What the? I peek up. Wow. Lap 1, 1.2 miles, done. Nice! I ab crunch my feet under me and stand up. Apparently I was swimming in like two feet of water. I’m sure I looked ridiculous as everyone else was already up walking/running through the water and there I was bodysurfing all the way up the beach. Dork. Oh well. I glance at my watch 0:34 something or nother (my goggles were fogged up already and I really couldn’t see very well). Cool! I jog over the timing mat and head back out to the water and engage my mathlete skills. Ok. So 34 minutes for lap 1. But it will take me another couple of minutes to slog my way through the shallow water and back out for lap number 2 plus the time between when I looked at my watch and actually crossed the mat. So let’s call it 38 minutes. Times two. That’s eight plus eight is sixteen carry the one, three times two is six plus one is seven. That’s seventy-two less sixty equals one twelve. Goal time is one fifteen. I think I’m good here. Let’s get it done!

Back in the water I go. Calm. Confident. Collected.

As the water slid by face stroke after stroke I thought, indigenous marine life? I AM indigenous marine life today. Look at me. Black on black on black. I’m like a seal out here. Gliding effortlessly through the water. Staying on my edge. Being aero…or..hydro..or whatever the heck you should call it. I had plenty of open water and my sighting was on fire. It was SO on target that I literally ran right into the last turn buoy. I bonked my head and air forcefully escaped my lips as I guffawed when I realized I was under a big red floating triangle. I surfaced, breaststroked and giggled my way around the corner wondering how many other athletes saw that. Geez…I try to be so cool sometimes, but really I’m just a dork.

Ok. Back to serious business. Home stretch of the swim now, let’s turn it on a bit. Touch, pull, roll. Glide. Glide. Move aside people. Indigenous Marine Life coming through! Well, ok, maybe I’ll go around you since I really don’t like swimming next to people. But, Eat My Wake! That means you, sir (as I passed a dude) and you sir (as I passed another)…aaaand you sir too! haHA! Swim. A great equalizer between the sexes. YES!

Hopped out of the water, quick glance at the watch – 1:11ish, SCORE! I ran across the mat, was summarily stripped, showered and headed into T1.

After a relatively quick transition aided by an extremely helpful volunteer, I was just about to head out of transition when I heard, “Dionn!” as Holtkamp sat down in the chair next to me. “Hi Lindsay!” Then I thought, oh shit! I said back to her as I quickly began exiting, “Oh crap! I’ve only got a 5-minute head start on the bike from you…GOTTA GO!” Five minutes? FIVE minutes? She will hawk me down before I make the first turn on the bike!

I scampered out of the changing area and through transition where I saw another awesome volunteer already standing with the bike. I swear I could hear the Katana revving up saying, “C’mon! Let’s Go, LET’S GO!!” I’m coming, I’m coming! I willed back to it. I grabbed it up and started click, clacking my way out of transition.

All of a sudden it turned into some sort of Nascar event! People were pulling out into the main walkway with their bikes and cutting people off right and left. Wow..these people are intense today! I thought. And just then a gal goes scittering sideways in her cleats on the concrete and starts careening out of control taking out another cyclist. Arms are flailing, carbon is clanging on the pavement – all that was missing was some smoke. In my ear I heard my pit crew yelling, “Go High, GO HIGH!” I held my breath against the imaginary smoke, squeezed as far left as I could and tippy-toed past the wreckage and came out clear, unscathed and alone on the other side.

Phew!

And just when I thought I was in the clear….SCREEECH! Full stop at the Mount Line! Really people? You couldn’t walk a little bit more forward past the line to try and get on your bike…which by the way, you are doing a piss poor job at right now. Click, Clack, Tippy-Toe through all these silly folks, I go until I find some open space to hop on. FINALLY – onward to the roads….YO!

After a spirited wave at my cousins, Heather and Heidi at the beginning of the bike course, I knew it was going to be a long, solo ride. Nothing to do but be steady, be aero, eat, drink and be merry. I was ready for the cold – completely bundled up in a fleece head band, full-fingered gloves, arm warmers, short-sleeve T3 bike jersey and the Kevlar-like T3 vest. (I mean nothing gets through this thing…no-thing). I was ready for the wind – hours and hours of pedaling through Austin’s own wind tunnel, Parmer Lane, will get you right where you need to be for this course. I was ready to stay aero. Jack and Drew dialed me in so well on my Katana…even though I’d only had it for a couple of months, we were already melded together. You couldn’t tell where the carbon ended and I began. Just one machine. Working. Driving. All I had to do was fuel it and it would go.

I welcomed the isolation of the single loop course and the demoralizing head wind. Why? Because I had no doubt that I could mentally handle it….others wouldn’t be so fortunate. Mile after mile after mile of limited variations in terrain couple with consistent wind in your face can wear down the unsuspecting. I considered it my advantage.

When the headwinds blew, I streamlined as much as possible with all the little tricks I learned in the wind tunnel testing with Multisports in San Diego. Low, little movement – just the legs going round and round and round…slipping quietly through the wind….imagining the little air streams coming up the front of my bike and arcing smoothly over me…I’m a small profile to you Sir Wind..nothing to see here, nothing to push on, just move a little over me and carry on your way please.

My time goal was 6:15 on the bike and according to my handy dandy tri-calc iPhone App (by Glenda Adams from Maverick Software – if you don’t have it. GET IT.) that meant I needed to average at least 17.92 on the bike. I rounded that to 18 and locked that number in my head. Additionally, even though I was intently focused on my running my own race, I wanted to see how long I could go before a couple people I knew who would be hawking me down, passed me on the bike. So pedal, pedal, pedal. Oval, oval, oval.

A sip of water every mile. A slug of nutrition every 15 minutes. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Rounded mile 56 and the special needs bag aide station. Did a quick inventory. Nope. I’m good here. Mkaythanksbuhbye. Pedal, Pedal, Pedal. Oval, Oval, Oval.

Where the heck is he? I’m not stopping until he passes me, but I’m starting to think I need to hit the restroom. And NO, I’m not peeing on the bike. Yes, I know it is mostly water by now. Yes, I know everyone else does it. I don’t care..unless I’m **this** close to a Kona slot, I’m stopping, getting off this bike and hitting a port-a-pottie. Thank you very much.

Just then I spot him. I see him. He sees me. And even through his shaded glasses, I could tell he was thinking, “Aha! There she is. It’s ON now.” I could see the renewed vigor in each successive pedal stroke. We pointed and nodded at each other as we passed.

Oh shit, I think, now here he really comes. Pedal, Pedal, PEDAL!!

I stayed focused on my speed. Every now and then I’d be in a groove into the wind and look down and see a 16 or 17. CRAP! I need 18…GO GO GO! And I’d pick it up. Whenever I felt a tailwind, I’d pick it up. With this crazy course you never know when it’s going to change on you, so following Sisson’s advice that just seems to work well in any event, “Take the gifts that the course gives you”, I would pick up the intensity and the pace when I felt the wind behind me.

I flipped the U-turn at mile 95 and saw Charles again..only about a mile away. Ninety-five, I thought to myself. I’ll take it. In a few short minutes he was spinning up beside me and I was grinning silly. “Damn! You’re having a helluva race today, girl!” “I know!” I responded giddily. We exchanged a few more pleasantries and he pedaled off….doggedly determined not to let me catch back up to him and any point for the remainder of the day. Hey…whatever I can do to motivate my teammates. 

At the very next aide station, I parked my bike and hit the restroom. Wow. I really DID have to go. Good grief! Of course I felt like I was in there forever and everyone was just cruising by on their bikes like I was standing still…because, well, I was…standing still…or at least sitting still. You know what I mean.

I didn’t even let myself think about the next event of the day until I had turned back into town and was about 12 miles out from transition. Mathlete – ENGAGE! Ok…my total goal time for the race was 12:00:00. That was broken down into Swim – 1:15, T1 - :10, Bike 6:15, T2 - :05, Run 4:15. Since I came out of the water around 1:10 and T1 time was right on, that’s less 5, I’m sitting at 11:55. Quick glance at the watch, estimate remaining time on the bike, I think I’m going to roll in at 6:00, that’s less another 15, that’s 11:40. Suhweet! But still A LOT of time for many, many things to go wrong. I could still get a flat between here and home. But I can change that in 15 no problem. Some other sort of mechanical on the bike – yeesh, I dunno..maybe I’d have to run it in. Argh. Silent prayer to the bike gods. Please, please, please – just keep it together for a few more miles. What’s a few more after I’ve already done 100? Right? Hang in there…let’s go.

Arrived at the dismount line to the raucous sounds of none other than Kitty Kat Katy Dooley who was literally one foot from the line. “DIONN! You are F*ing ROCKING THIS RACE!” I mean how can you not crack a smile? The folks around her were cracking up as well. Her enthusiasm and spirit was infectious and spirited me on to T2.

I dumped my vest, changed my shoes, switched gloves, switched race belts, added my Garmin and extra run nutrition and I was outta there…surely it was less than my budgeted 5 minutes. It felt like it. (Results later show that is was in face a 4:42)

More cheers from my cousins and I was off on the run. WOO HOO!

As usual, the first part of the run felt GREAT! You are just so happy to be off the damn bike you feel like could fly! 4:15 marathon meant a 9:43 pace, but I started out by throwing down sub-9’s. I knew I was probably going to pay for that later…but sometimes, you just can’t help yourself.

On tap, not 26.2 miles, not a marathon, but four 6.5ish mile repeats. I never once thought about the total distance I had to run then. Not. Once. The course was two loops of a simple out and back. I broke that down to the four pieces and just focused on one at a time.

Main goal here were to be through the second loop of the park before it got dark. From what I’d heard, it was just really tough, mentally, to be way out there and the far end of the loop, in the park, in the dark. I didn’t want to carry a blinkie things (although I had a great one from Kathleen – thanks Kathleen!!). I didn’t think I would finish in daylight, but I knew I could be headed home when the sun set.

The run was uneventful. Just really getting business done at the end of the day. A few hiccups here and there. Beginning with for some reason being completely UNABLE to swallow a thermolyte pill. Again, I must’ve been a humorous sight. I threw one pill in, chased it with some water and quickly began chocking and spitting everything out when my throat just closed up and refused to allow anything but liquid to pass through.

I’m sputtering into my hand because I can lose the water, but I didn’t want to lose the pill. Yea, I had extras, but I was already starting to cramp up and knew I was going to have to break into my emergency stash of salt before it was all said and done.

So now I’m through the aid station, running, holding a soggy thermolyte capsule in my hand. Great. Now what, D? Think, think, think. Ok, next aid station, I’ll grab some coke. Swallowing pills with carbonated drinks is always easier. No problem. Ok. Here we go.

I run along, awkwardly holding this quickly disintegrating pill in my hand through the next mile. “Water! Water!” The volunteer yells. I shake my head and move on. “Gatorade! Powerade!” Wait…I thought it was called something else this year…something Ironman branded..what was it again…. “Coke!” breaks through my mental conversation. Oh shit. Coke. Yes, Coke is what I need. I swerve over, grab the little Dixie cup of caffeinated carbonated goodness, throw the pill in my mouth and chase it down with some coke. Choke. Sputter. Squeeze. Get down. GET DOWN THERE DAMN IT! Cough. Ugh…barely got that one done. How the hell am I supposed to get another? My throat clenched at the mere though.

Great. Just great. I’m cramping in mile 2 and can’t even get these damn pills down. NOW WHAT?

Don’t panic. Don’t panic. I grab a Clif Shot Block and start munching on those while running to the next aid station. Ok. Something always goes awry in Ironman. The trick is figuring out how to fix it. So let’s fix it. Ok. Ok. Calming. Regrouping. Think.

Oh snap! I got it! I roll on to the next aid station. I wait until I hear “Gatorade!” Grab a cup. I put the edge of the cup in my teeth to hold the cup while I walk because I need to hands to take the thermolyte capsule, pull it apart and dump it into the drink. Brilliant! Of course that pesky wind was still at it AND I was holding a cup with my teeth, so naturally I was breathing out of my nose and as soon as I popped the capsule apart, powder blew right up my nose.

Great. Now I’m snorting Thermolytes. Well, I guess that’s one way to get them down. And oh, by the way, they don’t really dissolve either. So now I’m half-snorting, half-shooting thermolytes to get them in. And this is mile 4. Yay. No really, yay.

It wasn’t pretty but between the shot blocks, Gatorade/Powerade/Ironman-ade, snorting and shooting thermolytes, I kept the cramps at bay. I finished my full loop, checked the watch…total elapsed time read 9:30. Sweet! I’ve got 13.1 miles to go. I can put together a 2-hour half marathon, right? Sure!! Let’s go!

Um, yea, not so much. It became clear that I was going to be through the park before dark, so that was good, but I really started slowing down. Miles 20-22 were exceptionally slow. I only walked during the aid stations but I certainly took my time doing it.

Checked in with the Mathlete. Ok. We are 4 miles out. The sticker on the car does not say 136.6. It says 140.6. There is still work to be done here, Dionn. Get your head out of your ass and let’s get moving. This is where you find out if you’ve got guts or not. Do you? Well, do you?

Yes, I replied faintly. What? I can’t hear you? YES! Ok! Let’s do this. Here we go. Let’s Gu up and get going. Dig. Deep. Dig. Deep. I chanted over and over with each footfall of the right foot. Dig. Deep. Dig. Deep.

I went from running 11-somethings to 10-somethings and decided to be happy with that as long as I didn’t walk another step. Not one more walking step. NO WALKING IN THE LAST 4 MILES! I could hear myself saying. Ok, we’re moving, we’re moving!

Coming back on those last few miles, I finally allowed myself to reflect on the work that had been done that day. Over 11 hours of hard, dedicated, focused work. I nailed my paces for the most part and basically just got shit done. At this rate, I was actually going to break 12-hours for my Ironman! Yea, I choked up and cried a little, but then I just started smiling. I’m gonna what? Break 12 hours. I’m gonna WHAT? BREAK TWELVE HOURS! WOO HOO!! That’s right. Uh huh. Oh yea!

The last two miles or so have tons of fans and supporters. Everybody was yelling and giving me high fives. Saying I looked strong and had a good pace. It felt good. It felt damn good. It had been a crazy year of training. Intense. Focused. Yet surrounded by so many other obligations that it was hard to believe I’d somehow managed to squeeze it all in. But somehow, I found a way. The hours and hours on the trainer on Fridays. Getting up and running on Saturday mornings before a full day of Pop Warner football. Eating lunches in the car between swim practice and picking up the kids from school. Early mornings. Late nights. Split shifts. All of it…coming together in this very moment.

I rounded the corner where the turnaround was and headed into the finishers chute. I could hear the announcer saying other people’s names and finishing with “You. Are. An. Ironman!” The roar of the crowd coming closer and closer while my smile kept getting bigger and bigger.

I looked up into the stadium and saw my cousins jumping and waving wildly for me. I wave back and mouthed, “I did it! I DID IT!!!”

Finally, under and through the Finish Line, grinning ridiculously. No tears this year…instead a loud “WOO HOO” and a “YES!!”…maybe even a fist pump or two, I don’t quite remember. I was so excited, not to finish, but to set out and do what I needed to do. Like a machine. Just set the dial to the desired number, add fuel and press Go. Boom!

11:50:57

Ironman #2. Check!

Halfmax National Championships - The Race Report

2010-10-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

Race Instensity. That’s been the gauntlet tossed down to me by Coach Maurice this year. He claimed last year I did a lot of “participating” at races…which I did, because let’s face it, I love to race. The anxiety, the excitement, the adrenaline, the nervousness, the pressure, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat…or cramps..or both – all of it, what’s not to love?? (Regardless of what you might hear me say at T-3 minutes until my wave starts in the water…at which point you might only hear “Why the hell am I doing this again? What was I thinking??)

Part of getting to Race Intense for me has been Focus. And that meant limiting the number of races I was going to do. At the beginning of the season, Coach Mo and I sat down and I watched as he summarily crossed several races off my 2010 season. He let me keep a couple of my favorites (The Rookie and Jack’s Generic) that I could “train through and participate in” and I voluntarily punted a few that continually give me angst (CapTex, Austin Tri). This left me with just 3 races to focus on…Boston Marathon, USAT Long Course National Championships and Ironman Florida. Not a bad selection in my book, so I agreed to the plan.

As you know, Boston went well for me (3:32:57) – just missing my 3:30 goal by a smidge…but more importantly I proved to myself and my coaches that I could be race intense. (If you missed that recap, you can read it here on my blog, The Boston Marathon Race Report). I was determined to bring that same intensity out to HalfMax. I started my wearing all my National Championship and Worlds gear during the week leading up to the race. I even changed my profile picture on facebook to my Worlds Finishing shot. I wanted to get my head in the game and be ready to be intense. Here’s how it went down…..

I knew other athletes were feeling the pressure of this National Championship and Worlds qualifying race as much as I was, when I walked onto my connecting flight out of Atlanta to Myrtle Beach and was summarily eyeballed by a female athlete. As I watched her eyes travel from my Ironman logo’d visor, to my Mdot necklace, across my T3 t-shirt, down to my Brooks Ghost 3s and back up again to my face (Note to the guys: yes, we can tell when anyone is checking us out – don’t think we don’t see exactly what you are focusing on…you aren’t that good), she says to me “How old are you? I need to know if I should just take you out now while you’re on the plane or later…” There were lots of laughs from surrounding athletes as she had voiced what we were all thinking about each other: “Is he/she in my age group? Do I need to worry?”

While Halfmax is no Clearwater, the opportunity to represent the USA at an international event is a pretty big deal, in my book. The super fast kids might not agree, but especially after having done it once (Worlds in Perth, Australia last October) – it is a really amazing event and the closest I’ll probably ever get to doing something Olympic-like and racing for my country. And next year’s Worlds will be here, on our home soil in Las Vegas, Nevada. We will be the host country. How cool is that?!?! And it appeared that I wasn’t the only one thinking that way.

We arrived on Thursday and began the usual checking in and checking out of the race course. Charles claims this was our first mistake of the trip. That’s because when we went to check out the water – it was brown and absolutely disgusting. And I swim at the Ski Ranch!!! This “water” was worse than the overgrown with vegetation hot tub known as Decker, way worse than the mud and goat-poop laden waters of the Ski Ranch….and exponentially worse than the murky, gurky, dead body holding waters of Town Lake. I mean this stuff was G-ross.

Then to compound matters, we then heard folks discussing the Alligators, snakes and bull sharks that were common to the Intercoastal Waterway where we’d be swimming. Excuse me, the what?!! You’ve got to be freakin’ kidding me. GATORS!?!?! As if I don’t have enough anxiety over swim starts as it is…you’re telling me not only will I have to watch out for competitors elbows and feet…but ALLIGATORS!

Not only that, the swim start was to be right off the dock in the marina. Oh, did I mention that it was the Gas Dock? Yes, that’s right. The gas dock. You could clearly see the swirly circles on the water’s surface reflecting the light and smell the fumes in the air --- and that was from the top of the dock! Charles and I exchanged glances of “omg. They can’t be serious”. We decided to walk along the dock to the end where the swim course popped out of the marina and into the waterway, hoping, praying that the water would clear up…or something. We walked silently, save our sneakered footsteps upon the wood and a long exhalation of nervous breath from Charles as our anxiety grew instead of lessened.

The water quality did not improve. Nor did our spirits.

I said, “We’ve got two days. Maybe this is from all that rain they just had. The tide will come in and out and clear it up. Right?” Charles just gave me a look back like, “yea – right” and then said, “It’s going to take a miracle to clean up this water.” Indeed, I thought. A miracle.

The rest of pre-race time went pleasantly uneventful as we got a chance to mingle with some old racing friends and make some new ones – everyone nervous and commiserating about the state of the water. The good news was the water was definitely wetsuit legal – like that would help keep some of that nasty water off our bodies or something…ugh.

We discussed our race goals and plans. I was thinking 5:30. Here’s how I got there. 35 minute swim. Just under 3 hours on the bike. And just under 2 hours for the run. I’ve gone right at 3 hours on the bike at Longhorn. This course was much flatter than Longhorn, but wind was going to be a significant factor. I haven’t gone under 2 hours on the run in a half iron before. However, I’m coming off my strongest running season yet and I’m thinking that is possible. Charles put on his Coach hat and firmly told me that there is NO REASON why I shouldn’t go under 5:20 not including my transition times. Naturally I looked at him like he was crazy. He glared back at me like, “What…did I studder?” 5:20? I’m not sure where I’d shave some time. “You should be running a 1:45” he said. “My fastest standalone time is a 1:43.” I replied. “You should run a 1:45” he repeated. “Did you not hear me? My best STANDALONE half marathon is 1:43! How on earth can I run that after busting my ass in the water and on the bike for over 3.5 hours first?” He simply said, “You can do it.” I dunno, I thought to myself. That seems crazy. But maybe, just maybe…and the little seed was planted….but it will take something heroic.

Later that evening I got a note from Coach Maurice that said, “You are going to be great tomorrow…The best part is that you don’t need to put on a Superman cape…or be a hero…you just need to be Dionn! Just be you and you’ll do great…It’s when people try to perform outside their means, is when things don’t go well. Go be Dionn….Go be great!”

Yea…I thought to myself. Nothing heroic….I just need to be Dionn. I recalled Sisson’s words to me once, “You, Dionn, are a gamer. You show up on race day and make things happen. That’s just what you do.” That’s right. I AM a gamer. I DO show up on race day! I will be intense. I will dig deep. I will not quit. I will find a way. Somehow…and the seed sprouted and began to grow….

Race morning dawned, a little overcast and breezy, but otherwise perfect for racing. My balcony at the host hotel overlooked the swim exit and transition and I watched folks streaming into transition with headlamps, gear bags…and apparently even some guy pulling a cooler? (What was he going to be doing in transition? Tailgating?!) I figured I would only need my standard 1-hour in transition and just chilled out in my room, watching, waiting, focusing, going to the bathroom and getting my game face on until it 1-hour before transition closed.

I visualized not the murky waters and alligators, but instead a strong, smooth stroke propelling me swiftly and efficiently through the masses and the water. Touch, pull, roll….touch, pull, roll. Like a sailboat, speeding on its edge. Elbow high, strong lat pull….glide. Swim like Elizabeth, smooth and fast. I saw myself on my new Katana, dialed into my fit by Jack and Drew, seemingly one with my bike – black on black on black…you won’t be able to tell where the bike ends and where I begin…we are just one. A machine. And then on to the run. I am strong. I am light of foot. I am swift. I am fast. Finding the perfect balance between my naturally loping gait, a quick turn over and the rhythmic breathing that settles me into my pace and turns my run into a dance. Sisson calls me a dancer who runs. I will make that work for me. I will dance my way to the finish. I can do this. I will do this. Here we go.

I went down to transition and began setting up my gear in my regular way. Chatting with my neighbors, trying to keep calm and light. The water still concerned me…I didn’t sleep well thinking about it. Just then over the PA comes the announcement, “All athletes please come to the truck for a very important announcement. ALL ATHLETES!” Charles and I exchanged glances….this can’t be good. Or can it?

After a long introduction about how they’ve done everything they could, explored every possibility, they have decided to cancel the swim due to unsafe levels of eColi bacteria in the waterway due to the rain and run off. I looked at Charles, took a step back away from him and said, “From your mouth to His ears…how did you do that?” Charles was literally beaming from ear to ear! He was so excited! He asked for a miracle and got one…wasn’t quite what we were thinking it would be…but hell, we’ll take it!

The mood in transition was instantly elevated. The majority of folks where happy…except for the stud swimmers, of course. There was one girl who looked like she was about to cry. I could understand that…there went her 15 minute advantage over a very tough group of competitors. Now this was race was going to be for the cyclists and runners. I figured I would be in the middle of the pack on the swim, so I was calling it a wash for me…except I would edge it a little more on the positive side because the instant relief of stress and concern over the water conditions was invigorating! I said to myself, oh now it’s ON people. I could see some other athletes really getting thrown by the change. But one thing I know for sure…something weird ALWAYS happens on race day. You have to be prepared for whatever happens and go with the change. You can’t let not having “perfect” race conditions or “perfect” race prep or anything else throw you from your end goal. Yes, you may have to change your plan a bit, but you’ve just got to roll with it. I knew I was capable of that and perhaps some of my competitors might not be. Advantage: Dionn.

They decided to do the start with everyone randomly (not by age group) lined up at the swim exit and then they were going to let one person at a time go every 3 seconds and do a time trial start. So you’d get everything except a swim time. T1, Bike, T2, and the run. The bad part of this was that there would be no way to know where you stood in your age group since everyone was going off at different times. The good part of this was that there would be no way to know where you stood in your age group since everyone was going off at different times.  What that meant to me was, “Dionn – you have to race YOUR race. Not anyone else’s. You know what YOU need to do and do it. You won’t know what everyone else is doing…all you can do is focus on what YOU are doing.” It was time to just go be me.

I found fellow age grouper and Austinite Lorena Devlyn who I know is faster than me and got in line just behind her. I told her she was going to be my rabbit today. (I know I was supposed to be racing my own race, but it always helps to have some to chase to keep you focused and on task!) Charles jumped in behind me.

It was weird just kind of standing in line, chatting and waiting our turn. I experienced none of the “oh my god, what am I doing here and why am I doing this?” that I usually get at the swim start. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to find my race intensity again. But when the starter looked at me and said simply, “Go ahead” I took off towards the first timing mat with a huge smile. I turned back to Charles who was still in line and said, “Hey look! I’m racing!”. I turned the corner, hit the mat and saw Natasha standing on the sidelines already cheering, “GO Dionn! You’re looking strong!” and giggled a bit until Charles came zooming by me…. “C’mon!” he yelled, “We’re racing!”. Dang, I thought, he’s already got 6 seconds on me! Let’s pick up the pace sister and off into transition I went.

I popped out on my bike already about 15 seconds behind Lorena…she had a faster transition time…and I said to myself, “ok…let’s just keep her in sight” and we started out on Loop 1. My goal was to average 19-20 mph. That should get me in under 3, right? 20 x 3 = 60. 60>56. Yes, ok..good. Let’s go.

The bike course was kind of an H-shape. The bad news was that there was going to be a decent headwind for part of it. The good news was that we got to flip right around and have it as an awesome tail wind.

When I first encountered the straightaway with the wind, I thought “Good thing I ride Parmer a lot”. I hunkered down and became on with my bike. I imagined the air sliding over the top of me knowing that I can get pretty damn aero. I used all the tricks I learned in the wind tunnel testing in San Diego a couple years ago and focused my energy on my legs. At the first turn around, I had forgotten to look for Lorena coming the other way, so I had no idea how far ahead of me she was. I had averaged about 16 into the wind, so I figured I need to go at least 24mph going the other way with the wind to him my 20, right?

The whole course was relatively flat with some low rollers thrown in, and with the wind at your back on some of those you could really fly. I heard Sisson’s voice say “Use the gifts the course gives you.” At the time he was talking about the last 3 miles of the 3M course, but it made perfect sense to me here. I’ve got the wind at my back and a slight downhill = Hammer Time. I turned up the juice and cranked the cranks. 24-25 across that same stretch. Suhweet! I did the same on the next quarter of the H. I approached the end of the first lap showing around 1:25 on my watch. Ok, D – you are right on pace to go sub-3. Second lap, same thing…let’s go.

Around the turn around I went and shot out for my second lap.

I knew some people were starting to get demoralized by the wind. It was constant and unforgiving and you just had to push your way through it…and that can really wear you down. But not me. I’m on my new fancy aero bike in my swanky aggressive aero position with awesome wheels I borrowed from Nancy, I’m gonna slice right through this stuff.

I spun my way through the headwind, beginning to pass people who were slogging. And yes, I looked at their ages on the leg. The only ones I cared about were the 39-43 women. I’d pass someone and say to myself “Good job Dionn..but that doesn’t count for shit” when they weren’t in my AG. When I was passed, I would check the age. On most I’d look and say in my head “have a great race! Go rock it! Cause you don’t have a spot that I want.” I did get passed by 3 or 4 in my age group. They were moving really fast and there was no way in hell I could keep up. “Race your race, Dionn. Not theirs, yours. There’s still the run and you are a runner. Well a dancer who runs, but still, you can run!” So I let them go.

As I heading towards the first turn, I started watching the riders coming back the other way. Where oh where is she? Is she that far ahead of me already, dang! And then I saw her! Moving quick and fast with the wind at her back. Wow, she looked strong. It seemed like forever until I finally made the turn around and I had forgotten to check my watch when I saw Lorena to figure out how far exactly she was ahead of me. Rats. Oh well, let’s work the tailwind/downhill – this is our best chance to make up some ground. Right here. Right now. Go!

I hit the turn and jumped on the cranks. “Drop the heel for more power” I heard in my head. That I could do. And then I remembered hearing Charles ask me “don’t you let your heels rise naturally?” when I complained of my ankles getting tight when I rode. “No I don’t…I’m too busy trying to get my heels down!” So then I tried letting my heels come up towards the top of the stroke, pushing my foot forward towards the front tire THEN dropping the heels. I tried this and saw my speed go 24…25…26…27! Hey! That really works! Hot damn! I started hauling with renewed vigor.

Approaching the next turn around I saw Lorena again…this time not as far from the U-turn. Aha…I’m gaining on her! There were two more little sections with turnarounds….let’s see if I can close this gap.

My nutrition was dead on. I wasn’t hungry or thirsty and everything was going down on schedule. I had energy so I continued getting after it.

Turn number 3 of 4 on the last loop. There she is! I saw her. She saw me. It was on. I had closed about 85% of the gap. I’ll get her on this last straight away. I made the turn and started after her. My perception was that she picked up the pace even more after she saw how close I was, but I was determined to catch her before we got into transition. I cranked into a bigger gear and started mashing my way towards her. No, it wasn’t the 92 cadence spin I was supposed to be aiming for…it was probably closer to 82…but I didn’t care. I was closing in. I could see her getting closer and closer to me. Oh, I’ve got this now. The numbers on her race bib where becoming more clear. I was starting to see the details in her braided pony tail that was streaming behind her, like a rope pulling me closer and closer. A momentary concern passed through me as I started thinking about the run and whether or not I was going to pay for this effort later…but I said, to hell with it…I’ll deal with that when the time comes.

I turned the pedals as hard as I could and came up behind her about a half a mile before we hit transition. I stayed a legal distance behind her as we pulled into transition. She gave me some words of encouragement and let me know I made her keep her pace honest, no slacking. I looked at my watch. 2:45, it said. Under 3 hours! CHECK! Chasing Lorena, I negative split the second loop and picked up 5 more minutes! Score! I thanked her for being my rabbit and we headed out on the run together.

I considered hanging with her on the run, but after the first half mile I looked at my watch and it said 7:50s, I eased off. I didn’t want to crater on the run after nailing my bike goal so nicely.

I settled in around what felt like MGP, and it wavered between 8 and 8:20s for the most part. The run was steady. I really had to hit the potty though…but I knew the first couple pit stops would have lines and stuff and I didn’t want to waste time so I made a promise to myself to hold on until closer to half way.

All the post-spin bricks were paying off. My legs didn’t feel heavy or anything and the miles clicked by quickly. A few folks passed me….but I did a LOT of passing on the run. I picked of several in my AG as well. As I would pass I would think, “I’ll take your spot at worlds……aaaannnnddd yours too…thank you very much!” or “That’s right…I’m a 3-time Boston Marathon qualifier….take THAT! haHA!” and chug steadily on by. After I passed one person, I would scan ahead for the next. A, Always. B, Be. C, Closing. Always be Closing. A, Always. B, Be. C, Closing. Always be closing. I’d chant my way through the miles and people.

I did stop at mile 6 to hit the bathroom and felt amazingly better. Wow…I really DID have to go!

A small snafu came at mile 7 when I was supposed to take my thermolytes. For whatever reason, I could not swallow any pills right then. I’m sure I was a humorous sight. There I am, throwing pills in my mouth, following with water and then coughing and sputtering while I spit everything out of my mouth but trying to catch the pills so I could try it again. What the hell? Can nothing just go as planned? I tried again. Instant gag reflex…I almost hurled. OYE! I need that salt!

Visions of my last few mile crampfest at Boston started entering my thoughts. Shit…no repeats of that please! I started feeling the tingles in my calves…which I’m sure was all in my head. Oh crap, now what D. You can’t cramp your way to a sub 2:00 run.

Then I remember my stash of Clif shot blocks in my pocket. In case of emergency, tear package! And I did! Slammed one in each cheek and started to work on those.

I’m not even sure if they have same amount of electrolytes as thermolyte pills, but I figured it was better than nothing! I followed that with Gatorade at the next two aid stations for good measure. That seemed to stem the cramping tide and I carried on.

As I made the last turn on the run that would send me in the direction of the finish line once and for all I was just over 2 miles out and my watch read around 1:30. Mental math time…ok, so I can definitely do 2 miles in 30, right? If I go 8:00s I should get in under 1:50, right? Uh…yes…I think so. (Why is math so hard during a race?)

Ok…let’s find me some 8:00s. I buckled down, lengthened my stride and got to work. I was passing walkers and I was passing runners. No walking in the last two miles, people! I shouted mentally to them. We are so close! Find a way! Find. A. Way!

My legs were definitely tired, burning and heavy, but I kept going. I was so close to my goals. There was no way in hell I was going to make Team USA if I didn’t do my job first. And that was to go sub 3 on the bike and sub 2 on the run. Everything else is out of my control. But I can’t expect to get a chance to be on the team unless I do my job FIRST. Must. Finish. Strong.

I pounded through the last miles and came through the finish line to find a smiling but smug Coach Charles standing there. He pointed to his watch and pointed to me and said, “I told you you could do it!”. I simply smiled back. Damn, sometimes I hate it when other people are right and I’m wrong. But this time, I’ll take it!

Rough estimates had me at 2:45 on the bike and 1:50 on the run. Not counting transitions…that’s 4:30ish. Even if I had a terrible swim, I would come in under 5:30 in a regular half iron. SCORE! I was so excited!!

Final results posted and my times were:

T1: 1:49

Bike: 2:45:11 (20.3mph)

T2: 1:24

Run: 1:49:10 (8:20)

Total Time: 4:38:05

Hell yes!! Throw in an average/good swim of 35 minutes and that would be around a 5:15. What what?! WOOT!!!! That’s shaving almost 30 minutes of my best half iron time. (Yes, yes, my efforts on the bike and run might not have been as strong if I had to swim first…but just play along for a moment, will you? I am!)

I was extremely proud of my effort. I did what I set out to do and nailed my goals. Now some might say that I didn’t set them as aggressively as I could have (and you know who you are!), but I am very happy with this direction my training and racing has gone.

Final age group results put me at 20th in the 35-39 year old division. Team USA spots go to the top 20. HOWEVER, I will age up next year, so for 2011 Worlds, in order to qualify I need to be in the top 20 in the 40-44 age group.

So, we have to look at all the 39 years who were faster than me (5) who will be aging up and all the 44 year olds who will be aging out of the 40-44 group THEN see where I sit in the 40-44.

Rough calculations put me at 16th in the 40-44 after the age up process…and that means another spot on Team USA! WOO HOO!

This is unofficial until I get the email from USAT….so let’s keep our fingers crossed for the next few days while they work it out.

Regardless – I’m super happy with this performance and I’m going to take that with me to Florida. IMFL. Bring it on!!!!

Boston Marathon 2010 - Race Report

2010-04-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

The Boston Marathon 2010

3:32:57. If you want to know more, read on…but make sure you are seated comfortably….you know how I can get with my race reports….

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Sometimes a race is more than just a run. It seemed to be a common theme this year in my circle. And what better stage than the 114th running of the Boston Marathon.

At the beginning of my marathon training season this year (which began about 10 days after my Triathlon season ended), I’m not even sure I had a specific training goal…as in a goal pace for the race. I just went in knowing that I would be doing a lot of running.

Last year, I had to balance my running within my Ironman training and while I successfully completed both my first Boston Marathon (with a 3-minute PR and requalifying for 2010) and my first Ironman (just over 14 hours), I knew I hadn’t given each race its all out best effort. But that wasn’t my goal that year. My goals that year were to get there, get it done and have an absolute blast while doing it. And, boy, did I! 

However, Coach Maurice aptly put it, last year, I “participated”. This year…..this year was the year to “race”. That meant giving each race its own time, space and attention to train. And more importantly, Intensity on race day. He even went through my 2010 Tri Race calendar and crossed off races that I had planned on doing. I had already signed up for the Gulf Coast 70.3 as a GREAT practice for IMFL. The only problem was that it was 3 weeks after Boston. Mo said, “No way. You will spend time tri training for that race instead of focusing on Boston. And then you will run Boston with that 70.3 in the back of your head saying, ‘I can’t blow up – I have another race coming soon’ and you won’t give it your all.” Clearly, he knows me too well. Criss-Cross – off the list. Boston. Boston. Boston.

I had some early wins in the Team Rogue training process. Training runs where I kept up with Nedra and Ruth on shorter runs, staying shoulder to shoulder with Cindy Schlandt during strides, and keeping up with Chuck Duvall and Amy Anderson on some early long runs. They may not seem like big deals, but it got the wheels turning… hey..I’m hanging with kids who went 3:30 last year….could I do a 3:30 this year? And there it was…the little seed. Planted.

But seriously…3:30? That’s like 8 minute miles. For twenty-six point two miles.

That’s a long way to go at that speed for me. Especially considering my last year’s PR was 3:42… an 8:24/m pace. Shave twenty-four secs per mile…for twenty-six miles point two miles? Immediately the chant begins: BE AGGRESSIVE. B-E AGGRESSIVE. B-E A-GG-R-E-SS-I-V-E!

And with some convincing from instigator friends, the hunt began. I started training with the 3:30 pace group with Team Rogue. I had some good days and I had some bad days…but most days, I was keeping up. Mind you, it was BARELY keeping up, but keeping up nonetheless.

But as race day approached, I began to realize that it wasn’t going to be a physical challenge….it was going to be a mental one. This race was going to be more about what was going on in my head and in my heart than anything my legs were doing. I just wasn’t confident that I was physically capable of pulling it off. I’m not a runner….as Sisson so aptly puts it, I’m a dancer who runs…. I’m an accidental Boston qualifier, a poser. Sooner or later, I was going to be exposed for that…and this season might be it.

As many of you know from my FB statuses, I was needing A LOT of affirmation from you all. I held on to every positive workout I had. I looked at the pictures of my garmin that showed paces that started with 6s and 5s (albeit for super short distances – but I was needing every little bit of positivity I could find). I honestly had serious, SERIOUS doubts that I could pull it off. And yea, I was fishing for reinforcement and y’all didn’t disappoint. You kept feeding my positive vibes, telling me I could do it, reminding me of all the hard work and training I’d put in. I knew as my friends, y’all would back me on whatever crazy endeavor I said I wanted to do…and would do so exuberantly. Coach Sisson…on the other hand…he’s a straight shooter. He will tell you exactly how it is.

In fact, I was so nervous that my goal was such a stretch and that he wouldn’t agree to it, I was too scared to even talk to him about my final race plan. Everybody else had ironed and finalized their mile by mile plan with him…but I didn’t. I was way too scared. Scared he was going to say, No way. Give up that dream. It’s not going to happen. You aren’t that fast. I didn’t tell him what my plan was…until the night before.

And as I suspected, I did not get the RAH RAH, You are totally gonna crush it, pat on the back, you’ve got this thing, no worries kid, type of speech that my friends gave me. He said, “This is a big goal for you. You are going to have to have a really really good race and have lots of things go right to get it. But you know what? You have your plan, now go execute it. You’re a gamer. Somehow you bring it on game day. You have a plan and you follow it. That’s what you do.” I knew he didn’t want to completely rain on my parade, but I could tell….he had serious, serious and realistic doubts. He’s no bullshitter.

I walked away from that conversation thinking, I knew it. He doesn’t think I can do it. Why do I think I could possibly do it? But I AM a gamer. There’s definitely something different about race day conditions for me when I’m there to race and not just participate. I’m a performer…Give me a stage, or a spotlight, or some screaming fans…and baby, it’s On! I think that’s one of the reasons I love racing in my team kits. Gives me that performance-level super suit feeling. Race days aren’t every day training days. You suit up special for race day because race day performance is special.

I mulled over my talk with Sisson during our last team dinner. Listening in on everyone’s conversations around me, but circling, circling in my head. I was so nervous, I didn’t even have a beer! Can I? Should I go for it? Is it too aggressive? Will I show up on race day? Am I physically capable of pulling this off? Am I mentally capable? This is WAY out of my comfort zone here and I had lots and lots of doubts.

I leaned over to Mike, “Sisson doesn’t think I can do it.” “What?” he replied. “He doesn’t think I can go 3:30.” Mike: “Yes, you can. Trust your training. You can do it. I know it.” I mulled it over some more. Maybe Sisson is trying some of his Jedi mind tricks…throwing down a challenge, because you know I’m always down for a challenge. Some of his athletes need the Rah Rah speech, maybe I need the “Oh yea? Then prove it to me” speech.

Fortunately the rest of the evening was filled with positive messages, calls and texts from my inner circle. Supporting me, cheering me, calming me, energizing me and most of all believing in me. And by the time I went to bed….I believed in me too.

Race morning was surprisingly uneventful. I was nervous…but the good kind of nervous. The kind of nervous that you can morph into a powerful energy and use. It felt good. It felt invigorating. I felt alive. I felt ready.

We got through all of the logistics of getting ourselves to the club buses that then took us to the start. It’s kind of weird riding in a bus for what seems like over an hour and think, ok – now just run back the way you came. Team Rogue took up a lot of the first bus. It was good to have everyone around. Everyone was feeling pumped and ready to roll. We’d all been through some bad ass training together and now it was time to prove that it works.

I was one of the few Team Roguers that were in the second wave, so I hung out on the bus after all the wave 1 folks left, hit the restroom a final time and made my way to the starting line. I was in corral 17. Just three back from the start of wave 2. A good place to be….but it was crowded. 3:45 qualifying time must be popular!

I was loaded with all my nutrition, my paceband and garmin on my left wrist (auto pause off, virtual running partner on 8:01/m pace, autolap ON), my faithful timex on my right (that would keep track of chip time in case something screwy happened with my garmin and GPS..I wanted to make sure I knew what the running clock was at all times.)

Overall race plan was this:

Miles 1-5: Get in. Get going. Find your groove. Bank a little time, but not a lot.

Miles 6-16: Ten miles of exposition-type rollers. You can do these in your sleep.

Miles 17-21: Warm up is over. Time for some hill work.

Miles 22-26.2: Close. Leave Nothing on the course.

And we were off! I was a little nervous in Mile 1 because my plan called for banking 8 secs each mile for the first 8, so I could have those for the hills. So that meant 7:53/M pace. But everyone in that corral was running closer to 3:45 (8:25/M) pace. I had to weave and go around folks..and it was making me nervous. And rightfully so. Mile 1 came…8:05. Shit. Shit. Shit. I need to find some open space and find my groove. Move people. MOVE. Anything I feel before mile 5 doesn’t count for shit. I know I need 5-7 miles before I start to feel like an actual runner, but I need to get moving here.

Miles 2-4, I made up some time per my plan by going 7:42, 7:46, 7:47. Ok…I’m back on pace where I should be. Phew.

Mile 5. Oops…relaxed a little too much 8:05. Plus dealt with throwing down a Gu. That always slows me down a bit. Dang it. Get back after it D. You’ve only got bankable miles through Mile 8…then its steady MGP time. Get there.

Miles 6-7 went 7:51 and 7:53. Ok…back on pace. Good. Toss down some thermolytes.

Mile 8. Dang it. Again with the too much relaxing. F*ck! 8:08. No problem. Miles 9-16 are supposed to be steady MGP, but I feel good at just sub 8’s, so I’ll get there. Here we go:

Mile 9-16 went steadily by. I didn’t take as much notice of my surroundings as last year. I could hear all the fans yelling and screaming, but they were really just ambient noise this day. My inner dialog was cranked up to 11! My splits went: 7:58, 8:00, 8:04 (oops), 7:59, 7:56, 8:07 (battled getting my Gu down and then getting through the water stop and trying to actually get some water in my body instead of up my nose…nice, D, you look like a freakin’ rookie out here trying to get water..sheesh…how embarrassing. Focus. FOCUS!), 8:11, 8:06.

And then the real dialog began.

Bing, BING, Bing. Attention. Attention. May I have your attention please. We are now entering the hill phase of this workout. Please fasten your seatbelts and put your tray tables in their full upright and locked position. The warm up is officially over. Please prepare to WORK.

Ok, D. Here we go. We have a 10-mile run workout that starts now. 5 miles of hills. 5 miles of closing. You are a little bit behind pace, but not too much. We have one goal at this point. Get through the hills and give yourself a chance to close. That’s it. You don’t have to crush them, just do them. All we need is a chance to close. Just the opportunity. You are a closer. That’s what you do. You close. We just need to get in a position to give ourselves a chance to do what we do best. That’s it. Nothing more. Nothing less. Just a chance. Let’s do this thing.

Mile 17 – 8:21 (shit. 10 seconds slower than what I wanted. C’mon D.)

Mile 18 – 8:15 (better. Plan said 8:16. Good)

Mile 19 – 8:01 (plan was 8:05. Getting close)

Mile 20 – 8:21 (plan was 8:15. Still having trouble navigating water stops. Dang it. I’m running with a damn bottle next year. F*ck it.)

Mile 21 – 8:32 Heartbreak Hill. Even though I was passing people right and left, my plan said 8:21. Dang it.

Bing, BING, Bing. Attention. Attention. May I have your attention please. You are now leaving the hill phase of this workout. Congratulations. Now go kick some ass.

I came out of the hills feeling good. Yea, my quads were a little tight, but my spirit was awesome. I looked around and saw the agony and defeat on some other runners faces and thought, not me. Not this day. I’m fixin to close the bad boy out right here. Let’s do this thing. WOO HOO!

I had fire and I was ready to go. I’d lost a little time in the hills and sub 3:30 was probably out. But I still felt very confident about 3:30:59. I was ready to get back to 7:50s and lower. I’m a closer. That’s what I do. And now it was time to close.

But then I felt it. That little f*cking tingling whisper in the back of the calf. What? WHAT? You have got to be kidding me! I take a quick glance down at my race belt. Nope…didn’t miss taking any nutrition or thermolytes along the way. I drank TONS of water (even inhaled some through my nose for good measure). My belly wasn’t sloshing or anything. WHY? WHY? I do NOT have time for CRAMPS!!

I started into the emergency stash of Thermolytes….please lord let these get there in time. I switched to Gatorade at the water stops. But to no avail…the tingling was getting stronger and more frequent.

God Dammit! I had just been watching a special on Apollo 13 the earlier in the week and I felt like that command center. Ok, we’ve had an explosion with our main thrusters…we need to switch to auxiliary power systems to guide the ship back safely. Shut down the calves STAT! (I knew Mike would cringe at that word and I smirked through the pain). Re-route all systems. GO GO GO!! We only have a few seconds to shut those down before they explode and crank up the other systems so we don’t lose time. Move it, people. MOVE IT!

So instead of using my calves, I switched to running, one-legged cycling drill style…..all hip flexor, no calf, no foot. I was flat footed and loud as I kept pounding the pavement. I could hear what Amy’s response would’ve been (“quiet feet Dionn, quiet feet!) …but I had no choice. I did not, could not stop for cramps.

Miles 22 and 23 went 8:11 and 8:18 as I battled, willed, begged, pleaded, emplored by calves to not cramp up. Please, please, please. I just need a few more miles. You can do this. Stay with me. Stay with me!! Ugh. I was cramping even earlier than last year. Last year hit me at mile 24 and barely made it those last two miles…now I’ve got to keep it together for four????? F*CK!

Going into mile 24, I felt like I’d mastered my no calf/no foot running style and started to pick up the pace. Little circles with the hip flexor. Circle, circle, circle. Just picking up the foot. And putting it back down. Pick it up. Put it down. 8:05. Better. But I think we’ve missed our window of landing on the moon. Now our job is to return everyone home safely to Earth. Pick it up, put it down. If we have the wrong entry trajectory, we will simply burn up entering Earth’s atmosphere. We need to focus on getting in and getting in safely. No hot dogging. Mile 25 – 8:06.

I was definitely bummed as I didn’t get my chance to close….and I was really, really ready to hammer it home. I said to hell with it, we’ve got 1.2 to go…let’s push it just a little bit more. I pushed and cramped and pushed and cramped my way down to 8:00. I knew I was resembling those video clips of runners hobbling down the final stretch…dragging a cramped and locked appendage towards that finish line. The last 200 meters or so I limped, hobbled, ran at a 7:50 pace. Crossed the finish line, clicked my watch and could barely read the 3:32:xx. Damn it. So close. So. Close.

I hobbled through the finishing chute and each time I stopped to pick up whatever goody they were handing out (water, blanket, goodie bag, medal, dry clothes bag), snipers shot me in the back of my legs and full throttle cramps seized my calves. It took me a few moments to get going each time but I managed.

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. I missed it. GRRRRR!!!! Tears welled up in my eyes. Last year I cried for entirely different reasons. This time it was from disappointment. And now I’m crying in the finishers shoot. Medical asked me if I needed help. I said No. I can’t believe I couldn’t pull together 2 minutes…..2 freakin little minutes over the course of 3 and a half hours! Seriously, D…how lame is that! DAMMIT! I mean we are talking, what, 3 seconds of every minute. There…in just that long to think that statement, I could’ve run faster and made 3:30. GRRRRRR!!! UGH! All that hard work…and to miss it, by two minutes. Dammit.

But then my iPhone started pinging and vibrating. Text message after text message. Facebook alert after Facebook alert started rolling in.

“You did it!”

“Way to rock it!”

“Helluva PR!”

“I’m so proud of you!!”

“You are my inspiration!”

And I was like…hey, wait a minute….yea…maybe it wasn’t such a bad race afterall. I DID take 10 minutes off my time from last year. I did requalify. I posted a quick status on FB to which more responses came pouring in. And with each one, I began to feel better and better about the race. As I continued the couple blocks walk through the finish line and back to the hotel, I felt better and better with each step. (Although my calves still felt like shit). And by the time I got to my room and through a quick shower, I was excited.

I joined the rest of the team in the bar, got HUGE hugs and congrats from my teammates. And also a very heartfelt hug and “I am so proud of you” from Coach Sisson. Who honestly stated, “I didn’t think you could do it. I wasn’t sure if you had it in you…here (pointing to my heart), but you did. And you did it! Now we know what’s possible…when you believe. And now you believe it. And I believe it too.”

A few moments later I got a text from Coach Maurice: “You are a BAD ASS!! Welcome to racing! You know how to do it!!” To which I responded, “Was that enough race intensity to start the season?” “You put a big “!” after Intensity.”

We continued to celebrate into the late night, rehashing our journeys mile by mile and step by step. Everyone had personal struggles, both physically and mentally, that they had to overcome to get to the starting line and down to the finish. There were cheers and tears, laughter and libations as we toasted well into the night.

It’s been a fantastic journey…one I couldn’t have done without so many of you. My sincerest thanks to my family for their unwavering commitment and putting up with my crazy schedule, my friends for your words of encouragement and support, my teammates for dragging me around runs and urging me to test my limits, my coaches for their wisdom, plans, critiques and comments. This 3:32 is every bit yours as it is mine…for without you…all of you….it would not be.

And now..get ready, people. I’ve got a taste of racing…and guess what… I LIKE IT! I’m going sub-3:30 next year. Boston 2011. Who’s in?!?!?!?

I get knocked down...but I get up Again!!

2010-03-29T07:34:00.001-07:00

(Written Saturday 3/27)
This morning's run with Team Rogue was the final race prep before we head out to Boston in a short 3 weeks. Innocuously called "Race Prep #2", last year this same workout was called "The Soul Buster". And let me tell you, last year it Busted My Soul completely. I didn't hit any of my paces and couldn't even finish the workout. In short, it kicked my ass.

This year, I wanted some redemption. I've had a good week of running...somehow managing to put down 52 miles of running between Saturday and Thursday -- all on the correct paces and feeling pretty damn good about it. Not overly confident, but pretty good.

Today's workout was:

Miles 1-4: warm up

5-8: Marathon Goal Pace (8:01)

9-12: Marathon Goal Pace (8:01)

13-19: Recovery pace (some of that "recovery" on friendly roads called Redbud & Stratford!WTF!)

20-21: Marathon Goal Pace

22-23: Half Marathon Goal Pace (7:36)

24-25: 10K pace (7:11)

26-27: Cool down

Yea. There are no typos up there.

The 3:30 Train of Amadora, Paul and I chased Mrs. Speedy Nedra during our MGP miles and averaged 8:02! I'll take it!! We then put on some climbing gear and headed off to summit -- I mean, we "recovered" by tackling Redbud, Stratford and then some town lake trail action to get us back to the track for the closing section.

I was still feeling really good about the day so far. A SIGNIFICANT contrast to last year when I came (almost) crawling into the track after not even hitting my 8:34/M paces at any point.

But I was definitely feeling winded going into Mile 20. We headed off for our 2-miles at MGP and averaged 8:05. Not quite where I wanted to be, but close. Then came the 2-miles at half marathon pace. Legs were really starting to talk to me and I got through the first of those miles at 7:49. But the next mile, the wheels started coming off...well, not the physical ones -- the mental ones. I was just barely hanging on 400 by 400 and started slowing down. I came in after the second mile at 8:03.

At this point mentally I was like "That's it. I'm done. There's no way I can crank out 10k pace right now. I'm fried!!" I hit STOP on my Garmin and looked at Sisson and said, "That's all I've got Coach." He replied, "Walk a lap and then we'll talk about it."

I reluctantly started walking. The 3:30 Train had rolled through the station and I wasn't on it anymore. Dammit! Just then, Michael Wedel walked up next to me (Who had already finished his 26 miles) and started talking. I have no idea what he said during the first 200...but if you've ever run with Michael, that boy can just talk for hours and keep you entertained. It's awesome.

As we approached straightaway of that 400, I turned to Michael and said, "Sisson's not going to let me stop, is he?" Michael responded, "No fucking way." "Fine, let's go then." So we started running.

By the time I got to the 400m line, the remaining Team Roguers starting cheering and Sisson yells," I KNEW you weren't done! I KNEW IT! Alright, get it going Dionn. C'mon you can do it!!"

So we kept running....only 7 laps...if I could just make it around 7 laps....I can pull together 7 laps...yes, 7 laps I can do.

Michael stayed just a bit ahead of me, urging me just a bit faster at every turn and every straightaway. I had forgotten to start my watch again, but every lap I would take a peak. The first number I saw was 8:22. Ok, D -- let's get that number down just a bit on this lap. Next peak, 8:1x...I couldn't tell if it was an 11 or a 13...but I thought, who cares, we're getting faster.

Before you knew it, we'd clicked off one mile. Ok, D -- 1 mile to go. 4 little bitty laps around this freakin' track. You can do that. You can pull it together for one mile. Just one little mile.

We started the next 400 with Sisson cheering, "Let's Go Di-onn! clap--clap--clap,clap,clap!" The rest of the Roguers joined in. "Let's Go Di-onn! clap--clap--clap,clap,clap!"

C'mon..as a cheerleader, how can you NOT get fired up by that. HELLO!! We picked it up a little more.

4 laps to go turned to 3 laps to go. Starting the last 200, Michael says "we've only got one more to go after this." One more after this, I thought. Yes, I can do one more after this...let's close this bastard out! We picked up the pace.

The final 400 came and I'm not sure if I was just so excited to be almost done or what, but we started seriously cruising...I stretched out the stride and let if fly and came in the last 100 meters doing 7:05(ish -- according to Michael)!!!!

DONE!!!!

I wanted to puke or cry....or possibly both. But instead I just smiled and gave high fives to all the Team Roguers and supporters!! Sisson gave me two fist bumps and a pat on the back and said, "This workout owns you in your head for some reason. But now we know, if you get down -- you CAN get back up again!"

And he's right. There are going to be many, MANY times in races -- marathons and tri's alike -- where you are mentally just done. But I feel better knowing this year, I can at least get back up and keep going. If I need to take a lap or a couple 100 meters to regroup...fine. It doesn't have to mean the end -- like it did last year. Regroup, Refocus, Re-energize and get going!

Did I nail all of my paces with ease? No. But I was a whole hell of a lot closer this year with an even bigger stretch goal.

Did I fall apart mentally? Yes. BUT, I was able to pull it back together and keep going.

So, I give myself a B+ for the workout for nailing the MGP sets on the road, choosing the hill route and actually finishing the damn workout this time!

I would also like to award, Michael my Team Rogue MVP. Thanks for being an awesome friend and somehow cranking out more miles after you crushed your own. Dublin Dr. Peppers are on me, my friend.

And now..TO THE ICE BATH! CHARGE!!

Why an Axe?

2009-11-28T18:52:00.000-08:00

E just posed this question to me: "Why does Stanford use an axe for the helmet sticker? That seems anti-tree".

The Stanford Axe - an excerpt on it's history:

ORIGIN AND LOSS OF THE AXE

Part I

by Dink Templeton, Stanford '18

Understood to be figurative, the thousands of throats which hurl it across the field give ample assurance that a good bloody axe is just what they would choose as a weapon with which to wipe up the field and satisfy their feelings.

In my own college days I knew a lad with a flair for the dramatic who considered that he had been insulted by a fellow who was too big for him even to think of socking on the nose. So he went to him, stated that he had been insulted, and challenged him to a duel, just as they do in the storybooks. Big Boy was taken aback for an instant, for he know nought of duels, nor had he ever played around with pistols or foils. It was a situation which was both gravely serious and ludicrously funny to him.

After a slight pause he said, "I don't know much about this dual business. But as I understand it, as the challenged party, I have the right to choose the weapons. Is that not so?"

"That is your privilege, sir," return our hero.

"Well then, I choose axes," was the instant reply.

Challenger, overcome by abject horror, recoiled. The instant thought of this big bully beating down his guard by superior strength until he started raining blows upon his unprotected skull and battering it to a bloody pulp was too much for him. Covering his face with his hands, he turned and faded from the delighted circle of students who were the witnesses.

To him, as to all the rest of us, the axe was the most terrible of weapons. Even as an implement of domestic utility, we think of the axe, not as the great boon to the pioneers of old who forced back our frontiers with it, nor even as the instrument for labor torture with which we accomplished to tedious chore of chopping wood and kindling, but rather as the means for stopping the squawks of excited chickens by one clean blow which severed the head and covered the ground with spurting blood.

And the stark naked truth of the matter is simply this: the axe is the symbol which most accurately describes the subconscious feelings of those loyal to Stanford and to California.

It was one of the keenest minds ever produced at Stanford that reached out and put its finger unerringly on this feeling, and came through with the famous yell, "Give 'em the Axe!" Will Irwin, ex-'98, famous as an author and revered at Stanford as a cherished tradition, gave birth to that renowned yell in 1896, just five years after Stanford first opened her doors. He includes Chris Bradley as co-author. It sprang from the two naturally and spontaneously, fitting to the occasion, and expressing the feelings of limited warfare so exactly that it was destined to become the most lasting of all their works.

"Give 'em the axe, the axe, the axe!
Give 'em the axe, the axe, the axe!
Give 'em the axe, give 'em the axe, give 'em the axe,

Where?

"Right in the neck, the neck, the neck!
Right in the neck, the neck, the neck!
Right in the neck, right in the neck, right in the neck!

There!"

From the very start, that new yell, with the authors as yell-leaders, was a terrific success. It exactly expressed the feelings of the Farm toward those superior beings across the Bay.

And even though nothing else had actively occurred as a consequence, it would still have come down through these thirty-five years as the greatest of all Stanford battle cries.

But plenty else did happen, and as a direct consequence. What a chain of historic Stanford-California events, establishing tradition, building up and maintaining the keen rivalry between these two great universities, may be traced to that one short yell.

THE Big Game

2009-11-18T17:44:00.000-08:00

Sending Dollie love out to Stanford!!

Event: The 112th Big Game

Time: Saturday, November 21, 2009 6:00pm

Ladies and gentlemen of the Cardinal faithful,

The day approaches again when Stanford and California meet on the field in Palo Alto to contest the Axe. Neither the win-loss records of both teams or the opinions of pundits hold sway in the clash of eternal gridiron rivals, for the stories of Big Games are rife with upsets and shockers from both sides.

As you may have seen from the Stanford Alumni Association emails, we have changed our game-watching location to The Tavern, located at 922 W 12th St. in downtown Austin. Please note that although kickoff is at 6:30PM, we're asking you to show up a bit earlier because parking may become very scarce due to the high volume of UT fans who come to the Tavern (their kickoff is at 7PM; we'll have a head start).

Please make an effort t o come early enough to grab parking! We don't want you to miss out on any of the game due to parking issues.

If the season comes down to one game, this is that game. Wear Cardinal red, and bring your family and your friends (Stanford-affiliated or otherwise) to see what the resurgent Cardinal will bring to the field against a weakened but hungry Golden Bear squad.

Beat Cal!

When: 6PM (kickoff at 6:30PM), Saturday, Nov. 21st, 2009

Where: The Tavern, 922 W 12th St., Austin, Texas 78703

Hooray for Customer Service

2009-10-29T09:24:00.001-07:00

Just got this email:

Dear Dionn,

Good news!

Although you originally ordered Standard (4 to 5 business days) shipping and handling, we have given your order special priority processing in our warehouse and are upgrading the shipping and delivery time frame for your order.Your order will ship out today and be given a special priority shipping status so that you can receive your order even faster than we originally promised!

Please note that this is being done at no additional cost to you. It is simply our way of saying thank you for being our customer.

The order has already been packed and we will be emailing you your tracking number later today, when our computer systems are finished processing all of today's transactions.

We are constantly striving to improve our service. If there is anything that we can do to help improve your experience, please don't hesitate to let us know. We like to think of ourselves as a service company that happens to sell shoes, clothing, and a whole bunch of other stuff!

If you've enjoyed your experience with us, please tell your friends and family about Zappos.com!

Thank you!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Well, they've just made themselves a return customer. And I got my running shoes ON SALE! YAY!!

Pictures and More from Perth

2009-10-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

Today was kind of a busy day! Started with an easy run this morning that turned into something unexpected (see my post below). Then met up with Suzanne and got our bikes finished being built and checked over by the team mechanics. (Logan - btw..they say don't take off the cassettes, but DO take off the deraileur..next time we know!)

Then we had some team business to take care of. Here's Suzanne and I hanging out at the team meeting:

We were sitting in the way back...but it was a great vantage point to check out the rest of Team USA!

And here's part of the Austin contigent: Glenda, Stephan, Suzanne and me!

(Clearly I've been spending too much time with my cheerleaders...look at my pose! Ready? OK! oye.)

We learned lots of things at the team meeting, like how brutal the swim start was going to be. (Apparently, ITU event swim starts are (and I quote) "much, much worse than anything you've seen in the US"). Omg. I immediately start to freak out and then the girl next to me goes, "Yea -- and the women are WAY worse than the men!"

Great. That does it. I'm starting at the way, way back far outside part of the pack. I want nothing, I repeat, NOTHING to do with a brawl in the water. Wanna take it outside to a bar or parking lot or something, then bring it...but in the water? PASS!

But the coolest thing was hearing the Team Coach talk about what an honor and priviledge we all have before us...something very few people will ever in their lifetime get a chance to do...and that is compete in the name of our country. He told us that no matter how we finish, he wanted us to remember that we are wearing the red, white and blue and to be proud of all that it has taken to get to this point. He also reminded us that as representatives of our country, he expects us to be model citizens, offer encouragement and support to our fellow competitors but most especially to our fellow teammates. Even if we don't know someone's name, yelling "GO USA" will go along way in lifting up a teammate.

And then he mentioned, "And if you feel like it, when you are coming down that finishing chute, go ahead and grab the American flag and run in with it." Wow. How awesome would THAT be!! I'd never even thought about having an opportunity to do that...but I guess, yea, being on Team USA..that's something I get a chance to do!

At this point, it was all I could do to refrain myself from jumping up and starting a cheer: "USA! USA! USA!" How much of a dork am I? Wait...don't answer that. :P

After the team meeting, we had a chance to walkabout on our way to the team picture (I don't have a copy yet, but as soon as I do, I will post). Here are some shots of the city beginning with downtown Perth:

This tree is from the park where we took our picture...it just looked really cool to me, I'm not sure why.

Here I am in front of the finisher's chute...hopefully someone will hand me an Old Glory to run in with...since I'm going to be last in from the USA, they should have plenty of time to find one for me...sigh...

And what sport would be complete with out a resident jerk? Well, we've already found ours...it's this guy below. He's from New Zealand. He's apparently much better than anyone else at this event and does not feel the need to abide by even the mildest of manners. You, sir, win my "Jerk of the Night" award. Congrats. Ass. $20US says he busted for at least one penalty on Sunday. #jerkALERT

Fortunately, we also got a chance to meet some really, really cool team members. This jacket below belongs to Barbara. Check out how many short and long course Duathlon and Triathlon World Championships she has competed in! AMAZING!

How awesome is that!! Her earliest one is from the Olympic Distance Triathlon in Manchester, England in 1993!! This year alone she will have done Short and Long Course Triathlon (Gold Coast and Perth) and Short Course Duathlon (Concord, NC) World Championships. And you thought I was addicted? HELLO! I've got so much room to move now! ;)

Awesome day. So. ready. for bed.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......

Hogwarts Triathlon!!!

2009-10-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

So, I'm just about for a little morning run along the beautiful Swan River and upon my return as I approach the athletes village, I can see it is abuzz with activity.

Wow! I'm thinking. Everybody's up and at 'em at the village this morning, maybe I'll just swing through and see what's going on.

As I get closer, I hear lots of excited voices...but something's off. These aren't the voices of adults...it's KIDS! I look around and the place is teaming with children all dressed in brightly colored matching ensembles. There's a red team, a blue, a black, a yellow. All sporting names and mascots and crests on their gear.

What what? They are chanting names, throwing high fives, taunting the other teams and gearing up...all yelling in their totally cute Australian accents and I can't help but think....OMG. I've landed at Hogwarts!

And then I remember! Oh yes! As part of the championship weekend, they have a Primary Schools triathlon!! How awesome is that!!!

I hustle down to the swim start just in time to see the first group heading off on their 200m swim. I'm standing behind a blue team and they are excitedly talking about their guy (who apparently is in the lead). I hear comments like (imagine the appropriate accent here) "Wow. 200 meters. That's a really long way." "What would happen if all of a sudden four fins popped up in the water!" "That would be awesome!" "Yea..I'd bet they'd swim a lot faster then." "Let's go cheer him on when he comes running out!" "Yea!"

With that a whole gaggle runs off to the swim finish chute.

Then the bike portion begins. I'm seeing everything from a kid in a AERO helmet on a bianchi with race wheels! (I am not kidding here. Australians clearly take this tri business seriously) to kids on heavy BMX bikes with skater helmets and what look like skydiving goggles on! This is classic stuff.

At this point, I solemnly swear to never, ever, ever go running without my iPhone or camera again. Why oh WHY can I not be taking pictures of this great stuff! I'm so sorry my lone blog reader! I shall not fail you again. No. I shall not. Let it be written. Let it be done.

If I didn't need food and water, I would've stayed longer. But I wanted to share this info with you because it is so cute and awesome! I might grab my camera and head back down to see if the action is still going on. It is so Fantastic!!!

And just when you thought it was ending....

2009-10-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

This arrives in my email inbox today:

Dear Dionn S,

This is to notify you that your entry into the 114th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 19, 2010 has been accepted.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YAY!!! So let's see..according to Team Rogue for Boston...training starts....November 3rd. OK...so that's 9 days of Off Season! Killer! Yay. wow. um...hmmmm....

EEEEK!

2009-10-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Swim Wave Times are posted!

To quote JD: "This sh*t just got real."

Wave Starts
Time Category Cap Color
1 07:45 Paratriathlete Pink
2 08:00 Elite Male White
3 08:05 Elite Female Fluro Pink
4 08:10 Male 35 - 39 Orange
5 08:13 Female 18 – 34 Female 45 – 79 Electric Blue
6 08:40 Female 35 - 44 Green
7 08:20 Male 18 – 29 Male 60 – 79 Fluro Yellow
8 08:25 Male 45-49 Fluro Green
9 08:30 Male 50-59 Fluro Orange
10 08:35 Male 30 – 34 Purple
11 08:45 Male 40 - 44 Red
This schedule is subject to changes

Second to last wave...at least I won't have to worry about too many people passing me...sigh...

Shay's Vipers shut out SWA Dawgs! 24 - 0!

2009-10-12T19:09:00.001-07:00

Vipers vs Chaps

2009-10-04T20:29:00.001-07:00

Because sometimes just showing up...

2009-09-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

...and finishing can have surprising results!

Look what email I just got!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Athlete,

Congratulations! You are being contacted because you have earned a spot on
Team USA for the 2010 Long Course Triathlon World Championships
because of your outstanding performance at the 2009 USAT Long Course Half Max National Championship. The 2010 World Championships are set to take place July 31-August 1, 2010 in Immenstadt, Germany. For more information about the World Championships please visit the Team USA website (www.teamusatriathlon.org).

EEEEEEK!!!

2009-09-25T05:34:00.000-07:00

Just got this in my email this morning...

Yikes!!!

Typically Atypical -- (The Redman 70.3 Race Report)

2009-09-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

I've come to just expect it at this point. Really. The chances of having just a regular normal race with no issues, what are they? 10%? 5%? Seriously.

So it really didn't come as a surprise while as everyone was in transition about 15 minutes before it closes, I felt the first, big fat drop of rain hit my shoulder.

I did the thing where you look around to see who or what just splashed you or where the water was coming from...and not until the next one landed on top of my head did it occur to me to look up..and there it was, in the still darkness of the morning...rain.

My fellow agegroupers and I simply stared at each other in disbelief as what began as few fat drops developed into a steady saturating downpour in just a matter of moments. Seriously? I was SO not prepared for rain. Cold? Yes. Rain? No. Well Damn.

Everyone began scrambling as we noticed that it wasn't going to subside in the near future. I turned my cycling and running shoes over so at least I wouldn't be stepping into a shoe filled with water, made sure my shot block and thermolyte baggies were zipped tight, then put my transition bag on top of the whole thing hoping that would keep most of the water off my shoes (which later proved to be a worthless endeavor....).

And then the temperature started to drop....and you know how I am with the cold. OYE! Fortunately, it was a wetsuit swim that day. And what better way to stay warm in cold water than to be in your wetsuit!!! So that proved to be an interesting activity...quick, EVERYONE, put on your wetsuit in the middle of a downpour..ready..GO! So. Humorous.

At this point, the rain had been coming down quite steadily and the transition area was literally turning into a lake. If your spot was one either end of the row, you were now completely underwater. And I mean, completely. If you were in the middle of the row, you too, were underwater. completely. under. water. I walked by one woman's transition set up..it was so sweet...she had her towel laid out all nicely (now completely drenched) and 4 orange shot blocks set equidistantly apart and centered horizontally at the top of the towel...these were now gelatineous blobs of orange disappearing into her towel...and her salt tab? down to about the size of a dime...that was going to suck for her.

As the racers huddled together draped in trashbags over their wetsuits, the first official announcement came: "Due to the inclement weather, we are considering changing the format of the race to a SWIM, RUN, SWIM. We will make a decision shortly."

That's right. A Swim, run, Swim. With Wetsuits. Everyone started cracking up. Seriously, have you seen how long it takes me to get into my wetsuit? And that's when I..and it..are dry and we aren't in a hurry. My T2 was going to be like 25 minutes! Seriously? We waited on...

After an hour delay (everyone's nutrition was so screwed and people really, really had to pee), the final announcement came. "Even though the rain has stopped (temporarily) there is standing water on the bike course." Groans throughout the crowd, heads drop, shoulders sag. I felt so bad for the full ironman athletes that were there today. Having trained for 6 months for this day only to have it turned into some ridiculous Splash-Dash-Splash or something.... "However," everyone's heads perked back up, "we WILL hold the full race as planned!" Cheers erupt, high fives and a few chest bumps go around. "BUT.." dramatic pause as you hear the intake of breath by several hundred triathlete bodies, "there will be a MANDATORY bike dismount at Mile 6 where you will then walk through up to 100 feet of standing water before mounting on the other side."

Huh? Well, sure....why not?? Let's get all cyclo-cross/xterra with it. Cool!

And so the race began...finally!

The swim course was a counter-clockwise oval that ran parallel and so close to the shoreline that you could, in fact, run the entire length of the oval and then swimming out for the turnaround. Some of the men in the wave ahead of us actually did just that. And yes, they kept pace with the fastest swimmers..at least until the turn.

I chose to stick with the spirit of the race and actually swim the swim part. I was in NO danger of breaking any records and making any podiums today, so I would use the race and all of its offerings to get a good bead on where I was in my half-iron capabilities this day.

I had no issue with the water temp (surprise! yay! CdA will do that to ya...) and so I was free to focus on having a good swim. In the last couple weeks, I have finally figured out that you are actually supposed to ROLL from side to side while swimming in your wetsuit. A fact that has somehow escaped me until recently. (I know, I know.)
I simply touch, pull, rolled my way around the 1.2 mile swim course. And go figure, I ended up with an awesome swim for me! My and my coaches goal was a 35:00 minute swim. Lo and Behold, I came out at 33:48! That's a 1:46 pace! (Exact same as my podium-placing swim at Jack's Generic - sprint distance and compared to my last half-iron swim pace of 2:56..let's not talk about it...and my best half-iron swim pace (excluding the short longhorn course last year) of 1:51) Suhweet!! I'll take it!

Then it was off to the bike in good spirits! YAY! Turns out my long ride in the rain the previous Friday was excellent practice for this day. It drizzled and rained pretty much the whole time I was out there. I remembered how easy it was to forget to stay on top of hydration when the temps are cooler, so I made sure I was drinking plenty of fluids. Even so, I ended up taking 4 extra thermolytes throughout the bike as several times I heard my calves trying to talk to me and I said, "oh no you don't. Not today...I don't want to hear shit from you. Have this thermolyte and shut the hell up." And they did. (ALL HAIL THERMOLYTES!)

The ride was adventurous. There was the mile 6 dismount/cyclo-cross run through the grass and water with your bike craziness and the riding through puddles and having your wheel slip sideways into a crevice and then pop back out which left me thinking "wow..that could've been really, really bad." And then there was the snippy set of men that came pacelining past me around mile 12 yelling "on your left..ON YOUR LEFT!" when there was no where right for me to go because I didn't want to ride through a tremendous puddle! I kept thinking "Look...don't get all pissy with me just because I passed you in the water and you had a 6 minute headstart on me......Ass."

And then about 6 reasons dawned on my why I don't want to turn 40....and they all flew and I mean FLEW passed me on the bike like I was standing still. Holy smokes, the master ladies are F-AST!!!

My goal was 3 hours on the bike...at the turn around I checked my time and I was behind. Holy crap! I thought to myself, I need to giddyap and quit lollygagging around out here! But then again, that did include the dismount/cyclo-cross craziness at mile 6..which was kinda fun actually...

I managed to pull it together and bring it home in 3:03:16 (including a bathroom pit stop). Sweet! I'll take it!

And then the run. Oh boy. I just had zero legs...and I mean zero. I was slogging my brain trying to figure out why I had no go power for the run. My nutrition was on, my hydration was on. I took some extra Gu and Thermolytes to see if that would help, but alas, no power to be found. I succumbed to a run-walk strategy (and two potty stops) that brought my run time in at 2:13:13. No where near my best time, nor my goal of 1:50. Well dang it. Two out of Three ain't bad I suppose.

And then I thought about it some more. Well, let's see, I've done two runs over 9 miles twice since CdA. That's right, twice. Since June. Yes, I've been focusing on the short and fast stuff (which worked out very well for the sprint races thank you very much) but I most definitely neglected the long runs and I paid the price for it this day.

Fortunately, I've got one more shot at bringing it all together in another month or so. I am officially rededicating myself to getting in my higher mileage days and long runs (probably good ramp up for Boston base work anyway..)! Let it be written, let it be done!!!

So if you need to run long...CALL ME!!!!!!

MEND Childhood Obesity Intervention Program

2009-09-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

It always amazes me that this problem even exists in our country as I think about children in some other countries who don't even have clean water. Nonetheless,it is a serious problem that MUST be addressed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEND Childhood Obesity Intervention Program
Seeking qualified participants for free program

The YMCA of Austin will be the first YMCA in the country to partner with MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition...Do It!) in offering a childhood obesity intervention program for children and their parents.

Through a generous grant from the St. David's Foundation, the YMCA will be offering nine programs over the next year at four different facilities. Each program will last 10 weeks and meet twice per week (Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings). Parents must attend with their child.

MEND combines three key elements of safe, effective weight management and sustained lifestyle change: healthy eating, regular physical activity, and behavior change. Children and families who attend the MEND Program learn important skills and knowledge to help them manage their weight and feel fitter, healthier, and happier for the rest of their lives. The United Kingdom-based program has already achieved dramatic success in Britain and Australia.

We are currently taking registrations for this free program. The first session begins Saturday, Oct. 3, with additional sessions to follow. Children must be ages 8 - 12 and overweight or obese and may not be suffering from asthma or diabetes. One parent must be able to participate with their child in each session.

If you are interested in enrolling at the TownLake YMCA, please contact Jason Daniel at 542-9622 or jdaniel@austinymca.org.

If you are interested in enrolling at the East Communities YMCA, please contact Alejandra Gonzalez at 346-6163 or alejandra.b.gonzalez@uth.tmc.edu.

2009-08-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

Women's Health Issue

2009-08-12T08:46:00.001-07:00

This just in from a girlfriend as we prepare for our week of debauchery in Mexico:

Important Women's Health Issue:

Do you have feelings of inadequacy? Do you suffer from shyness?

Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or

pharmacist about Margaritas.

Margaritas are the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident

about yourself and your actions.

Margaritas can help ease you out of your shyness and let you tell the

world that you're ready and willing to do just about anything.

You will notice the benefits of Margaritas almost immediately and with
a regimen of regular doses you can overcome any obstacles that prevent
you from living the life you want to live.

Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past and you will
discover many talents you never knew you had. Stop hiding and start living, with Margaritas.

Margaritas may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant or

nursing should not use Margaritas. However, women who wouldn't mind

nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try them.

Side effects may include: Dizziness, nausea, vomiting, incarceration,

loss of motor control, loss of money, loss of clothing, table dancing, headache, dehydration, dry mouth and a desire to sing Karaoke.

WARNING:

The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you are whispering
when you are not. The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to tell your
friends over and over again that you love them. The consumption of
Margaritas may cause you to think you can sing. The consumption of
Margaritas may make you think you can logically converse with members
of the opposite sex without spitting.

Please share this with other women who may need Margaritas.
Thank you!

What I Love About...

2009-08-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

Austin is at 5:45am on a Friday morning, the Barton Springs' parking lot is PACKED!

There are people getting ready to run, cyclists pumping up tires getting ready to roll and swimmers donning wetsuits, flippers, paddles, kickboards, caps and goggles and jumping in.

Way to be fit and fun Austin. Keep it up!!

Anything BUT Generic - My Tri Race Report

2009-08-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

Jack's Generic - one of my all time favorite races. I've been doing this one since 2005. And every year I have a BLAST!

This year, however, the morning began auspiciously....as I was headed down toward the Ski Ranch, I was trying to mentally prepare for the race. I'd had a lot of distractions leading up to it, so I didn't have time to work through some positive visualization and mental readiness like I should have. The last time I didn't do this....well, the results from Galveston speak for themselves. oye.

So I'm driving along visualizing the course and being on autopilot to the Ski Ranch. Well, so I thought. I snap to and realize I've just exited 360 south onto Mopac South.?? WTH? I should be heading straight through Ben White to I-35! Hasty mental moment and I decide to just take a left on 290, head back north to 360/Ben White. I'm freaking out a little, checking the clock -- don't want to be late and have to walk a bizillion miles from parking to the race. Look up, see the exit for 360. Perfect. Take that. Then realize...hey, I should be up there on the fly over to.... DOH! Dammit D. You wanted to go Ben White/290 East NOT 360. GRRRRRR!

On to the access road and finally pop back up onto Ben White headed to I35. Sheesh.

I arrive at the Ski Ranch, only to find the close parking lot full and have to schlep to the back lot. Oh well...there goes that plan for this morning. I pull in park and start getting my stuff together. Start pumping my tires. Front tire. Full. Back tire -- hmmm, I just rode this yesterday, why is it missing so much air....hmmm...load the pump on it. With each depression of the handle, I hear "Hissssss", "Hisssss". Wait...that doesn't sound quite right. I lean in a little closer without moving the pump and still hear "Hissssssssssssssssssssssssss". Aw damn...a hole in my tire. Strike 2 on the morning. This does not bode well.

To compound matters, I saw my two closest age group competitors where racing also! Good grief, I was going to have bring my "A" game or get taken down. Dang it. I had to really, really get my act together and fast.

I made sure to follow the rest of my standard pre-race procedures to the "T" to avoid any other mishaps. I even did a warm up run and swim. Some of my teammates gave me the "what's up with you look?" as I'm usually pretty jovial and peppy pre-race (shocker, I know), but this morning I was nervous and it showed.

The other waves started going off and I made my way into the starting gates with the rest of the 35-39 year old ladies. I knew it was going to come down to wire this day, so every second was going to count. I lined up, not in my usual spot, but closer to the middle, but in the front row. As we waited I saw Ms. Lord appear on my far right, Kristen just to the right of me and Michelle P. off to my left. Kristin is a faster swimmer than I and Michelle, Tracy and I are all pretty much the same. I figured if I can get on Kristin's feet and keep and eye on Michelle since she's on my left, I would be in the lead group coming out of the water. That was the plan and off we went.

We all went pretty hard out of the gate and there was some other girl who was out in front of the three of us. She had some serious speed going and I knew I couldn't catch her, so I settled in and tried to keep pace with Kristin. Before I knew it, we were rounding the first buouy and headed into traffic already! I had to take evasive maneuvers and ended up losing Kristin in the melee..although I could still see her. Michelle also got hung up in the mix and dropped back a bit. I moved around and ended swimming parallel to Kristin but about a body length or so behind her. I tried my best to keep up and ended up having a great swim. Kristin went 8:57.7, I went 8:59.2. That's the closest I've ever been to her.

We smiled and hustled our way up into transition with Michelle appearing just a couple seconds behind us. Man, this game was ON today! We all laughed as we made quick transitions and pretty much headed out of T1 as a group. And just as we were pulling away from the rack, I saw Ms. Lord heading to her bike. Now, she typically can hawk me down on the bike, so I knew I didn't have any time to spare. We hit the mount line, jumped on our bikes and flew like bats out of hell onto the bike course.

I pretty much knew I was going to have to go hard with no slacking and have everything go right in order to keep those girls behind me. On the bike my toughest competitors would be Tracy and Michelle. I figured if I could keep them behind me or close on the flats, I'd be ready to really go for it once we hit the hills. (I'm a goat. I. Love. Hills.) So, I just kept charging away. Really concentrating on my pedal stroke and making good ovals...really working the hip flexors and not just mashing on the pedals.

I did get passed by a 40+ year old woman with a disc wheel. Gosh...she was moving. And I got passed by a 20-something (to which I quietly retorted...Oh yea? Have two kids and THEN come race with me!). But other than that, I was steadly moving and making good head way. Of course I couldn't look behind me at any point to see where the girls were, but my spidey sense tingled like they were right there the whole time.

As I was pushing it hard, I was thinking....man, and now the runners are going to come and run me down...and then I said, wait a damn minute...I'M A RUNNER...I'm not going to get run down today, my friend. Not. To.day.

I was first out of my little group into T2. I arrived at our racks and saw one bike there. Dang, that girl is fast! I haven't seen her once since she beat us like crazy out of the water. (26 seconds faster than me out of the water...there's that damn number again. ARGH!). I'm gonna have to see if I can run her down.

After a quick T2, I head out on the run. Quick feet, quick feet. Turnover. Turnover. That's my mantra for the run. My marathon gait is long and steady. I didn't want that today. I wanted cute little chipmunk strides. Short. Fast. Turning the legs over quick. Hot coals. Go. Go.

It was so awesome have Team T3 out there yelling and cheering as you head out on the run. Everyone's here Dionn..better get moving and look good doing it. Move it, MOVE IT! I headed out onto the course and tried to keep fast thoughts.

ABC. A - Always, B-Be, C-Closing, Always Be Closing. ABC. A - Always, B-Be, C-Closing, Always Be Closing. And then: Quick feet. Quick feet. Turnover. Turnover. I just kept switching between the two. Picking my feet up and putting them down and passing a good many folks.

At the turn around, I started my usual process of watching the other runners on the other side. Yes, I was looking for someone in particular...someones actually...Tracy and Michelle. I saw Tracy first and she wasn't that far behind me. Dang. I'd better giddyap!!! She's coming after me! I picked it up a little more and fell into pace with a guy #687 and basically mentally attached myself to him. He and I took turns pulling each other through the last mile and a half. It was awesome...both of us working hard, pushing each other to keep going. In between gasping breaths he told me it was his first tri...I tried to respond and tell him awesome! It came out quite breathy!

We crested the hill, rounded the corner and headed for the finish. I could see and hear the T3ers along the finishing chute yelling and cheering it was awesome! I took one quick peek behind me, I didn't want to get taken down in the last couple hundred meters or so and it looked clear to me!

I relaxed into a nice, long up tempo stride and headed on home!

I had no idea what my time was because after the swim instead of hitting the lap button, I hit the stop button on my watch...so I was clueless. I never caught up to anyone else in my age group, so I figured the girl whose bike was on the rack when I got there was very speedy and I wouldn't have stood a chance catching her anyway. And mentally gave the mystery woman a bow.

So unless I had missed someones bike in transition, I felt pretty good about locking down second place. It was what I placed last year and was happy to have it again. Post-race, I futzed around with the team, got worked over by Dr. Laurie (in that good but painful kinda way we love her for) and chatted with everyone while we watched the rest of the finishers..

I didn't bother going to look at the results, because either way, I felt pretty good about how I raced. I went hard and felt like I left what I had out on the course...and that to me meant a successful day at a tri.

But then I was curious about my run pace, because I really wanted to see if my speed has come back and I definitely felt like I had run harder this time than most recently at Couples and the Rookie. As I was making my way to find the results, a cheeky Elizabeth stopped me and asked if I was staying for awards and I said yes and she said with a smile in her eyes, "Good, because I think you Won!"

"What?"

"Yep, first place!"

"That can't be...there was another bike...another girl, somewhere..." my mind start reeling..

"Well, I don't know...but that's what it said next to your name!" she said excitedly! I squealed, "REALLY?!" "Uh huh!"

And then I had butterflies again. 1st place? I've never won my age group before....how cool would THAT be????? Could it be that someone but their bike on the wrong rack? Did I pass her on the run and not notice?? Could it be..could it be?

When Logan started announcing my age group, I was flat out giddy. "In third place, Michelle Parkins!" I gave her a high five as she went up. "In second place," I held my breath", "Tracy Lord!" I looked around, I didn't see Tracy anywhere...that was odd. "And in first place, MY GIRL, DIONNNNNNNNN SCHAFFFNER!!!" YEEAAAAA!!! I squealed and jump in place! And then hustled on to the podium to accept my award! We snapped some pictures and then I hopped down.

About a half a minute after getting some great hugs and congrats from the team, I see Tracy walking by..."Tracy! You got second! Go get it, go get it!!" She smiled and went over and got her hardware from Stacey. We congratulated each other on another hard day and she asked me if I would wait and get a picture with her if we could find a Kreutz photographer. And of course I agreed! At the end of the awards ceremony, we grabbed a guy and had him snap a couple of us together with our hardware it was awesome. From Porter Jr. High in the 80's, to podiums at Tri's in the 2000's....that's just plain cool, people.

Final stats:

Swim: 8:59.2 (Pace 1:48/100M) - AG Rank: 3

Bike: 43:52 (Pace 18.9mph) - AG Rank: 1

Run: 22:34 (Pace 7:31/M) - AG Rank: 3

Age Group Rank: 1

Gender Rank: 11

A good day out at the ranch.

OH -- and for Mike:

Getting Back into the Speed of Things

2009-07-29T08:33:00.000-07:00

So, I've recently begun working out with Carmen to try to wrangle some speed back into my legs after all the long, slow distance I've been doing over the last year for Boston and Ironman training.

This morning we had 800m repeats on the Barton Springs loop at "cruise" speed. (See Mr. McMillan). For me, that should be about a 7:14/M pace.

Here's how my paces went down:

#1 - 7:11/M (not too bad..considering 2nd 400 is uphill)
#2 - 6:43/M (love the downhills!)
#3 - 7:01/M (getting after it...)
#4 - 6:40/M (get you some, D!)
#5 - 7:25/M (hmmm...think I used too much that last time)
#6 - 7:05/M (finish strong! YES!)

All in all, a good morning, I felt. Maybe the legs are coming back a little....

And 1

2009-07-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

Just went up a notch in the "my mom's the coolest mom ever" book by Shay and Devon. They are watching a movie on Disney, "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl". Shay comes down and says, "Hey mom, George Lopez is in the movie that we are watching!" To which I respond, "Well you know, Mommy has met him in person. And I even have a picture with him."

"What?!" Shay said in disbelief.

"Yep...wanna see?" I reply.

"YES!"

I then went to the following blog post http://txtrimom.blogspot.com/2008/02/live-from-austin.html that has the picture in it.

Both he and Devon were thoroughly impressed.

It's nice to get it right with the kids sometimes.....

And for more fun, check out: http://txtrimom.blogspot.com/2008/02/obama.html where Erin and I had an upclose encounter with the then Presidential Candidate B. Obama!

Cuz that's how we roll....

Ironman Coeur d'Alene: Race Report

2009-06-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Wow. I mean really, just wow. What an AMAZING day and experience that was. Simply incredible.

2.4 mile swim. 112 mile bike. 26.2 mile run.

Holy. Shit.

I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT!!!

And I could not have done it with out the support, training, love and inspiration from my family, teammates, sherpas, cheerleaders and coaches who were out in FULL force physically at the race and virtually all over the US. Seriously, you guys are amazing!! I cannot begin to describe the amount of sheer will and energy you all provided during this race for me. It was the epitome of Team Effort. Although triathlon is an individual sport, I craved a team atmosphere..and you guys delivered. Hands down. I Love you guys!!!

And here's how it all went down.....

The Swim:

As you well know, my biggest concern about this race was the swim. Cold water and I, historically, have not done well. Throw in another 2,000+ people starting at the same time and I've got legitimate concerns on my hands (and feet). Fortunately, I've been training for cold water since February and the temperature gods smiled upon us this day and warmed the waters to a respectable 65 degrees (compared to last year's 59. oye). Additionally, I was able to practice on the swim course twice before race day. Very key. My plan was this... start on the far right hand edge and when the cannon goes off, do nothing. That's right. nothing. Just wait. Wait until the bulk of the people take off.

There was a group of similarly paced T3ers who were going to start together and although this would be an awesome place to start, swim with and draft off of, I knew it wasn't the right strategy for me. Trying to keep pace with someone else takes me out of my game...and for this swim, I needed my A game..nothing less would pull me through.

So as we entered the beach, I waved goodbye to my teammates and sauntered off to the right...alone. Ironic given that I love being with my team..but this part, I knew I must do alone. Since it takes me about 2 minutes to go through my cold water routine, I figured I'd just get in the water before the race starts and get the process going. This turned out to be a GREAT plan! Then about 45 seconds before the start, I got back out of the water and wiggled my way to the middle/back of the pack.

The gun went off. I started my watch. The first several rows of people went running/diving/careening into the water. I waited. It only took about 10 seconds for them to be off the beach. I waded back into the water, finished my cold water routine and was ready to swim. Looked at my watch, only 30 seconds had passed. Cool!! I wasn't giving them that big of a head start. YAY! And off I went.

And guess what? It wasn't bad at all!!! Well, it was really wavy and choppy, but the nice thing about waves is that they are rhythmic. And I'm all about the rhythm. I just settled into a very calm stroke, timing my breathing with the waves so I wasn't trying to take in air when I went crashing through a wave. It worked wonderfully!! I stayed on the far outside edge -- mentally thinking I had an escape route if it started getting crowded--and just swam. Before I knew it, I was rounding the first turn and thinking...hey...I just might survive this thing afterall!

Came through the first loop, hit the timing mat, checked my watch, 42 minutes. Slower than I usually swim, but hell, I'm alive, I haven't panicked, so I'll take it! Back into the water and ran into Val who gave me some great encouragement (as we stood there taking care of business..because dammit, I just can't pee while I swim!). Charged into the second loop with fervor and confidence and really went after my swim. I felt like I picked up the pace and even swam next to the buoys, battling it out with the rest of the folks. (It actually wasn't that bad at this point because it had thinned out alot). It was very empowering to be keeping up (and passing guys in their red caps)! I was totally hearing the Ironman song the play on the videos and thinking, "Hey...look at me! I'm swimming like an Ironman! WOO HOO!"

Came out of the water from the second loop, looked at my watch 1:29. Huh? How was that slower than the first time? I was swimming so much faster...I thought. Then my mind cleared and I said, "Who the hell cares?" (Ok..it was probably an F-bomb.) "I'm out of the freakin' water!!! This race is as good as DONE!" Even though I had a very, very long day ahead of me, I had NO doubts whatsoever at that point that I was going to finish this race and become and Ironman. I seriously couldn't have been more confident then I was at that moment....and that set the stage for a wonderful and fantastic day. I smiled and waved to all the folks yelling my name as I headed towards transition. I couldn't really see individual faces, but I could her voices and everyone cheering and yelling. Yay, yay, YAY!!!!!

Hiccup #1: Although I felt on top of the world, apparently I didn't look it. After getting my wetsuit stripped off me, I was summarily directed to the Medical tent. I was like "what the hell is going on..". The nice volunteer medical person gently, but firmly ushered me towards the medical warming hut and calmly asked me for my number. "Uh, 2289?" I replied. "Do you want to go on?" she asked. "HUH?" I said. "Do you want to keep racing?"

I started thinking. Lord, what the hell? Am I cut? Am I bleeding? Am I missing an appendage? What? What? I do a quick glance over my body and see that in fact everything is as it should be. "Yes, YES! I want to keep going!!" I say. "Ok, then we'll get your swim to bike bag and you can get changed in here." she replies.

And then I looked over at the only other inhabitant of the hut. It was another woman. She must've weighed all of 80 pounds..soaking wet...if weighed while wearing her wetsuit. She was huddled next to the huge heater that was blasting hot air at such a rate that my hair was no longer wet and my eyes were beginning to itch because they were getting so dry. She was wrapped in mylar blankets and just sat there, with all her bags by her feet. She was pale. Her lips were blue. She looked defeated. She clearly, was NOT going on.

Wow. If she looks like that and she's here. What the hell do I look like that landed me here? Just then the friendly volunteer reappeared with my transition bag and I shimmied out of my (now dry) bathing suit and dressed in warm toasty-ness into my bike gear. She helped me get dressed and put my swim stuff back into my bag. She looked me over from head to toe and I kept thinking, this is the biggest test of my life right here. I've trained hard for 6 months in the pool, on the bike, and on the road..any of those tests I can pass. This one I didn't prepare for ...please lord, let me pass, LET ME PASS. Let. Me. Pass!

I then I heard four magical and glorious words, "OK, You can go." "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I screamed. I think I hugged her. I may have even kissed her, I'm not sure..I busted out of there and headed off to grab my bike.

Phew!!! Transition 1 time: 13 minutes!!

The Bike:

As obvious from the pictures of me on the bike route (to be posted later), you will see me with a HUGE grin on my face. I was so ecstatic to have survived the swim and cleared medical, I couldn't stand it!!!

I proceeded to have the most wonderful ride ever! First of all, time on the computrainer paid MASSIVE dividends!!!! I was uber-prepared for each and every hill. Hands down. Coupled with the fact that in my mind, I'm a goat and I LOVE hills and I was just going at a nice steady (not racing by any stretch) pace....the course was fantastic. I had dressed warmly enough (full fingered gloves even) that the temps were perfect. And with all the out and backs, I got to see SO MANY of my teammates riding and cheering along the course. You seriously couldn't go more than 5 minutes without seeing somebody! It was AWESOME!

And although my bike computer stopped working after 35 minutes into the ride (I figured this was a sign to not worry about my speed), I used my wrist watch to keep on top of my nutrition which worked fabulously! There were times when I started to feel a little light headed, but I would simply get some more to eat and within moments I was back to being squared away. Also, since I've had such VAST experience with cramping, I became highly adept at noticing when the little tickles of impending cramps started appearing. Quickly taking some extra Thermolytes solved those issues and kept any and all cramps at bay.

I ended up playing leap frog with Val (who had done the computrainer 10 times!!) for most of the ride. Me passing her on the ups, she overtaking me on the downs and the flats. Classic and fun! Even got to see Erin a couple times when she went flying by me the other way! YAY E!!

Hiccup #2: So, at mile 40 I decide to take my first bathroom break. I was fortunate to find a potty stop where there was no one in line. SCORE!! I clip out with my right foot, come to a nice stop in front of a volunteer who is waiting to hold my bike while I potty. (Talk about service, right??) But I can't seem to get my left foot out. Hmmm. With some force, I manage to free it and go about my business. Upon my return, I can't, for the life of me, get my left cleat back on to the pedal. I check out my shoe to make sure I haven't picked up any rocks, dirt or debris in there, I check the pedal...everything looks good. I try again. And again. And again. No luck. Then I try harder. and harder. and HARDER. I'm literally jumping with all my force on my left side trying to get my cleat in. I'm pulling up on the handle bars so hard, that I'm afraid I'm going to break them! Shit, shit, SHIT!!!!

Ok, now what. I think to myself. Just get on and ride, you are wasting too much time here. Maybe you can work on it while your riding. So that's what I do. I clip in on the right and pedal away with my left shoe pedalling on top of the pedal, not clipped in. On every flat or descent I tried to wiggle, press, push, cajole my cleat onto the pedal. No dice.

Ok, now what. Let's just keep going until we can find a bike mechanic. Maybe it just needs a little lube. Ok, let's go with that plan. Pedal, pedal, pedal.

Finally, just after the special needs pick up (mile 60ish?), there was a mechanic stopped who was just finishing up changing a tire for another rider. I stopped and asked for some lube and told him the problem. He found some and squirted on my cleat and the pedal. I tried clipping in. No go. We tried together...him placing my foot exactly where is should go, me stomping on it as hard as I could. Still no dice. Dammit, dammit, dammit.

He flipped my foot over and examined my cleat and simply shook his head. "Wow, this cleat looks shot." "What?!!!" I never even thought to check my cleats before the race. Damn rookie. He tried bending it, scraping some dirt, but to no avail. I couldn't get clipped back in.

Ok, now what. "Well," I looked at the bike tech. "I've got one cleat that works. Guess that's gonna have to do it today." He said, "Yep." And off I went. With only my right foot clipped in. And damn if my left foot isn't the stronger one. Oh well, all this remaining work with just the right side might bring those into balance after today. Here we go.

And so I rode 72 miles with only one leg clipped in. It is the Ironman afterall. Aren't these type of things supposed to happen?

Hiccup #3: Also during the bike ride, I had an unexpected surprise. As I was entering town after the first loop, I'm just pedalling along, looking at all the folks, waving, smiling...when out of the midst of 1,000 screaming voices, I hear something that has a direct line to my soul. It has the ability to silence any and all other sounds instantaneously. It makes everything else fade hazily into the background as every fiber of my heart and my soul quiver and hone into the source of the sound. A simple sound. A simple word. But packing the power of a thousands suns:

"Mommy!!"

Time slows, I glance over to my right...and there, amongst the spectators, two beaming faces with expectant and excited eyes. Smiling, waving energetically with all the power their little 4 and 8 year old bodies can muster, my boys were there. In Coeur d'Alene. At the race. Cheering. For me! They were supposed to be at home. In Austin. But here they were!

Scott was standing with a huge grin on his face, hoisting Devon higher so he could see me better as I flew by on my bike. I could tell he was proud of me and proud of pulling off one of the most amazing and much appreciated stunts I've ever witnessed...spiriting my family to the race...without me every knowing they were coming! Shay was smiling brightly, snuggled in my Boston Marathon sweatshirt to boot!

I waved frantically, hysterical with surprise, excitement and joy back at them! "Hi, Hi, HI!" I'm sure I was riding quite erradictly at that point. Only one foot clipped in and only one hand on the bike..recipe for sure disaster, so I quickly put my hand back down on my bike and pedalled on!

Of course I automatically switched into "Mom" mode and started thinking "wait..who's taking care of the dogs? What are they wearing? It's going to get cold. And rain! Do they have ponchos? An umbrella? What are they going to do for the next several hours until I see them again? Did Scott pack enough snacks for them?" It went on and on for about what seemed like 5 minutes until I snapped back. "Chill, D. There's nothing you can do about any of that. Scott's got this under control. Clearly." And then I went back to thinking how awesomely cool it was and thankful I was that they were here and would get to be a part of this wonderful experience and how I wanted them to be proud and show my boys that: Yes. You CAN do anything you set your mind to doing. Any. Thing.

The Run

The run was quite uneventful, thankfully. It did get cold. And rainy. And windy. But I was well prepared...physically and mentally. While training for Boston this past winter, I ran with Team Rogue in conditions 10 times worse. And often. This weather was no big deal. I was dressed appropriately, complete with arm warmers and running gloves. I followed instructions and kept running through Mile 16. At that point, I knew I had this thing in the bag. I slowed down. Walked when I felt like it. Drank warm chicken broth at the aid stations. Made bathroom stops at will. Chatted with teammates (Elizabeth was awesome to run and walk with down by the lake!). Ran into old friends from college (Hello Matt!). Cheered on everyone I could see.

Several times, especially during the second loop, I started choking up. I couldn't believe it. I WAS going to finish this thing. I WAS going to become an Ironman. This Day. I was going to hear him call my name at the finish and I was going to love it!

I turned the final corner and glanced down the street. You could see the grandstands, the lights, the finishing chute. All there just waiting to embrace me. You could hear the cheers from the people and it gave me goosebumps. I picked up my pace and finally let go the tears that had been threatening to come..for 14 hours. I just let them go and went crying, running through the finishing chute, unable to focus through the tears but clearly making out the glorious sound of

"Dionn Schaffner! You. Are. An IRONMAN!"

The crowd erupts once more! I cross the line..hands held high in victory, astonishment, amazement, pride. Yes. Yes. YES! I did it! I really, really DID IT!

Then I exit stage left, crying into my hands like a little girl. But dammit, I didn't care. I'm an IRONMAN!

Swim: 1:29:41
Bike: 7:12:38
Run: 5:05:02

Final time: 14:07:38

As they say, an Ironman is not just about the race, it is about the journey. And what a journey it has been for me. All the friendships made, bonds created, lessons learned – sometimes the hard way, obstacles faced and fears overcome…this is all a part of me now. I am truly forever changed by this experience. Ironman is about perseverance, endurance – mental and physical, being inspired and inspiring others, challenging yourself to dream and dream big.

Have no doubt, I will be back to toe the line again. For this is a journey that I’m sure no many how many times I embark, will always deliver something different, something valuable, something wonderful.

There’s an Ironman in all of us. It may not be in the form of a triathlon, but it is out there, somewhere. Don’t be afraid to find yours. I promise you, you won’t regret it.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene: Tomorrow

2009-06-20T18:03:00.001-07:00

I can't believe in less than 12 hours, I will be on the culminating step of becoming an Ironman!

I've excited and nervous and excited and nervous!!!

Today was the last day of preparation and was quite a busy morning. It began with a final ride (to make sure the bike was working properly) down the GORGEOUS Centennial Trail with my partners in Crime, Erin, Ebot and Dbot. It is light quite early here, so we rode in the bright morning at 6am!

Next came the "Packing of the Bags". Seriously...this is an arduous task. 5 bags. Yes, that's right 5. And you know how much I LOVE packing. Ugh.

Then we headed down to the race site for my last pre-race swim. Needed one more dip in the lake to work through water issues. This time it took me MUCH LESS time to actually start swimming than before!! I just took my time, did my cold water ritual and was good to go. I bet it took less than a minute for me to stand there and collect myself. Guess what...I'll take it!!

And then the bots wanted to swim too

but I said, No -- because there wasn't a lifeguard on duty. And they aren't very strong swimmers...they kinda just sink...like blocks.

Then it was off to check in the bikes and bags. We are racked by number (By age group, by age, then alphabetically...). And it even has our name on the rack!! (May seem like a small detail, but I thought it was really cool!)

Then it was off to do our interviews for the team DVD that T3 is having made of our trip. I think it is going to turn out great!!! Well, at least the interviews will be good for a laugh or two.

And then it was time for lunch! Yes..all of that..before lunch! OYE!!

The rest of the day has been spent relaxing, chilling with friends and coaches, going on the rollercoaster of Ironman emotions, hydrating, stretching and trying to tame the butterflies in my tummy.

There is nothing left to do at this point except go out and enjoy the day tomorrow. The calls, emails, notes, flowers, gifts and well-wishes I've received have been heaven sent. Each of you has supported me in ways you many never fully know and I humbly say Thank you for letting me a part of your life as you are a part of mine. It is your kindness, thoughtfulness, understanding, instruction, compassion, empathy and love that have brought me to this point.

Tonight, I go to bed Dionn Michelle Schaffner. Tomorrow, I plan on going to bed: Dionn Michelle Schaffner, Ironman.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene Tracking

2009-06-20T14:45:00.001-07:00

Ok People…. I am here and ready or not, this race is going to happen on Sunday!!!! EEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!

The race starts Sunday morning (west coast time zone) at 7:00am for us non-professionals. So that’s 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles of running..on Sunday. Just. Sunday.

You can track me a couple ways:

1. http://ironman.com/ironmanlive - This (should) have the live video feed of the day, plus you can search for me to get my splits. I’m number 2289.

2. http://ironplan.net/events/ironman-couer-d-alene-2009/ - One of our teammates set this up and it will be tracking results for our entire team!

3. Twitter – Follow me on twitter, I’m dmschaffner . Twitter will be broadcasting my splits whenever they get recorded. So if you want them real-time pushed to your phone or something, here are the instructions to make that work:

WARNING: turn on the device updates on Friday/Saturday and turn them off on Monday morning. Else, you will receive all tweets from the athlete!

1. Sign up for twitter at: https://twitter.com/signup

2. Add your phone number to Twitter by following the instructions at: http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711/entries/14589 You will not receive texts from Twitter unless you elect to receive them for a particular user by turning Device Updates On (see Step 3-5)

3. Go to http://twitter.com/dmschaffner

4. Click on "Device Updates"

5. Click the "On" radio button

On Monday morning,

6. Go to http://twitter.com/dmschaffner

7. Click on "Device Updates"

8. Click the "Off" radio button

4. Facebook – Since my Twitter updates get pushed to Facebook automagically, you will see updates there too!

Some have asked how long I think it will take me, and honestly, I have no idea. Seriously. I would love to tell you to tune into a general range of time to watch the finishing chute, but I have no idea. But if you catch any of my splits, it should give you a better idea on Sunday!

And lastly, a big thank you to all of you for all of your support in so many ways…. I really could not even attempt this process without you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Here we go!

Ironman Coeur d'Alene: T- 1 Day

2009-06-19T22:15:00.000-07:00

Today, I really only had one goal...... get in the water and swim. As you know, cold water and I do NOT get along well..especially in race conditions. Last year's water temps barely squeeked up to 59 degrees before the race start. Yes, that's what I said....Fifty-nine degrees.

HELLO!! I am not designed for that type of water activity. No way, no how. Yet somehow, I agreed to do this thing this year....but I knew that the cold water temps (coupled with 2,500 people starting swimming at the same time!) was going to be my biggest challenge of the race.

Throughout the 6 months of training, I've been tackling this challenge head on. I started swimming in the Quarry back in February when it was a blistering 60 degrees (has steadily been warming all spring) and then when the water got too warm (read greater than 68 degrees), I switched my long swims to Barton Springs, where the water is always 68.

I even braved a swim (albeit brief) at the endless river/low water crossing at Mansfied Dam!! Thank you very much. All preparing me for Sunday's swim in good ol' Lake Coeur d'Alene.

FORTUNATELY, there wasn't a crazy late snowfall this year like they had last year and the water temps have been reasonable (by here standards) and generally rising the closer we get to race day!

Today was to be the first moment of truth...we had a team swim schedule for 0730. Early recon had the water at 64. "64?" I thought. "I can do 64. Hell, I've done 60! I can do this, I CAN do this."

We donned our wetsuits and headed down the beach to the swim start.

I waded in an hung about where the water was waist deep, just letting my feet get acclimated and have some water seep in through the zipper to get the body adjusted as well. Part of my usual cold water routine.

The fast and veteran Ironmen of the group simply waded in and took off swimming! I was like, wow! impressive! Then there was another smaller group of a little more cautious folks getting ready to go in. This was to be my group. They look around at each other, discussed how much of the course to swim this morning...and then before I knew it, they were taking off!

Shit! Go, D, GO. I pushed off, submerged into the water, took one stroke and came up panicky!! Yikes...64 degrees or not, that's still cold!!! I could feel my heart rate spiking with fear..panic.

Calm down, D. But my group is swimming away!! I put my face in the water again, took another stroke..came up panicky again! SHIT!

Bang, bang, bang! My heart was thumping against the wetsuit that was trying to keep it warm. SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!!!

Ok, D. You can do this. Don't worry about them. Take your time. Go when you are ready. Just relax.

I treaded water for a brief moment. Took some calming breaths. Held my breath and submerged my face a little. See...not so bad. Just take your time. Do YOUR thing. This will be YOUR race...not theirs. DO. YOUR. THING.

So, I waited another moment. Did a breakstroke and got my whole face under. Came back up. Heart rate still a little high. Another stroke. Came back up. Heart rate was slowing. Ok. Good. Another...just like that. Did another breast stroke. Came back up. Heart rate back to normal. Ok. Good.

Now you're ready, D. Right. Ok. Let's swim.

And with that, I took off at a nice, easy pace...breathing every two strokes to make sure I was exchanging plenty of oxygen and remaining calm. The water was a little choppy, but I soon settled into a gentle rhythm and timed my strokes with the ebb and flow of the water.

HEY! I'm swimming! What do you know!!! A HUGE wave of relief went through me and I just started focusing on swimming. Touch, Pull, Roll. Touch, Pull, Roll. Grab some water, push it down the leg. Glide. Glide.

I only swam about a half a mile in total, but today wasn't about the distance. It was about getting in and swimming. And even though I had a little panic session, I was able to right the ship and get sailing. And for THAT I feel really pumped!!!

But a big lesson I reminded myself of is that, this is MY Ironman. Not someone else's. I need to stick to MY race plan, MY race strategy and MY race paces. I can't get caught up in what other people are doing. Even though I'm planning to start with a small group of similarly-paced swimmers....if they dive in and start going before I'm ready...I'm going to let them go. I know I'll miss out on the benefits of drafting, but speed is NOT in my swim plan. Calm, cool, collected, relaxed swimming is. And if that means I give everyone else a 2 (or more!) minute head start in the water...then so be it.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to have another practice swim. Many folks are opting out. I'm not. This is MY plan to prepare myself for MY race. I'm gonna do it MY way. Wish me luck!!

Tracking Me at Ironman CdA

2009-06-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

Ok People…. I am here and ready or not, this race is going to happen on Sunday!!!! EEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!

The race starts Sunday morning (west coast time zone) at 7:00am for us non-professionals. So that’s 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles of running..on Sunday. Just. Sunday.

You can track me a couple ways:

1. http://ironman.com/ironmanlive - This (should) have the live video feed of the day, plus you can search for me to get my splits. I’m number 2289.
2. http://ironplan.net/events/ironman-couer-d-alene-2009/ - One of our teammates set this up and it will be tracking results for our entire team!
3. Twitter – Follow me on twitter, I’m dmschaffner . Twitter will be broadcasting my splits whenever they get recorded. So if you want them real-time pushed to your phone or something, here are the instructions to make that work:

WARNING: turn on the device updates on Friday/Saturday and turn them off on
Monday morning. Else, you will receive all tweets from the athlete!
1. Sign up for twitter at: https://twitter.com/signup
2. Add your phone number to Twitter by following the instructions at: http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711/entries/14589 You
will not receive texts from Twitter unless you elect to receive them for a
particular user by turning Device Updates On (see Step 3-5)
3. Go to http://twitter.com/dmschaffner
4. Click on "Device Updates"
5. Click the "On" radio button

On
Monday morning,
6. Go to http://twitter.com/dmschaffner
7. Click on "Device Updates"
8. Click the "Off" radio button

4. Facebook – Since my Twitter updates get pushed to Facebook automagically, you will see updates there too!

Some have asked how long I think it will take me, and honestly, I have no idea. Seriously. I would love to tell you to tune into a general range of time to watch the finishing chute, but I have no idea. But if you catch any of my splits, it should give you a better idea on Sunday!

And lastly, a big thank you to all of you for all of your support in so many ways…. I really could not even attempt this process without you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Here we go!

Ironman Coeur d'Alene: T-2 days

2009-06-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Holy smokes! What an amazing location for an amazing event! I can't believe it is finally here!!!

I've been training since January 7th and now it is finally..FINALLY (yet somehow quickly) here!

After a 2-hour nap, that was supposed to be last night's sleep (since it took me that long to finally finish packing....plus I had a special project I HAD to take care of before I left..), the first half of the day was spent traveling to Idaho. Nice and uneventful. Just like I like it.

Then headed out to Athlete's Village and did the formal check in thingy. And got THIS:

I'm so freaking excited!!!! :)

Tomorrow, we head out with the team for a morning swim in the lake. Water temps are supposed to be around 64 degrees. BBBRRRRR!!! But it could be a lot worse. Think warm thoughts for me!!!!!

GO T3 Blue!

A short story: The Rookie Race Report

2009-05-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

Say what you want about the Texas Ski Ranch, but I LOVE doing races out there. Yes, the water is hot. And yes, the water is uber-murky and muddy. (I'm sure the swim exit photos are going to be ghastly). But gosh darn it, I love that course. And as always, the good folks at Jack & Adam's put on an AWESOME event!!!

The Rookie also holds a special place in my heart because it was my first tri...EVER! The first time I rode it, I was on a hybrid...that I bought in college...in 1988. That's right. (Have a pic of that somewhere, but can't seem to find it).

And now I ride the Rookie like this:

(machine by Jack, engine by T3)

I had a little anxiety going into the race....I've been going steady and long since..well, last fall really...nothing short and fast. (yea, yea...that's what she said...). I mean I can count the amount of quality track on one hand. And that means, no fastness. The 2-mile run off the bike was sure to be...uh....interesting at best. The Rookie is fun...but let's face it...it's an all out sprint for an hour. RED. LINE. BABY.

I arrive in transition and check out the 4 racks(!) for my age group. Damn, it just doesn't get any easier. I see the usual suspects, make some mental notes of where their bikes are (what? like you don't do that...) and proceed to set up my transition area.

I had plenty of time, so I decided a warm up jog might be in order. With this short of distance, you don't really have any runway to get things going during the race...you just have to GO! So, I'm jogging out the run course, have to shinny through the chain at the closed gate just after Pat Evoe shinnied through and thought it just wasn't right that I outweigh him. I just did a little out and back to get the blood flowing...but came back completely drenched! It was going to be hot and humid this day people. Got back to transition and popped two thermolytes pronto.

Went through my traditional 3 bathroom pit stops before my wave went off, plopped myself in my usual start in the swim line up (front row, outside edge) where I can keep a good look at everybody while I breathe to the left. Said a quick prayer as Logan counted us down and BANG! we were off!!!

I took off strong, not wanting to get caught up in the masses and hung with the lead girls for a bit....but damn they were moving! I tried to stay on Esther's feet, but she dropped me after about 150. (That girl is fast people.) I was already encountering folks from the wave ahead at the turn around and knew I was going to have to do a lot of sighting...not to keep straight but to avoid traffic jams. At one point, I had to slide through a sliver of open water with a backstroker on the right and a breast stroker on the left...I thought for sure I was going to get whacked..but somehow managed to scoot through unscathed!

I couldn't hang on to the lead group, but managed to come out of the water just behind them.....as I was nearing the AWESOME T3 Swim exit shoot, I counted yellow swim caps....1,2,3,4,5 I think. Ok, got some work to do, people. Scooted past one on my way into transition. One down, 4 to go.

Was pulling my bike of the rack heading out of transition as Ms. Lord was getting to her bike. Oh Lord her she comes after me. GO, GO, GO!!! I tippy toed in my cycling shoes through transition as fast as I could and hopped on my bike and got moving. I wasn't sure who the other girls were, but I knew Esther was out there. She's a super fast swimmer and an awesome cyclist, it was going to be tough finding her on the bike...especially since I only had 11 miles to do it. And I could already feel Tracy coming up behind me.

Quickly spun up that first crazy hill after transition, and got to work. Thought about keeping my cadence high and my heels low. I was moving pretty good through the nice, shady lane when a fellow age grouper passed me from behind. Dammit! Back to 5th again. I picked up the pace and hung with her. She was a powerful rider and I was having to work really, really hard. But it felt good.

We kept hammering away and came up on Darcy, who had also beaten me out of the water. As we passed her, you could Darcy muttering something like, Dammit. And then next thing you know, she picked it up and the three of us were hammering along. We'd trade spots at the front, one person passing, the next person passing...all trying to stay legal, but not get too far away from each other.

We came up on Esther and she jumped in the mix too!

We traded positions back and forth along the flats and I thought to myself....ok, clearly these girls are strong. Power cyclists for sure. But....I'm a goat. If I can just hang here until the hills, then I'll make my move.

So I quit trying to battle for the lead and just sat back, biding my time, keeping an appropriate distance, but not losing sight of them, letting them beat each other up...and saving mine up. I know this course like the back of my hand. Just wait until we turn the corner to the back side, ladies...those rollers are no joke and they've got my name written all over them.

I waited....and we turned....and I started picking them off on the uphills...one hill, one rider....another hill, another rider....another hill, another rider. By the time we made the next right turn off the hill section, they were all behind me.....(save Karrn who apparently was in first the whole time, but I never ever saw her...she's that fast). If you want me ladies, you are going to have to come get me.

We were on the little rollers getting ready to turn right onto I-35...which is power cyclists heaven. I knew they would be coming for me, so I got as aero as I could and turned the cranks as hard and as fast as I could. Move it, D. Here they come. Move it, MOVE IT!

I hustled into transition and glanced at the racks in my age group. Just one bike! Sweet!!!!

But I knew the run was going to be challenging. I pretty much blew whatever I had on the bike and Mo warned me that my run legs might not be back from the marathon yet. And boy, was he right. Man, it was painful. I could muster hardly any turnover, but I knew I had to hang on for just two miles.

Darcy came by me just after the turn around I think. Damn. Back to third. I tried to fire the legs, but they just wouldn't go. No offense left...just defense.

The nice thing about an out and back is once you make the turn, you get to see everyone who's coming after you. I checked my watch at the turn to so I could get a guestimate at how close the next age grouper was...I saw Michelle and Tracy...they were moving fast, closing in and looking strong.

Shit. I'm in trouble people!

I tried to find another gear to get it moving...c'mon D...just one mile, you can do it. And picked it up just a little. I kept focused on my form, tried to be efficient as possible and keep moving forward.

Chugged up that last hill before turning back into the park, took a quick glance behind me, didn't see anyone *right* behind me, but figured I'd better pick up just in case they start hammering from the top of the hill. Didn't want to be taken by surprise in the last 200 meters!!

Lumbered on into the finish chute (with Chrissie asking why I was running marathon pace...this was a sprint!)....thankful and relieved to have finished!

Ended up holding onto 3rd place! Didn't PR overall, but had my best bike split Ever!!!

Here are my stats:

Dionn Schaffner Austin, TX Age Group F 35-39 Gun Time: 01:00:14 Chip Time: 01:00:14 Class Position: 3

Overall Place: 102

Class Position: 3 (WOOT!)

Swim: 06:24 pace: 2:08/M

T1: 01:42
Bike: 34:30 pace: 19.5mph (YAY!)
T2: 00:56
Run: 16:40 pace: 8:20/M (UGH.)

And, so I don't hear it from Mike, here's my hardware!

Dream the Impossible Dream

2009-04-22T06:46:00.000-07:00

It started out innocently enough, when I finished my first HALF marathon and vehemently stated, "I will NEVER do a full marathon...running for 4 hours? CRAZINESS!" I switched to tri's after that, throwing in some more half marathons along the way when one fall it became clear that my running was the weakest of the 3 sports, I decided to spend the fall/winter focusing on running.

And it just so happened that the group was training for a marathon, so in typical FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) fashion, I was signed up for the AT&T Marathon. Besides, I figured I could throw down a Half Ironman in 5 hours and 45 minutes...running a marathon is much shorter..what's the big deal?

And just as innocently after our first race in the distance challenge leading up to the marathon, my good friend Mike commented, "you know, based on McMillan and your time from the IBM 10-k, your marathon time will be 3:45:00. That's Boston Qualifying time for your age group."

"What?!" I looked at him with complete perplexion. "Dude, I don't even know if I can finish this thing."

"I'm just saying what the numbers say. You keep training at the pace you are on and you will qualify for Boston."

It was a short, brief conversation. But, boy, did it get the wheels turning in my head. Boston, really? Well, I'm a numbers kinda gal and if that's what the numbers say, then 3:45 at AT&T it shall be.

Lo and behold, 3:44:23! HOT DAMN! I'm going to Boston, people!!

That was February of 2008. I decided to run Boston in 2009. I just didn't think I was ready to tackle another marathon two months later...plus Tri season was upon me! So, 2009 it shall be.

In the meantime, I had stated another goal (also after previously vehemently stating, "I will NEVER do an Ironman. That is just plain CRAZY!), I was going to do an Ironman in 2009. I was thinking something in the fall (marathon in the spring + ironman in the fall = nice balance), except when I found out that EVERYONE and their dog was going to do CdA...in June. CRAP. Another case of FOMO and I was signed up for Ironman CdA in June. Of 2009.

I suspected then but I know for sure now (since they both admitted to it finally) that they thought I would be crazy for trying it. They being Coach Maurice of T3 (for triathlon) and Coach Sisson of Rogue (for running) of course. But apparently not wanting to rain on my parade, they both agreed to work with both schedules and make my dreams a reality.

And boy, I am ever so grateful that they've let me try!!!

I got to toe the line at one of the most prestigious running events in our country. Me. Dionn. With people calling me things like "a runner" and "a marathoner". Things I would never have dreamed of hearing. Yet there I was. In Boston. Getting ready to do it. I just couldn't believe it.

The Race Plan:
I had access to a very intricate and detailed spreadsheet that broke the course up by mile and elevation change. You could literally plug in factors to increase/decrease your expected pace to correspond with the terrain to create a pace band that told you exactly what speed you should be running at every step of the race accounting for uphills, downhills and flats. It was very sophisticated and honestly, a little overwhelming. I mean in general you think, I'll be slower on the ups and faster on the downs, it should all average out. Right? There's something to be said for having TOO much information.

After completely freaking out to Steve, he said, "Here's your race plan: Go 8:26 every mile. Period."

"What about the hills?"

"Fuck the hills. I want your pace to be steady. That means you are going to have to work harder on the ups and take it easy on the downs. That's it."

KISS = Keep it Simple, Stupid. Sometimes that's just what I need to hear. And just what I need to do. After all, that's how I ran Austin Marathon. And it has hills, hills and more hills. But I stuck to the pacers (who run the same pace regardless of the terrain) like glue and it had worked like a charm. Why wouldn't it work in Boston?

The morning before, I went for a pre-race run through Boston. I figured I'd just go 15 minutes out, 15 minutes back. The day was picture perfect. Sunny. Beautiful.

I thought it was a good sign. I wanted to be in a good place mentally (especially after the debacle in Galveston) and this was helping. Alot!

Drove the course with Mike and got to see the green monster at Fenway (Cool! I wasn't ready with the camera so I missed getting a picture. dammit.) And one of the side streets on the marathon route was named, Whalen! (YAY for E!! I wanted to stop and take a picture, but we were on a tight schedule...sorry!) I thought that was a good sign too!

At the pre-race team meeting with Sisson, after congratulating everyone on being a select group of folks to qualify, train and make it to race day, telling us we should be very proud for what we've accomplished so far, he then basically said, "get the fuck over yourself, there's work here to be done." He reiterated his "go steady" race plan to everyone and related Cicero's Six Mistakes of Man to the race. It was very interesting! Several points resonated deeply with me and I felt as if mentally I was really ready. It wasn't going to be my mind stopping me tomorrow..that was for sure.

Basically the race plan was going to be this:

Mile 0-5: Get in. Get Going. Get Settled. Get to your happy place at 8:26/M and get the feel for it.

Mile 5-15: Ten miles of Exposition-type rollers. Push it to 8:26 on the ups. Relax it to 8:26 on the downs. Hills don't scare you. You own hills.

Mile 15-21:Get your big girl panties on and take on Heartbreak Hill.

Mile 21-26.2: Closing time. Less than 10-k of good, solid, hard work to bring it home.

Nutrition:
Gu every 5 miles. Thermolytes every 6-7 miles. Basic. Simple.

Got everything ready before we even departed for dinner the night before, just so I'd be as calm and relaxed as possible.
(my favorite FB comment on this was from Joe B. who said, "Where is your bike? And the wetsuit? What the hell kind of event is this anyway - you just run?" I was cracking up!)

Thanks to Mike's remarkable planning. Team Rogue got to ride on club buses to the race. That meant we were on a bus, with a potty, until we needed to get out to line up. Everyone else had to ride school buses, get shuttled up to the start and have to wait around in the cold and use the porty potties. I was nervous, but felt good that I could just chill on the bus for as long as I needed.

The butterflies in my stomach had long since helped the evacuation process prior to the start, so I didn't anticipate any potty stops. PLUS, having scouted the course the day before, I knew there were potties almost every mile. Somehow knowing that they are available, makes me need to go less. I'm so mental, it's not even funny.

As I walked towards the starting chute, I looked around at my fellow athletes, hearing the announcer count down the minutes until the start, I contemplated my clothing choice (full leggings, Team Rogue long bra top, arm warmers, throw away long sleeve tech tee) and remained confident in my choice (with my tight right quad, I didn't want my legs to be cold..at all..so I was one of the few in leggings), checked my nutrition stash (one gu and zip lock baggie of thermolytes in each glove, two gu's and two baggies in each back pocket of my top), bottle of water in my hand. Check. Check. and Check.

Lord, I was nervous. I was worried about my knee. I was worried about my pace. Even with all the crazy workouts I did under Sisson, I missed the one 20-mile MGP (marathon goal pace) run that really had given me the confidence going into my first marathon that I could sustain that pace for that long. Technically, I'd never gone longer/farther than 14-miles at steady MGP. And when I did that one...it was tough as ALL HELL.

Could I do this?

And on top of it all was the pressure of proving everyone wrong..that YES, you can do ironman training and marathon training at the same time. As I mentioned before, I felt like if I failed in my endeavor this day it would reflect poorly on Maurice and Sisson moreso than on me. It wouldn't just be Dionn having a bad day, but it would be "what the hell were her coaches thinking?"

But as soon as I lined up at the start, all that went out the window, I thought about all the other folks who I had spoken to who had done this race before and the common thing they had said, was "just look around...absorb the energy from the crowd...it will be a remarkable experience" and then I remembered one of the last things that Sisson had said in our meeting, "Just run."

Seemed pretty damn simple. The countdown ended. We were off. And I just ran.

I ran with a silly smile on my face. I marveled at ALL the people lined up who cheered for hours and hours and hours as 23,000+ people streamed by them. I was amazed how at every mile at every turn there were people, kids, dogs, everyone cheering, yelling, screaming, encouraging us all on to "just run! Keep going!"

I thought as I passed over every 5k timing mat that in that instant my stats were being blasted to family, friends and teammates who were tracking me...keep it steady, D. Keep the pace. Steady. Steady.

On the downhills, people went screaming down past me. But I stayed focus on MY race. On MY pace. Save the quads, D. You're gonna need them later.

A half a mile from Wellesly, you could hear them screaming. Every step brought you closer until you got to the sign that said "Welcome to Wellesly". And then more and more signs "Kiss me", "Kiss me - I'm Asian", "Kiss me - It's my birthday!", and "Kiss me - GIRLS ONLY" I mean how could you not smile?

The miles went by quickly. 0-3 was busy just trying to find my groove and not go too fast on the downhill. Mile 4.5 came and I worked a Gu out of my glove, ripped it open with my teeth and tried to get it all down before the 5-mile marker showed up. Warm up was over.

Miles 5-15 just seemed to chug a long at a consistent pace. Mile 7 = thermolytes, then 2.5 miles later, more Gu. And then I was at 10 already. Just a 16-miler from here. 3 miles later, Thermolytes -- gotta get those down. Mile 15 more Gu. Time to get to work on some serious hills...here we go.

Miles 15-21. That's it. I'm a goat. Love the hills. People were crashing all around me and I had to weave my way around them on the ups. That felt good. Heartbreak Hill? Puhlease. Crested that bad boy and looked surprisingly over to the crowd as I heard some calling my name! Colleen in all her Livestrong gear!! COOL! Now I was ready for some sweet 10-k action. I felt good! Had power in the tank..granted the legs were tight..but the knee felt ok..a slight twinge in the right achilles...but not anything to be concerned about.

Miles 21-26.2 I knew even though I had worked the hills, I was behind by about a minute, but I didn't think it was a problem. There was plenty of time and distance to pick that up, so I started to increase my pace...then all of a sudden. "Pssst."

"what the hell was that?" I wondered as I slowed down to listen. Didn't hear anything so I picked it up again. "PSSST."

"oh shit." I knew what that was...that was my calf. whispering. After my cramping catastrophe and Longhorn last year, Meredith taught me how to listen a little more closely to my body and what it was trying to tell me while racing.

"oh shit oh shit oh shit" I muttered under my breath. I dug in my pocket and whipped out a bag of thermolytes as I mentally reviewed my nutrition. Yep..I'd taken everything I was supposed to along the way, what gives? Doesn't matter now. Fix it. FIX IT.

I threw both pills in my mouth and grabbed the first gatorade I got my hands on and threw them down.

"there on their way" I told my calves...just bear with me. Please. PLEASE!!

"Um..no. We don't think so." they said back.

"shit shit shit" I eased of the accelerator until they were quiet. "ok, think D, think." Mental math at this late in the marathon is definitely challenging but I had to think it through. Ok, I needed to pick up the pace to meet my 3:40 goal, but every time I did that the cramps got closer and closer. I checked my watch. I checked my pace band. I checked my watch again. Ok..let's just hang here for a bit and see if things calm down. ok.

About a mile later, I knew it was going to be the now or never if I was going to have a chance at the 3:40, so I picked it up again.

"Um...excuse us. What do you think you're doing?"

"Crap." The thermolytes seemed to have stopped the tide from rising, but the water was still there. "Dammit." I dug in my pockets, grabbed the last baggie, ripped it with my teeth and threw down my last two pills. I knew it wouldn't help me for the rest of the race, but it would help me for after...and now it was about survival and living to see another day......only 60 days until ironman...I didn't have a lot of time to recover from the marathon.

Another check of the watch. Check the pace band. Check the watch. The Pace Band. Calculate, calcuate, calculate.

Moment of truth: ok...I can try and go for it for the next 2 miles and maybe get my 3:40. More likely, however, I will seize into a giant cramp and it will take me 30 minutes to finish these last two.

Or.....

Or I could ease up, just enough to keep the cramps at bay, miss 3:40 BUT....BUT still make it under 3:45 requalifying for next year...AND possibly still salvage a PR.

How important is the 3:40?

In that instant Plan B sounded like the best solution. I eased up, enjoyed my run through the packed with supporters final miles and found myself crossing at 3:42:20. PR and Requalified. Check and Check!!

I was elated!! I wanted to cry, but didn't (that would come later). I wanted to do a cheerleader jump (but feared the revolt from my calves). So I was content with just smiling a huge grin and accepting all the wonderful congratulations from the most spectacular fan and race support crowd I'd EVER been a part of.

I couldn't believe what I'd just done. Me. Dionn. The Non-runner. Started AND Finished The Boston Marathon. AND faster than I'd ever gone before. Holy shit. HOLY SHIT! WOOT!!!!

It was kind of a daze after that. I got an IMMEDIATE phone call from sister congratulating me. She'd been tracking me all day and was so very proud. (Thanks Traci!!) And of course naturally, I updated Facebook. (I had my phone on me because it doubles as my ipod.) The congrats pouring in were amazing. I was totally high. It was (outside of the birth of my kids) one of the most amazing thing I've ever done.

Team Rogue threw down a bunch of great times during AND AFTER the race as everyone was finally free to enjoy massive amounts of adult beverages as we swapped race stories, compared soreness levels and basically had ourselves a good ol time.

My legs were so trashed the next day, I even talked myself into an ice bath at the hotel before I checked out to head to the airport. And I gotta tell ya...it actually felt good!And somehow, while I was at the airport, watching news coverage of the race (this is Tuesday mind you) it all came crashing down on me. I started bawling in the middle of Logan Int'l Airport. There I was, this little black girl sitting alone at a table, just crying. I'm sure I was quite the sight. I just couldn't believe I'd actually done it. Relief was the word that described it the most. I hadn't let them down. No one could give Maurice or Sisson a hard time. I'd done what they asked me to do and I got it done. I got it done.

Back home, I quietly but ceremoniously cleaned off my back windshield and stickered up.

How's it look????

I think it looks AWESOME!!!

But there's one sticker missing...... less than 60 days.... we'll see. We. Shall. See.

A good start to the day

2009-04-17T06:10:00.000-07:00

Hours spent with Shay on his homework: Countless

Number of A's on report card: 5 out of 5

Sonic the Hedgehog T-shirt from Target: $12.99

Being proclaimed "The Best Mom Ever!" this morning after receiving T-shirt as reward for straight A's: PRICELESS

It's nice to get it right sometimes....

In the thick of it...

2009-03-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

I am squarely in the heart of my training right now.

Last weekend (after spending a wonderful week in Park City, Utah) I returned to our fabulous river city Friday night at 10:30 to get my ass to bed so I can be up Saturday morning to ride 80 miles followed by a 50-minute run of the bike.

Even though I had been skiing, my legs felt good and fresh as I opted NOT to do any running, biking or swimming while on Spring Break.

I had a great time riding with Jen N. (who was slumming and riding with me) and ended up finishing my 80 miles in a little over 4.5 hours. Didn't have a tremendously speedy transition to the run, but set off on a nice brick run and ended up running 5.6 miles at an 8:55/M pace. Hell, I'll take that! You bet!

The next day I only had a 14-mile run on the schedule because it was an "easy recovery" week for Team Rogue's Boston Group. (I love that throwing down a half marathon is considered easy...whatever...we are so twisted..) Did two loops around the lake at 8:46/M. I'll take that too!

Then during the week jumped back into a hard week for Ironman and Boston group with the following:

Swimming: 2xT3 swim workouts + Quarry Swim (3 loops nonstop)
Cycling: 2xT3 spin classes @ 1.75hrs each
Core: 2xT3 pre-spin core @ .5hrs each
Running: Warhurst #2 (see previous post)

I was actually feeling some pain in my knee and foot, so I laid off running the remainder of the week as I noticed I had completely worn down the inside edge of my right shoe. Same thing happened with my previous pair and cause the same type of pain. I need to keep an eye on my shoe mileage and switch out my shoes BEFORE the pain starts. Duh. (seriously, I have a post-graduate degree and still can't figure that out. I'm a dork.)

The weekend craziness (after consulting both coaches) called for a 100-mile bike ride and a 20-mile run the next day. My ORIGINAL plan was to ride Saturday and run Sunday...but mother nature was having her way with the wind this morning and at 4am as I listened to the 15-20mph wind rush around, I decided to run Saturday and ride Sunday.

I had a GREAT run with Team Rogue's Sadie (thanks Sadie!!!!) and ran a nice and steady 20 miles at 9:30/M.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to my very FIRST 100-miler!! Yes, this will be the farthest I've every cycled. I'm excited and nervous. I'm just going to go steady and get 'er done.

So if you see me out tomorrow on 360, southwest parkway, 71, 620 or Parmer. Say hi!!! I'll be around...on my bike....all...day....long. oye.

Warhurst - Take 2

2009-03-24T07:21:00.000-07:00

Ok...so today we did the Warhurst workout like we did about 3 weeks ago...(here's my review of how that went)

Today, Sisson set the goals as really hitting both the mile and the 1200 on the track paces. We added a longer warm up because he thought we weren't quite warmed up enough last time, but said that we could do 4 GOOD QUALITY repeats versus 5 given the longer warm up/cool down if we felt like the distance was going to be over the top. And given that I still had 1.75 hr spin and core later today, I thought 4 was going to be plenty.

I translated that to the following for me, 4 GOOD QUALITY repeats of the following:
Mile pace: 7:46-8:11
1200 pace: 7:31

Here's how I fared this time:

#1
Mile - 8:02
400 - 7:22
400 - 7:28
400 - 7:37
(trying to find it by feel...wasn't quite right)

#2
Mile - 7:56
400 - 7:31
400 - 7:30
400 - 7:33
(pretty damn close...now two more just like that)

#3
Mile - 8:04
400 - 7:32
400 - 7:45 (got distracted...focus, D. FOCUS)
400 - 7:35 (better, but not quite right)

#4
Mile - 7:57
400 - 7:26
400 - 7:19
400 - 7:16

YES!! FREAKIN' NAILED IT!

I even got a "Feeling better today?" from Sisson as I'm sure he could see on my face that this was, in fact, a much, much better day.

And a BIG thanks to Cindy and Amy for running with me. Those gals have the most gorgeous form and ease during running, it is easy to get swept up into their styles. You ladies ROCK!!!

Soul Busted

2009-03-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

So, last Sunday I got to run Soul Buster II with Team Rogue. And I'm using "run" here in a very vague sense of the word. Bascially, it is a 12-mile warm up, 8-miles of hills, 2 miles at MGP, 2 miles at HMGP and then 2 miles at 10k pace.

Yes..those aren't typos.

And no, I didn't quite make it on pace at the end. :(

I stayed at a nice, easy long run pace for the first 20-miles, stayed on top of my nutriton and everything, but when it came time to drop the hammer....I just had no go juice.

Last miles went like this:

mile 20: 8:33/M (hitting B race pace goal, but not A goal here)
21: 8:43/M (dammit...I'm tired as all hell)
22: 8:29/M (tried to pull it together....should've been at HMGP here..not even close....Sisson could see I was struggling tells me to just get to MGP)
23: 8:45/M (dejected....Sisson yelling "I didn't say FALL off the cliff!")
24: 9:02/M ( I got nothing left...I will finish...but it won't be pretty and it won't be on pace..but I will finish)
25: 9:04/M
26: 9:05/M

Sisson immediately came over, threw an arm around my shoulder and got to work on my psyche as we walked around the track. He definitely earned his money that day, talking me back from the ledge of dejection, discussing all the load the ironman training is adding on top of what he is asking for, listing out possible priorities and outcomes, schedule over the next few weeks, all the while keeping me moving as I fought back the tears.......almost crying..at a workout...good grief....most certainly NOT ironman material at that moment.

And then I was trying to figure out what bummed me out the most...not hitting my paces? I didn't want to hear excuses like "you just rode 60 miles the other day" or "yes, they hit their paces, but they aren't biking and swimming all week either" (no, just throwing down 100-miles of running each week...how is that not just as hard?)

Truth is, what was really bumming me out was I felt like I let my coaches down...not just Sisson but Mo too. I know they both think I'm crazy for wanting to do Boston and CdA...not just do them, but do them well..at least for me. And yet they both agreed to help me reach my goal, working with me to merge the two training schedules (and the rest of my life) they best they can while not sacrificing the integrity of the plans themselves.

I feel like if I don't do well at one or (god forbid) EITHER, they and I will hear a lot of "I told you so...it shouldn't be done..it can't be....you can't have two masters..." blah, blah, blah.

Sure I know that I would probably perform better at either Boston OR CdA if I was just focusing on one thing. But I'm a generalist, a multi-tasker.... I would rather do a lot of things fairly well than just one thing superbly. But can I do this? These two? So close to each other?

I think I can or surely they wouldn't have agreed to such nonsense, right? They must've seen something in me, in my eyes or heard in my voice that made them think that maybe, just maybe she can pull it off. Right?

And so I must conclude that at this point in the training, I am reaching a mental hurdle. That Sunday on the track was a mental collapse, not a physical one, right? So until Sisson or Mo sits me down, looks me square in the eyes and says, "Dionn...it is physically impossible for you to meet your current goals for Boston and CdA", I'm going to pick myself up, dust myself off and get back on the horse...er..the track...or the bike..or in the water....

And even if either one of them did sit me down and tell me that.... I might just tell them to go to hell and try it anyway.

OMG...it's really happening...

2009-03-23T06:01:00.000-07:00

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

When Quality Scares You...

2009-03-03T07:40:00.001-08:00

Today kicked off the first (of many) quality run workouts for Team Rogue's Boston training group. To date, we've just been building base mileage. (Some up to 70, 80, 90 and 100 miles per week!! Uh..not me though.) To say I was a little nervous, would be a vast understatement.

It is one thing to head off on a 14-mile trek with your pace group and just let the miles click by. And it is quite another to embark on a quality workout that involves track work where your coach is just standing there watching everyone go around and around and checking splits the whole way.

Although Sisson's fire and brimestone speech at the beginning about how he wanted to see us working hard and that there was to be NO quitting with f-bombs dropped in for efficacy was scary....it definitely got me fired up. I guess I'm just one of those athletes that responds to that kind of thing. (So, if you ever see me lolligagging or struggling, feel free to yell, swear and douse me with tough love -- I may hate you at the moment, but I will love you later...I promise.)

He also ranked three goals of the workout. The first and most important was hitting your paces on the 1200 on the track. The second was doing all 5. And finally was the pace on the one mile. As long as you didn't go slower than MGP on the one mile part - he was totally cool with that.

So, the workout involved a warm up then 5 times through the following:

1-mile at somewhere between Tempo and MGP around the Deep Eddy loop. (yay Veteran's hill....sigh.)
1200 meters at 10k pace on the track

5-Times!!

My goals were:

Tempo - MGP pace: 7:58 - 8:23
10K pace: 7:41/M

That's for the 3:40 marathon. Realistically, I think this should be my B goal. I would LOVE to put down a 3:35..and those paces would be:
Tempo - MGP: 7:46 - 8:11
10K pace: 7:31/M

However, given that I knew it was going to be difficult to finish the entire workout, I figured if I could hit somewhere in between the two, that would be a good day. Right?

Here's how it went down:

#1
1-mile: 8:25/M (can you say "conservative"? you know me..always worried about finishing..)
400: 7:29/M
400: 7:46/M
400: 7:46/M

(Just couldn't quite get dialed in on my pace...kept trying to check my Garmin, but it was dark, so I had to turn the light on, futzing around with it..GRrrrrrr. I decided next time to just run 10-K effort and check at the end of each 400)

#2
1-mile: 8:12/M
400: 7:32/M
400: 7:29/M
400: 7:29/M

(much better all around. Now, 3 more...just like that.)

#3
1-mile: 8:11/M
400: 7:14/M (too fast!)
400: 7:31/M
400: 7:45/M (paying for that first 400)

(good...but getting tired...two more to go...Come 'on D.)

#4
1-mile: 8:29/M (lost my pace group when I stopped to potty..didn't keep up the pace by myself enough)
400: 7:24/M (settle down, D.)
400: 7:31/M
400: 7:30/M

(felt good nailing that last 400. One more to go. Let's do this thing.)

#5
1-mile: 8:24/M (feeling really tired now...gotta dig deep for the next piece)
400: 7:23/M
400: 7:37/M (dig, DIG for the finish!!)
400: 7:15/M

YES!!! DID IT!!

I hit my 10-K paces for my "wish" goal, did all 5, but lost a few seconds on the 1-mile part. All in all, though, I consider it a successful workout! With the cooldown, it was 13 miles of QUALITY work this morning.

I had a bowl of Frosted Flakes to celebrate. :)

Fortitude Test #3

2009-02-25T19:31:00.000-08:00

It has to be done. I have to become one with the cold water. I mean seriously...what kind of nemisis is that? Cold water...sheesh! So lame.

More importantly, I have to get it squared away before Ironman CdA because guess what folks...that water is CO-OLD! Last year's water temps? Somewhere between 55-58 degrees. No, that is not a typo. HOLY CRAP! BRRRRRRR!!!!

So, first of all, I invested in a full-sleeve wetsuit. Hell, if they had a full body one that was legal, I'd take it. But I have to tell you, the difference of just having your arms covered is phenomenal!! Light years in difference I feel. Could be just cognitive dissonance -- but I don't care -- as long as it works!

Up until today, for this training season, I've been in Barton Springs twice in my new wetsuit and it wasn't too terrible. But now that BS is closed for 3 weeks for cleaning, we had to take our open water swimming party elsewhere.

Off to the Quarry Lake at Pure Austin we go...ugh. You know it is bad when you check in at the front and the guys said to us "You're swimming in the quarry today?" in incredulous disbelief. Dude, I'm thinking the same thing. What the hell are we doing?

But our intrepid posse of Ironmen and IronmenWannabes -- Alison, Shawnda, Vegas, Alisa, Tom, Jerry and I -- made our way down to the lake.

Save the ducks...there was no one in the water. OF COURSE NOT! IT IS TOO FREAKIN' COLD!!!

We get onto the dock and suit up. And my internal conversation begins:

D: What are we doing here? Is this REALLY necessary?
IMWBD: Yes, it is necessary. Get the damn wetsuit on already.
D: ok, ok

The rest of the group does the polar bear thing and just leap of the dock into the water. Of course the come up sputtering, gasping for air as the cold water sends their airways into complete shock. I'm standing on the dock...just watching...and conversing...

D: You see that? Ridiculous...I'm not going in..
IMWBD: Yes, you are...you know the drill...let's move it.
D: But...
IMWBD: MOVE. IT.
D: Shit.

I sit on the edge of the dock and dangle my bare feet in the water. YIKES...that IS cold! Ugh. I swish them around back and forth, just getting a feel for the temps. Meanwhile Alison and Tom take off with a couple strokes.. I yell after them..."WAIT..don't go yet!" They paddle and stop and swear at how freakin' cold the water is. F-bombs are flying all over the place from everyone (except for Jerry of course).

IMWBD: Phase II -- get some water on your face, girl.
D: ok, ok

I lean over and scoop up some water and splash it over my face. Brrr...that will wake you up for sure. I do this a couple more times so my hands and face get used to the temps.

IMWBD: Phase III -- down the suit sister.
D: ugh.

I cup some water in my hands and let it fall down the back of my neck. I can feel it sliding underneath my wetsuit...chilling my spine as it trickles down. A couple more times of this and I'm ready for the next step.

IMWBD: Get in.
D: June is really far away..do we have to do this now?
IMWBD: Get in.
D: Seriously?
IMWBD: Seriously.
D: ok. crap. shit. F*CK!

I ease off into the dock and slip in the water without letting my head go under. Instantly the water seeps in through the zipper and the edges of the suit...not alot...but enough to feel the coldness. But guess what...not so shocking...hmmm...ok...good.

IMWBD: Final step. Face in the water.
D: Ugh.

Just then, Tom comes paddling back over. He has this look on his face like he doesn't want to do this either. We debate getting out..but as we see everybody else starting to swim off (note: some swimming head out of the water style still!!)...we decide to be lemmings and go with the flow.

ALL HAIL THE POWER OF THE TEAM!!

So I start breaststroking forward...but not putting my face in.

IMWBD: Um...this isn't quite the swimming we are supposed to be doing.
D: I know! I just need another minute
IMWBD: STFU and put your damn face in the water.
D: UGH!

So, I take another breaststroke and put just my chin in the water as I move forward. Out and grab a breath. Next stroke, I put my face in so that the water line is just under my nose. Out and grab a breath.

IMWBD: Ok..one dunk under. I won't be that badl
D: yes, it will.
IMWBD: LOOK! Everyone else is swimming and they are not dying...just do it.
D: ok, OK!

Another breaststroke, face all the way in the water this time. Out and grab a breath.

D: Hey! I did it!
IMWBD: Nice. Now quit being a dork and swim.

Touch, pull, roll....Touch, pull, roll...breathe...Touch, pull, roll.....touch, pull, roll...breathe. And I'm swimming! YAY!

I look up and the rest of the group has already rounded the first buouy...save for Shawnda, who needed some additional encouragement to put her face in the water and swim. I yell over, "One stroke at a time....just one stroke at a time!"

My hands and feet are pretty numb in the water, but I try to focus on other things.
1. Catch up to the group
2. Watch out for snakes
3. Don't forget to roll
4. I wish I knew how to kick when I swim, then maybe my feet would have some blood flow and get warmer
5. EEEEEK! What was that? A snake???? Oh, just a duck. phew.
6. Damn..someone remind me to take my rings off...this cold water is shrinking my fingers and they are sliding all over the place...I do NOT want to lose these in here...
7. I wish I knew how to draft when swimming..that seems like a good skill to have for this sport...

By turn 3, I had made up ground on most the folks (except for speedy Tom of course) and actually felt like an athlete again.

When I got back to the dock, I stopped for a second and looked longingly at the dock.
D: Well, I accomplished my main goal for today.
IMWBD: And that was...
D: To get in this damn water and swim
IMBWD: But your workout is supposed to be...
D: shush

And then Tom chimes in, "Don't even think about it...just keep going." Damn it. Alright. Lap 2, here we go. Tom took off and I figured I'd just use him to sight since I certainly wasn't keeping up with him. But I would look up to sight and would have to scan right and left of the line we were *supposed* to be on to find him....the boy was zig zagging all over...dang it. That plan is out. So I picked a point on the shore and just swam for it.

Lap 2. Check. At this point, Alison is out on the doc getting ready for yoga. Tom debates back and forth about going the next lap. He decides he really wants to do the yoga class and we did actually swim in the frigid water so that was a good workout, right? Right! I agree.

Just then Vegas pulls up and says "Aren't you guys doing a third lap?" I hem and haw.."well, we thought....um...." Vegas responds, "The workout says 3 laps, right?" Jerry throws his hat in, "I'm in for 3." Well, dammit. Of course I'll go around again.

"Damn you, Vegas. DAMN YOU!" And with that I set off for the 3rd lap.

Afterwards I felt pretty damn good. It was some serious cold water and I got in and I swam. And I swam the whole workout. I may just be able to do this Ironman thing afterall!

Of course, now the real question is....now that I know how cold it is...will I be able to convince myself to get in again and experience the appendage numbing greatness???? Stay tuned.....

Need inspiration?

2009-02-25T08:06:00.000-08:00

I'm stealing this from Mike who stole it from Priscilla who stole it from someone else, who read it in the local online paper.

THIS is some good stuff. And yes, I cried.

Last place marathoner shares story
By Pamela LeBlanc
Monday, February 23, 2009, 10:41 AM

Lara Newcomer wasn’t the first across the finish line of the Austin Marathon last weekend. She wasn’t the 100th or the 1,000th or even the 4,000th.She was the last person to officially cross the finish line, and she did it with the help of her husband, other people in the race and a whole lot of folks who saw her go by and reached out to offer encouragement. It took her 7 hours and 20 minutes.Here is her story. Thanks for sharing, Lara. And congratulations!

“Last Sunday’s marathon wasn’t my first, but it was certainly my hardest. About a month ago I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, which makes walking very painful at times. I stopped training and started treatments to try to let things heal up a little, but was still struggling with it. Then a week before the marathon I came down with the flu. I spent Monday and Tuesday in bed coughing and wheezing, with my fever hovering between 100 and 103.My parents tried to talk me out of doing the marathon. But, I’ve been doing the Distance Challenge, a series of six races that started in October and totals almost 100 miles. The Austin Marathon was the last race in the challenge and if I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t get any credit for the Distance Challenge at all. So, I decided to give the marathon my best shot.I knew when I got up Sunday morning that I wasn’t 100%, but I thought I had enough in me to do the marathon.

I met up with my training partner, Shae, and two of her friends at the starting line. It all started pretty well —- I thought it was a good omen that there was a guy playing the cowbell on the Congress Avenue Bridge. It only took about three miles before I realized that my body was not going to let me keep up with the pace Shae and her friends were setting. Shae realized this and sent her friends on ahead. We slowed down a little, but I could tell that the pace was still just too fast for my poor recovering body.

By mile 8, I had decided to send Shae on ahead. I really thought I was done. I had texted Adam, my husband, that my body just couldn’t keep the pace and that I was going to quit. Shae said she’d stay with me until mile 10 because that’s where our husbands were. At mile 10, she went on ahead, but I decided that I had nothing to lose. So, I told Adam that I was just going to keep walking until I couldn’t walk anymore.

A lovely woman named Marissa had overheard me talking to Shae and to Adam and she was walking about my pace (very slow) and decided to walk with me — we decided that we would help and encourage each other. I don’t know her last name or where she’s from, but she walked with me from mile 10 until mile 23 and was a great encouragement.

By mile 13 my feet were killing me. Each step was painful and my knees were beginning to hurt because of the way I was compensating for the pain in my feet. A woman I don’t even know looked at me and told me she could tell by my face that I was dehydrated. And then my dear friend Edgar rode up on his bike. He just happened to be riding first aid and gave me a bottle of water with electrolytes and some of his wife’s “magic” pierogies. Thank God for Edgar and the water and pierogies! It was like someone flipped a switch and I suddenly had more energy and I was pretty confident that I was going to make it.

By mile 17 I wasn’t so confident anymore….the police car and official race vehicles had been right behind us since mile 15…..I knew I was the very end of the line. Everything below my hips was hurting and I really thought that something was going to seize up and I just wouldn’t be able to walk anymore. But, Edgar showed up again at mile 17 with more water and pierogies and my switch flipped again and I kept on walking.

At mile 20, I thought— heck, 6 more miles?! That’s just a 10K — I can do that in my sleep! My pace picked up a little and I really felt confident. Marissa was starting to slow down and I did all I could to encourage her.Mile 23 nearly did me in. At that point a motorcycle policeman rode up next to us and told us that we needed to pick up the pace and catch up with the ladies in front of us or we’d have to move out of the street and on to the sidewalk and would probably not get credit for the race. Well, I nearly quit right then —- I knew my body didn’t have enough left to catch up to those women. Marissa tried to encourage me, and she found some sort of inner reserve and powered right past those women in front of us. I picked up my pace, but I couldn’t breathe and my body felt so weak. I just wanted to sit down on the curb and give up.

Adam had met me at several different spots on the course to encourage me and see how I was doing and if I needed anything. He showed up again just past mile 23. I was ready to quit, but he hopped out of the truck and started walking with me. He just wouldn’t let me stop.Then Edgar showed up on his bike again. And there we went —- Edgar on my left, and Adam on my right (in his blue jeans and work boots). Every time I wanted to quit (which was pretty often), they talked me out of it. Edgar coached me through the hills and helped me catch a breath when I was having trouble.

Every time Adam saw spectators he shouted, “You know what we have here? A marathon finisher!!! We’ve got a finisher here!!” or “You know what I see? I see a woman who looked inside for some quit but couldn’t find any!!”

There was a police woman at 23rd and Guadalupe who reminded me that pain is just weakness leaving the body. And another police woman at 20th and Guadalupe who shooed pedestrians out of the crosswalk so I didn’t have to break my stride (slow as it was). The motorcycle officers on MLK began cheering with Adam as I made my way down the hill.

And then I had less than a mile to go. My body wanted to quit so badly, but I was so close.When there were 200 meters left, a race official with a walkie talkie approached me — I was sure he was going to tell me that I was too late, they’d already closed the race. But, he held out his hand and said, “Lara, I’m the race organizer and it’s my honor to escort you across the finish line.” I burst into tears — and Adam did, too. I turned the corner on to Congress Avenue and Adam shouted again, “Do you know what I see? I see a woman who looked inside for some quit and couldn’t find any!”

And the DPS trooper standing there looked at me and said, “That’s the kind of determination we need. You should be on the force!” Adam clapped his hands, looked at me and said, “I am more proud of you than I have been in the 18 years I’ve known you. I’ve seen you do some remarkable things, but I have never seen anyone with such determination, will power and grit. You made a conscious decision all day long to keep at this and you never gave up.” I cried, he cried … and stepped away from me, for the first time since mile 23 … so that I could have the finish line to myself. I felt like a celebrity — there were photographers and race officials and people cheering.

Once I crossed the finish line, the race organizer put the medal around my neck and we had a photo op (guess there are some advantages to being last) and the workers started tearing down the finish line.

I want to thank the police officers who spent all day sitting at intersections to keep my slow butt safe. And a special thank you to those who were so encouraging to me. I also want to thank the families who stayed out in their front yards for hours to cheer on even the slowest marathoners (especially those at Rutgers Avenue and those on Avenue H). Fellow marathoners Marissa and Walt were incredible inspirations to me — I wish I knew how to contact them and thank them.

And I just can’t thank Edgar and Adam enough — without them, I’m fairly certain that I’d have just sat down on the curb at 24th and Guadalupe and given up.It took me 7 hours and 20 minutes to complete the marathon. I was the last “official” finisher. But, I did it — I conquered my weakness and my doubt and I accomplished my goal.

It was an epic journey — and one I’m glad is over — but I will never forget the feeling of confidence from finishing what I set out to do.”

Finally!

2009-02-21T13:28:00.000-08:00

I've finally started feeling like an actual runner this week... It has been a long time since I've felt good about my running. My paces just haven't been where they were last year when I was training for the Austin Marathon. Granted, I had started marathon training in October and this year I didn't really start until January, but in my head I just haven't been able to get comfortable with the fact that my speed and endurance isn't where it was this time last year. All a mind meld, I know...but what can you do?

ANYWAY! It started with a great run on Thursday. I was coming off having only done 1 workout (a swim) in the previous two days. (Forced day off on Tuesday as I was puking my guts out...big fun, I know...then just a swim on Wednesday) I had forgotten how nice it was to run on fresh legs. Holy Cow! The weather was absolutley beautiful..the sun was shining and it was about 60-63 degrees on the trail. Just perfect.

I headed out on the trail for the 7 mile loop. (Sisson had suggested 6-8 miles in preparation for the Soul Buster on Saturday) I figured I'd just start out easy and the try and descend each mile. And here's how it went down:

1 - 9:18
2 - 8:42
3 - 8:30
4 - 8:17
5 - 8:13
6 - 7:58
7 - 7:07

Sweet!!

THEN, today we had Soul Buster Lite with Team Rogue which was 16 miles of hills (on streets with names like Mt. Bonnell and Mountain Climber..big fun) followed by 4 miles on the track at Marathon Goal Pace (MGP) which is currently 8:23/M (which is a 3:40 marathon). The route was supposed to be similar to the Boston route.

Keep in mind that the last time I ran 20 miles was...well...the marathon LAST Feb! I wasn't sure how the distance was going to feel, so I figured to just take it nice and steady so I still had some left for the track work, and did just that.

I stayed on top of my nutrition and felt good throughout the 16. Ran E.V.E.R.Y. hill (there were LOTS). Didn't walk at all. YAY!

Hopped on the track and busted out the following:
17 - 8:16
18 - 8:13
19 - 8:03
20 - 7:37

WOOO HOO!!!

Ok...some would say at this point that I'm sandbagging on my MGP, but until I can actually run at least 20 at 8:23... I ain't changing it!!!! I'm sure I'll have the opportunity quite shortly...

But in the meantime, I am PUMPED! SUHWEET! YAY RUNNING!!

Training - A New Level

2009-02-19T06:27:00.000-08:00

A friend posted this on her FB page. I've seen it before, but it ALWAYS cracks me up...each and every time I watch it. So I thought I would share...enjoy!

And the worst part....

2009-02-17T08:43:00.001-08:00

...about being sick has been telling Devon that he couldn't climb into bed this morning for our morning snuggle because I didn't want him to get sick.

He was so very, very sad and cried....it broke my heart....

...and then I sprinted to the bathroom.

..sigh..

Carry on.

President's Day

2009-02-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

...means a surprise visit by Devon for lunch with Shay!

We were just this close!

2009-02-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

What an experience this weekend..... pacing my friend Adriana for the last 10 miles of her first marathon!

I gotta tell ya.... I was more nervous about this than I was for my own first marathon last year! I mean if I have a bad day, or need to stop for a bathroom or whatever..the only person affected is me! But she was going to be counting on me to hit her 8:42/M pace and I couldn't let her down!

It was a really fun day. I parked my car up by Shoal Creek/Anderson Lane...right around mile 17. Then I walked down the course from 17 - 15 to where I was supposed to meet her. It was REALLY COOL to get to see the leaders and everyone else who was going sub 3:55.

It was funny to see so many expressions from folks I knew who were running and saw me...there were like "WTF? Why aren't you running? Get in here!" But it was really fun just cheering people on. (Shocker -- I know. Me, enjoying cheering.)

So, I got to the corner of Great Northern and still hadn't seen A yet. This was not a good sign. Then the lovely and talented MEREDITH passed by with her awesome 3:50 group! YAY Meredith!!

It was great to see her, but not so great to not see A. But within a few moments I saw her waving frantically at me. YAY! There she is! Ok, here we go.

I had her check her watch because I couldn't figure out how long she'd been running since I'd heard they'd started late. Turns out she was about 4 minutes behind her cumulative time according to our handy dandy pace bands. Ok...we had some work to make up.

Other than being a bit behind, she was doing great. She appeared to be taking plenty of nutrition along the way and I was carrying a water bottle so I offered her water in between water stops until we ran out.

We ended up getting into a good pace. I figured we try to pick up some time on the downhills and keep our average pace on the ups and that should eat into the 4 minutes a little bit, right? I figured we had 10 miles to make it up. That seemed doable. And appeared to be working as I kept checking the cumulative time at each mile marker...for about 7 miles.... then it started getting tough.

A couple times she said she wanted to walk...just for a bit...I said, "NO WALKING! You may run slower, but we are NOT WALKING." So we slowed for a bit and then we'd pick it back up. I remember one time after the turn from 15th, I looked back and she was walking. I hustled back to her, but my hand on her back and said, "C'mon. Get it going. Just jog. Then we will pick it up. C'mon. You got this." And she did indeed pick it back up and get going.

Dean Keeton was a killer. Everybody was having a hard time with that hill. I yelled...er...encouraged her and everyone else who was around us to just keep working up the hill...recover after the crest...keep the legs moving...big arms, little legs...go, go, GO! We made it up and kept going.

At this point, I forgot to check the total time and just kept trying to motivate, get the pace up, keep going. I had no doubt that she would finish...but I was worried about meeting her overall time goal.

Our paces for the last 10 ended up:
8:49
8:35
8:55
8:23
8:24
8:29
9:09
8:42
8:57
8:40

She finished at 3:51:38. Which is AWESOME for a first marathon!

The only bummer is she missed her Boston Qualifying time by 39 SECONDS!

Ugh. So frustrating!! I feel like I had known exactly what our cumulative time was and just how close we were, I could've communicated that to her and I'm sure she could've found a little extra in the tank to make it.

I got some awesome advice today from another friend with a similar pacing experience and he suggested having the runner either wear two watches at the start and give on to the pacer when the meet up or just have the runner hand her watch over to the pacer so the pacer knows EXACTLY what the cumulative time is.

Damn. That's a good idea. It would have been a GREAT idea if I had known Saturday. Shit.

Ahhh...that's better

2009-02-10T07:56:00.000-08:00

Finally conquered my first early morning Tuesday 14-miler today!

To begin, we had some wonderful tropical weather... 68-70 degrees and HUMID!

I addressed my nutrition problem and made sure I ate well yesterday, although I don't think I drank enough. Went to bed relatively early last night. Woke up this morning feeling good and not TOO tired.

Ate 2 Gu's on the run. I remember last year's marathon training, I had a lot of success having a Gu every 5 miles. Why I haven't been doing that this year? I have no idea. Dumb D.

Thermolytes are your FRIENDS!! Took two every hour. No leg cramps. YAY!

Had a wonderful run group including Sadie and Coeur d'Claire! Claire was getting me all pumped for CdA!

Had a PureSport Recovery drink post run and that kept me feeling great. Although I'm still really, really thirsty....

Now, I just need to make sure I stay on top of my nutrition and hydration for the rest of the day so I can tackle my two-hour core/spin this evening! :)

YAY IRONMAN TRAINING!

And so it begins...

2009-02-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

As the second graders were lining up to head off the lunch room, I hear a soft voice say "Shay -- will you grab my sweater for me? It's hanging on the back of my chair."

Shay said "Ok" and scampered off to retrieve it.

As Shay handed it to her, she softly replied, "Thank you, Shay."

He responded with a silly half grin, "You're welcome." And stepped into line behind her in the spot she was saving for him in line.

As I witnessed this I was thinking....awww, that's so cute! Then I thought about how sweetly Elise had asked, and how nicely Shay had responded and how he had that funny, quirkly look on his face...and then I thought....wait a minute..

Wasn't that Elise's name signed on the bottom of those little pink and red strips of paper that read "XOXOXOXOXO"!!! that I pulled out of Shay's backpack last week?!?!?!?!

Oh lord.

Failing...

2009-02-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

Found out something very interesting yesterday...

After a very, grueling (well, it was for me anyway) 14-miler that I turned into an 11-mile run, I was quite tired. Saying I bonked on that run would be an accurate depiction.

Upon further review, I think it was a nutrition problem. Having the kids home from school on Monday threw me off my game. Between hanging out, running around and general tom-foolery with them all day -- I realize (now of course) that 3 pieces of pizza (it was WHEAT crust Meredith!!) and a small Schlotzscky's (however the hell you spell that...) sandwich and maybe, MAYBE, 4 glasses of water is not really enough to:

(a) reload after a 50/3.5 brick on Saturday and a 16-mile run on Sunday
(b) prepare for 5:30am 14-mile run on Tuesday

Not. Even. Close.

I was tired when I woke up at 4am for breakfast....was *this* close to just going back to bed and running later, but since the kids were out of school Tuesday also, it was going to need to be then or never. So up I went.

Needless to say, the run SUCKED A$$. I took only 1 Gu at mile 7 -- so that probably didn't help matters. I made a deal with myself (you know how my conversations go....) that I could cut the route short BUT had to keep running. NO WALKING. Inked that deal and turned the 14 into 11 and called it a day.

Played with the boys and their friends all day until it was time to head to core. I was still very, very tired. I ate pretty well during the day, but just couldn't seem to get my energy level up. How the hell was I going to get through the night's core and spin? I had no idea.

Arrived at core with Mo and was fine with all the upper body and ab stuff.....but just couldn't get my legs to respond to the death lunges, frog jumps or any of the other lower body stuff. Seriously. Just Pathetic.

Got on my bike, woefully, and tried to warm up. Legs. Dead.

I motioned to Mo who was wandering the aisles doing his coaching thing. I said, "Mo. My legs are toast." I'm sure I looked just pitiful, begging for someone to put me out of my misery.

He replied, "You're here. Just spin out the legs easy for 30 minutes. Drink your recovery drink while your spinning. That's it."

"Ok."

So, I sat. And spun. (Spinned? Span?) I warmed up with the group. Coach Charles called out some cadences and gears. I figured I'll just follow along at maybe 1-2 easier gears and get this 30 minutes done, go home, lick my wounds and live to fight another day.

"Pick it up to 110" So, I picked it up to 110.

"Big chain ring, 2 gears from the outside. Stand it up. Let's go" I geared down, stood up, and went.

"Right leg only" Clicked out the left. Right oval. Right oval. Right oval.

He kept calling out the workout. I kept going.

Lo and behold I was 45-minutes in, had a good sweat going when Mo reappeared by my side. "How's it going?"

"Not bad, actually?! I feel ok!"

"Thought you might." And he left as quietly as he had come.

I ended up finishing the whole workout! I was definitely tired, but not kneeling on death's door as I had felt previously.

WTH? What kind of coaching mojo to coach mo...jo?

Turns out that for me, maybe it's the fear of failing that's worse then actually failing.

Mo gave me the permission to fail, so then it wasn't so crucial whether I failed or not...so I just let that go and gave it my best effort. And Voila! Go figure.

Damn, he's good. Thanks Maurice. Thanks T3.

Week #4 -- CHECK!

2009-02-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

Still hanging in there....

Swim: 2.5 hrs = 6600yds
(2-T3 swim classes)....still haven't gotten in BS yet...THIS WEEK, I SWEAR!

Bike: 6.5hrs
(1x1.5hr spin, 1x1.25hr spin, 58.5 mile Dam Loop ride)

Run: 7 hrs = 46 miles
(including 4.5mile recovery run, 16mile long run, 10miler w/4 miles at Tempo-ish, 12miler and 3.5 brick of the bike)

Core: 1hr
(2x.5hr core class)

Total Hrs: 17

When's that recovery week coming already? sheesh....

My lunch dates..

2009-02-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

... And a lesson on static electricity!!

Damn! The Dam Loop Brick

2009-01-31T15:03:00.000-08:00

I.AM.TIRED.

We did the Dam loop today. Plus a little 30-minute run afterwards. Just the first brick on our way to Ironman. No big deal, right?

Ugh. Hills, hills and more hills! But I actually had a really good time! There's something crazy fun about pushing yourself (figuratively and literally). So many times my legs were screaming..STOP! We've had enough! But just kept churning around and around and around.

Big thanks to all those who rode with me, especially Jen and Carrie who really made me work hard miles 25-58. Those girls can MOVE people. Whew.

It was also really cool to see all the T3 jerseys out there! Way to Represent!

On the final stretch home, it was Jen, Carrie, Blythe, Laurie and myself...all in our T3 jerseys. We agreed that we felt like some Hell's Angels bike group or something. It was Awesome!! We even made friends with some Harley guys when we stopped at a light at 360!!

The run off the bike was a brutal reminder of the joy of bricking. Yikes. My legs were really dead for the first mile, so I just locked into a slow-go-forever pace and tried to focus on my turnover. Before glancing at my Garmin, I was thinking I would be happy with a 9:30/M pace..but feeling like it was probably closer to 10:00. But lo and behold, it was 9:02! Sweet!

And by the end of the first mile, my legs were starting to remember how to run, and even though we had some hills (yea..thanks for that choice, Carrie! ;) I even managed to drop it down to 8:50 for the next mile.

By mile 3, I was tired but feeling actually ok at this point and managed to put together 8:25. And for the final .5, I dropped it to 8:12. Not too shabby for having just done 58 miles of hills, I think.

It was a good workout. I didn't eat NEARLY enough. One package of shot blocks at mile 25 plus drinking 2 bottles of gatorade throughout the whole ride. Plus, 1 Gu at the start of the run. That ain't going to cut it, sister.

Mo gave me some Carbo-Pro to sample for next time. Coach Logan's recipe: 4 scoops Carbo-Pro + 1 packet of PureSport (for Flava and stuff). I'll give that a whirl next time and see how it goes.

Afterwards, I inhaled some PureSport recovery. Then followed that with a YUMMY lunch at Galaxy with the team. Pretty much ate everything on my plate too. (Meredith - it was a wheat tortilla on my wrap...aren't you proud? Of course, I did have cheese, bacon, avocado and french fries also..the regular fries, not sweet potatoe..oops.)

All in all a GREAT morning/afternoon. Now a little rest and MORE food and playtime with the munchkins. Tomorrow's 16-miler will be here before I know it!

25 Random Things About Me

2009-01-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

(Did this as a FB exercise, but wanted to put it here -- as my blog gets fed into my journal, so killing two birds with one stone.)

1. I was born in London, England

2. When I moved to Texas (for the first time), I was THE ONLY 3-year old black girl in Oak Hill with a British accent -- you should've seen the looks I got.

3. I used to ski Mt. Fuji in Japan with my elementary ski team when I lived there for 4 years. I was fearless on the slopes. We would eat sugar packets on the ski lifts.

4. I love performing in front of large crowds in any shape or form - dancing, singing, cheering, acting, public speaking, athletic endeavors...you name it, I'll try it. Absorbing energy from a crowd is a high like no other.

5. My sister and I weren't such good friends while we were in high school, but once we both graduated we've become the best of friends. No matter where we live, we talk at least once a day. I love that.

6. I have a Stewart's body and a Richardson's face. I think I got the better end of that deal for the most part. (Sorry Traci!)

7. My arms and legs are disproportionately long for my torso. So much so that it is difficult to fit anything that has to fit both parts in one piece, like dresses, wetsuits and bicycles -- or swing bars in gymnastics. Sitting down I am shorter than someone who is 5'3 when they are sitting too. Seriously.

8. I once chewed off my toenail just offstage between dance numbers because it was killing me in my toe shoes -- and the show MUST go on.

9. I rollerskated down Hwy 71 to get to dance class once and had to jump off into the grass every now and then when a car got too close.

10. Willie Nelson jump started my truck one morning when I was out at Lake Travis.

11. I used to be a pretty good kickboxer. My reach is deceptive. (See #7)

12. I'm really proud of my sister for donating a kidney to my mother. But there was nothing scarier than sitting in the pre-op room between my mother and sister as they lay on surgery beds with all sorts of tubes, IVs, and monitors hooked up to them getting ready to be put under at the same time.

13. I applied, got in and flew out to Stanford by myself having never visited the campus..or California for that matter. It just seemed like it would be a fun adventure. And it was!

14. I was riding my scooter on campus when Loma Prieta hit...the quake in California the collapsed major highways and bridges. It was really scary. I was fortunate to be out in the open.

15. When I was 15, I pulled a friend out of a car when we were in a wreck. She was at least 6 inches taller than me. I was afraid the car was going to explode as there was smoke and the smell of burning things and the engine was still on. I had scrambled out the broken window since the car door was crushed closed, but when I looked back, she was just sitting there in shock. I remember running back, climbing half way into the car again and pulling her out. I have a great scar on my leg where a rod from under the seat when into my knee.

16. I graduated high school at age 17. I skipped the first grade. I attribute that to being in Montessori school for two years before going into first grade. I remember my first day of second grade. I was so small (see #7) that I could barely see over my desk. I sat on text books that year.

17. I've been pregnant 8 times. I have 2 kids. Miscarriages really, really, really, really suck.

18. I still can't believe I'm a mother. I love my boys so much it hurts sometimes. I can't even watch movies about kids being kidnapped, abused or hurt anymore. I pray everyday that I do right by them. THAT above all else will be my greatest accomplishment. EVER.

19. I'm claustrophobic. I think I first realized this when my sister used to wrap the covers over me and hold them tight. It freaked me out tremendously.

20. I like being in charge and in control. But it is nice to be taken care of every now and then too.

21. I struggle everyday with my decision not to continue pursuing my career full time. I use to imagine myself as the COO of IBM wearing a navy blue suit with a skirt that hits just below my knees and my hair pulled into a severe bun. Now that seems very far away and I struggle not to value myself by the size of my paycheck.

22. As a hobby, I was a professional cheerleader in the NBA for 6 years. 3 years with the Golden State Warriors and 3 years with the Minnesota Timberwolves. (You'd think I'd qualify for pension or something)I have NOT ruled out auditioning to be a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader yet. The audition process begins in April. Yes, I know this.

23. I literally fell on the floor of my dorm room when I received the call from Stanford's Graduate School of Business' Admissions Officer Marie Mookini telling me I had been accepted. I never thought I'd get in.

24. I never thought I'd run a marathon. But I did and now I'm going to Boston. I never thought I'd do an Ironman. But I will. In June.

25. Money does NOT buy happiness. True Love -- in its many forms -- does. Know this.

tiMING!

2009-01-29T07:31:00.000-08:00

That was awesome. Sometimes timing happens just right..on accident!

I was dropping the Devonator off at pre-school which is right next door to Shay's elementary. And just as I was walking out, I noticed that the 2nd graders were out doing their 1-mile run test!

I stood on the edge of the field and got to cheer them all around as they tried to finish 1-mile in 10 minutes...or run as many laps as they could in that time.

They were all surprised to see me the first time they came by and I was greeted with "Hi Mrs. Schaffner!!" and "What are you doing here?"

It was really fun encouraging them to just keep their legs moving. I kept yelling "Go Medium. GO MEDIUM!" Because most of them would go really fast for a bit and then walk and then really fast..and then walk. (Or maybe they were doing fartleks!)

The ones who did the best were those who went nice and steady.

Notables were Dylan (LoJo's son...going to be just like his mom...an ironman one day for sure) and Timmy ("Legs" Hanna's son....looking an awful like his old man...just eating up mileage at a good clip).

Shay needs to learn the "go steady" plan. Or maybe he's going to be a sprinter? We need to do some work on some easy, long runs with him I think. (note to self). Nonetheless, I think he made the "Titan Wall of Fame" with his run today. YAY!!!

Where'd it go?

2009-01-27T09:42:00.000-08:00

Last week, that is?

My goodness...it was a crazy, hectic one around this household. As if the normal schedule is crazy enough, here's a quick recap..as I won't bore you with the details...but in involved some of the following:

- school holiday, sick babysitter, mom's reconstructive knee surgery, watching the inauguration while she's in the recovery room while spinning on my trainer at home, 8-mile run while doing laundry, figuring out that waking Devon from his nap to get to gymnastics at the new time is NOT a good idea, kids swimming lessons, visiting GG in the hospital, getting up at the crack ass of dawn to run a chilly, hilly 10-miler through Rollingwood AND keeping up with my pace group, switching to low-fat cream cheese (not so bad after all!), dealing with Cheer moms (more on that later. ugh.), getting my ass kicked at spin by Coach Pain (loved it though -- keep it coming!), making 2 presentations to the community about our new Pop Warner organization (seriously, more coming on that in another post) and hanging out with Chance Mock (who is pretty hysterical, actually!), lunch with friends (YAY E!!), getting talked into braving the torrential winds and chills of a 60-mile Parmer bike ride and finishing (Thank you Logan, Joe, Noah, Elizabeth, JR, Yvonne and Michelle for being Team D and supporting me!), getting mom home from the hospital (Hooray!!), having my sister and her kids come in town (YAY!), pacing a friend to a PR at 3M the next day, Shay's Kings posting their first loss but parents recovering well with drinks and frivolity post-game at the Oasis.

Phew.

Week ending Training Stats:

Swimming: 1.25hrs (fell a little short here, but figured my 6.2 mile swim last Sunday would cut me a break this week)

Biking: 7hrs (including one hellacious 60-mile ride with wind that took me 4.5 hours)

Running: 5.75hrs (including 3M Half @ 8:15/M the day after my 60-mile ride)

Core: .5hrs

Total Hrs: 14.5 hrs

Just in case you were wondering what I was up to last week....there ya go.

My First 10K!

2009-01-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

That's right! I did it! My very first 10-K!!

Oh, did I mention that I was SWIMMING it?!!!

HOLY CRAP!

So, T3 does this annual craziness -- 100 x 100 Meter Swim Challenge. Naturally I had to give it a whirl. Yes, my typical swim workout is only around 3500 yards. Yes, the longest distance I've ever done is 2 miles. Yes, this would be THREE TIMES that...but what the hell, let's give it a whirl!

I figured it was in a pool, so worst case scenario (cramp up, seize up, run out of gas, whatever..) someone could easily save me, right?

Headed out to Lost Creek Pool with the rest of the crazy folks...took my handy-dandy carrier with drinks and snacks (per Logan's recommendation. Good call, by the way, thanks!)

It was basically like a regular workout -- just a whole lot longer. We had 10 sets of 10X100's of various things like paced swims, drills, pulls and kick sets.

It actually wasn't bad. We just kept churning through each 2:00 minute interval and knocking down 1,000's methodically. And before I knew it, we had finished 5,000! We got some fluids and fuel and carried on.

We started with maybe 7 or so in my lane, but after 6,000 there was only 3 of us left!! And at this point, we were closing in on 10:30...the cut off time. I was like, SHIT, there is no way I'm going to be able to finish another 4,000 before then. DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT!

But then I heard Joe in the other lane tell his peeps, No, she won't kick us out. I won't let her! YAY JOE!

But at 8,200 meters, Chrissie had to open up the other lanes for the members, so the remaining folks had to combine into two lanes. I ended up in a lane with Joe, Blythe, Katy, and Elizabeth. Here's where I started to sing "One of these things is not like the others....." and think "Lord, please just let me keep up. I don't want to get lapped. I won't rest in between 100's if that's what it takes, but don't let me get lapped!"

And sure enough, if I didn't rest, I didn't get lapped. So I did the next 1,000 meters the hard way with Katy breathing down my ass on the last 25 of each 100. SWIM, SWIM, SWIM! I imagined hearing her dropping F-bombs all over the place if I slowed her down at all, so that kept me really motivated to keep it going! ;)

It was really invigorating because those guys were on their LAST 1,000. So they were all pumped up. So when they finished and everyone was cheering, clapping, high fiving and getting out, I still had 800 to go!

I looked around. EVERYBODY was getting out. And I mean Everybody. But there was NO way in hell I was going to get to 9200 and quit! Are you freakin kidding me? Chrissie would have to forcibly drag me from the pool.

I was tired, but not completely dead. I knew at that point I could finish it. So, I took a breath, pushed off and swam.

The water was calm and still. There wasn't a single ripple save for the ones I made. The sun was out. The water was warm. Under the water was quiet and peaceful. It was a beautiful time to swim.

Touch, pull, roll. Touch, pull, roll. Touch, pull, roll. Breathe.

I settled into a steady, go-forever pace and just swam.

It took about a 100 meters or so for the others to realize I was still going. I wasn't just warming down. And that's when I started hearing the cheers and the encouragement from the few remaining folks. Lapuente sat on the starting platform at the end of the lane. I could see her and hear her at every 50. The Blakistones, Elizabeth, Jane, Mo clapping and cheering too. "Keep going, Dionn! You can do it!"

I drew from their energy and kept swimming. 700, 600, 500. I just kept going. Not resting. Just swimming slow and steady. I am going to finish. I. am. going. to. finish.

400 meters left? Piece of cake.

300 meters. That's like swimming at the Rookie. I kicked ass at the Rookie. Swim. Swim. Swim.

200 meters. Holy crap. I really AM going to finish!

100 meters. Sweet. I'm going to do 50 at this pace and then finish strong.

50 meters. Swim. Hard. Fast. BANG!

And I was DONE!

YES! I DID IT!!!

Cheers from the team surrounded me. I felt great! WOW! I did it. I actually swam 6.2 miles!!

My shoulders hurt, my mouth was dry and I felt like I had a chemical peel all over my body from being in that crazy chlorine for something like 4 hours.

But it all felt good!

THAT, people, was FU-UN!

Mo treated us to chocolate chip pancakes, eggs with cheese and lots and lots of yummy bacon. A just reward in my book!!

10,000 Meter Swim? CHECK!!

LSD

2009-01-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Wow. Where the heck did the week go?

Between standard workouts, a memorial ride, sick kids, a birthday, a new venture getting under way, internet technical issues, cold temps and hot RPCs... this past week really got away from me!

I am just taking a brief moment to sit down before the melee picks up again.

This weekend it is all about LSD...that's Long, Slow, Distance.

Yesterday it was a 50-mile bike ride. On my trainer. Oh joy. BUT, I got to watch 2 hours of my favorite show that always makes me cry, but which I'm kinda embarrased to admit I watch...but, hey...whatever, right?

Today it was a 14, uh no, 16, uh no.... 17.5! mile run. (Ok, Ruthie -- you really need to check the mileage on your maps!! Love ya!). It was long and DEFINITELY slow.

But Steve said between this new program and IM training in this endurance building phase, I'm going to get slower before I get faster...so I'm taking him at his word. PLUS, according to McMillan - I was within the range for my Long Runs anyway...so there! Hmpf.

And tomorrow, I will be attempting 100 X 100 meters swimming. Yep, that's not a typo. Something like 6 miles?? WHY? I dunno. Somebody said something about a "challenge" and you know me....can't say no. So tomorrow, I'll be jumping in the Lost Creek pool with a bunch of other crazy T3ers and see how far I can go.

Mind you, I've never swam more than 2 miles in a single setting...so it should be quite interesting!!!

Long and slow....that's my motto for the weekend. :)

Who's with me????

Fortitude Test #1 of 2009

2009-01-07T05:57:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning 4:00am came very, very early (especially since I was up through the end of the Texas game Monday night. GO HORNS!!) and to top it off I was hearing the pitter patter of rain drops outside the window.

A quick glance at the weather app on iPhone....is that first number a 4????? UGH!

Rainy AND Cold? Add in some apprehension about running with Team Rogue for the first time and the following conversation started:

IMWBD (IronManWannaBeD): I really should get up and get my breakfast locked and loaded so I can take care of everything before the workout begins.

D: I've gotten 4 hours of sleep. It is early. It is raining. It is cold. I'm only running 10. I'll just do it later.

IMWBD: Wimp. I bet the rest of Team Rogue will be there.

D: Oh yea? Let's just see. (Sends text to Fellow Roguer: Are y'all going to run in this weather? ugh.)
(while waiting for response)

IMWBD: You have 15 minutes to get your breakfast in, now get up and move it.
D: But it's raining and cold! It will be hard.
IMWBD: You think an Ironman's going to be easy?
D: well, no..but
IMWBD: Who knows what the weather's going to be like at the race...remember that one earlier this year in the northeast? miserable the whole time...did those guys not show up?
D: well, no..but
IMWBD: Are you telling me that you are only going to do things if they are nice, warm, easy and cozy?
D: well, no..but
IMWBD: but what?
D: nothing..let me get my breakfast down

FR(Fellow Roguer txt response): If no lightning, yes. :( I may skip.
D to FR: Ugh. It is really yucky out.
IMWBD to D: Uh....excuse me?
FR: Don't go. Run later. You have the luxury to do so. I like rain runs but not FREEZING rain runs.

(A standoff between D and IMWBD.)
D: See..even the hardcore peeps are sleeping in...
IMWBD: Is this really how you want to start your IM training of 6 months and Boston Marathon training? Really?
D: Well...no, not really.
IMWBD: Then don't.
D: (Checks in with heart, gut and soul) Ok. Let's do this thing.

D to FR: But I'm awake and have kid coverage so I'm going to go.
IMWBD to D: HOORAY!! (Fist pump and cheerleader jump!)
FR: Hmmmm. Now you're making me feel like a wuss. Wear rain gear! DUH!

(few minutes later)
FR: Ufck. I can't make up my mind!
FR: I'm out. I know, I'm a Wuss!
D: Wuss!! I'm on my way! Come!
FR: Nope. ZzzzzzzZzzzzzzzz
D: LOL! Bye Sleepyhead!

Once I was in the car, driving through the cold rain, I knew I was good to go. Getting the 10-miles in would be no problem. I was dressed pretty well (turns out later that I had on one layer too many -- typical of me) and the rain really wasn't all that bad with my jacket and cap on.

I ended up running with Sadie (a lurker on my blog who finally introduced herself to me -- HI SADIE!!) for most of the run and it was great! I'm looking forward to lots of great runs.

I did have to make a pit stop at Starbuck's. I don't think my system is used to running quite that early. Only one way to fix that though...keep doing it!!

BUT THEN....I still had core and spin to tackle in the evening. And that isn't anything you can just slide your way through.

Core wasn't too bad, until we started the leg stuff. On the frog jumps, I could barely get off the ground. Wow..my legs were tired. Planks were particularly challenging...more so than usual..but I managed to make it through.

On to spin! It took me quite some time to warmup and to get my tension dialed in appropriately on my trainer. And per usual, after about an hour in (beginning with core) I finally started feeling better! I was able to hit the gears and cadences as Mo called them out. I was even able to churn 120 RPMs when necessary!!

It felt good..but afterwards I was quite tired AND HUNGRY!! I locked and loaded a huge Spicy Chicken bowl from Zen (Yes Meredith -- with brown rice and white meat!).

Except for the leg cramps during the night (I need to work on my hydration strategy I think...), I slept like a freakin' ROCK!

And now on to today's workouts: lunch time swim and a 4-mile run while the boys have their swimming lessons.

Let's see how it goes...

Beware the Pyschobabble!!

2009-01-05T06:37:00.001-08:00

I love this email exchange between Erin and I that she just resent me today. Totally apropos after our IM CDA kick off meeting..

I begain innocently enough like this:

On Jun 15, 2008, at 11:32 AM, Erin wrote:
DID I JUST READ ON THE FORUM THAT YOU ARE DOING IMCDA NEXT YEAR?!!!!YOU MONSTER!!!!!

On Sun, Jun 15, 2008 at 8:20 PM, Dionn Schaffner wrote:
Save me.

On Jun 15, 2008, at 8:24 PM, Erin wrote:
I can't! Except you haven't signed up yet. You crazy girl.

On Sun, Jun 15, 2008 at 8:30 PM, Dionn Schaffner wrote:
You mean YOU haven't signed up yet. ....

On Jun 15, 2008, at 8:36 PM, Erin wrote:
oh, don't you dare for ONE MINUTE think that your drunk psycho-babble will convince me to do ID CDA. :)

On Sun, Jun 15, 2008 at 8:38 PM, Dionn Schaffner wrote:
LOL!! I'm just planting the seeds, my friend.

-----------------------------------
And after a few days, I received a forwarded Race Registration Confirmation for IM CDA for Erin!!!! to which I then sent the following email:

Date: Tue, Jun 24, 2008 at 8:26 AMSubject: Re: D!!!!!!!!! To: Erin
HAHAHA!!! My plan was successful! :D

VICTORY IS MINE!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Did I mention...

2009-01-05T05:54:00.001-08:00

HOW EXCITED I AM TO START MY IRONMAN TRAINING!!!!!!

Dude. Seriously.

I'M SO FREAKING EXCITED!! THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!!!

ok..sorry. but yes, I'm just a little bit pumped up.

Yesterday we had our kick off meeting and we got our training plan for the next 6 months. It was a little daunting looking at the calendar and seeing things like 100 mile bike rides on Saturday followed by 20 mile run on Sunday.

But then I was thinking about how strong I would feel when I'm able to knock that out (and hoping to be able to pull off a nice looking bikini to boot...)

It was interesting to see and hear the different reactions to the meeting around the room. There was excitement from some of the newbies like myself, some of the experienced Ironmen looking calm, cool and collected -- like it was just another day at the office, and then there was also some fear. I think it expressed itself in interesting ways...but I think at the root, it was fear. And that's understandable.

I am, also, a little fearful. But I think I'm going to attack that with energy, fervor, excitement, hard work, diligence, exuberance, perseverance and an enormous amount of enthusiasm!

Feel free to join in, borrow and/or contribute to the cause at any point!!!

WOO HOO!!!

Ready.......GO!

Not quite how they write it up...

2009-01-03T16:35:00.000-08:00

...but I did manage to get it done today.

I had a FANTASTIC ride in the glorious sunshine today. (85 and sunny in January? I love Austin.)

Big thanks to Tom B. and Chris G. for making some sweet draft zones for me to cruise in. I tried to pull a couple times...it would be mainly uphill...and let's just face it, I don't have as much to move up the hill as they do....but then we'd crest the hill and those two would go FLYING down past me. Of course then I would just snuggle into their draft, hold on tight and be pulled down the hill at breakneck speed!!

So sorry guys, I didn't pull my share! (I've got a lot of work to do in the next 6 months I'm afraid!)

I thought about bricking and getting my run done, but teammates started talking about breakfast and the run was quickly demoted!!

But I DID manage to get my run in this evening before sunset. And the weather was perfect! (In my opinion of course). Running in sleeveless shirt and shorts in January. Nice!!

So it wasn't quite the brick I had originally envisioned, nor getting up at the crack ass of dawn to run BEFORE my ride as was also suggested (Mark E - you are crazy!!), but it was done nonetheless.

YAY!!

Now, MORE football, pizza and beer! :)

And how about that wind and the very end! Holy SH#T!!!!

How should I Get 'Er Done?

2009-01-02T14:50:00.000-08:00

So, I'm wondering as I try to feather together my running buildup plan, the lovely Lydiard program (week 1 on the 70-mile plan..I SO fell off the wagon), with the beginning of my IM training plan.....

I need to cycle AND run tomorrow....40 miles on the bike and a 5 mile run.

I should just brick and get it all over with in one fell swoop, right?

Or should I ride in the morning and run in the afternoon....

What to do? What to do??

Suggestions? Votes?

Who needs 8 reindeer?

2008-12-30T13:40:00.001-08:00

When you have 1 Diesel??

And this is what happens if Santa doesn't bring what he asks for!!

I can't wait..

2008-12-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

I am SO excited for IM CdA training to kick off, it isn't even funny.

I can't wait to start logging some serious hours of running, biking and swimming.

(and maybe throw some core in there I suppose...)

Yesterday I had a nice two-a-day workout (swimming and running) and it just plain felt good. The swim was awesome. We knocked out 3350 yards and I still felt like going after we were done. (Ok, maybe I didn't go hard enough then, but whatever...I stayed on the intervals Coach Suzanne set for our lane, so there. hmpf.)

Then went running with the boyz in the neighborhood. And that means pushing Devonator in the stroller. (Did I mention he's topping 40 pounds now?) It wasn't a terribly long run (Week 1 Lydiard calls for 3 miles, but I did 4) and still managed to keep a pretty good clip pushing the stroller. And it felt good too! (well, except for the wheezing part...was there some crazy allergens in the air yesterday? mold? pollen? I swear I needed an inhaler...)

And I was very proud of the Shay-monster riding on his bike. He knocked out the 4 miles with no problem, nary a complaint or anything. He starts swimming again next Monday. Now how can I sneak some track workouts in on him...hmmmm. (Can you see where I'm going with this? hee hee...)

This Sunday is our T3 IM CdA kick off meeting and we get our schedules! YAY!!!! I've got my new long sleeve wetsuit also, so I'm ready to start my cold water training as well. (I will need some help here, so anyone who is interested in helping me get my butt into Barton Springs and the low water crossing on a regular basis PLEASE let me know!!! seriously.)

So, bring it on! Let's do this thing! WOO HOO!!

It's gonna be fu-un!! Who's with me?????!!!!!!!!

Everybody's Waiting...

2008-12-23T07:06:00.000-08:00

...on Christmas!

Christmas Fun

2008-12-20T09:06:00.001-08:00

stole this from Mike who stole it from Erin. Just too awesome not to...enjoy!

I can't decide which portrait to buy!!

2008-12-18T05:55:00.000-08:00

He actually took GREAT pictures this year! But now I can't decide which one to get?

Help! Take my poll (in the right hand bar):

Pose 1:

Pose 2:

Baking with the little man...

2008-12-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

His favorite! Blueberry MUFFINS!!

You know it is marathon season when...

2008-11-20T07:06:00.000-08:00

you put down 42 miles in 5 days.

Whew!!

That's right. 42 miles. Running. Under my own power.

Woo Hoo!!

R.I.P. Chewy

2008-11-16T07:46:00.000-08:00

No matter how big or how small, pets touch our lives in many ways.

Chewy was a good friend and a good hamster. We will miss building mazes for him, sneaking him extra sunflower seeds (even though he was quite the pudgy hamster already), oiling his wheel so it doesn't squeek ALL NIGHT and catching him in the his hamster ball before he takes a tour of the steps(!).

Shay requested a proper burial and services and how could I not oblige. We even invited a few friends over.

Here's Shay working on the burial site:

Shay laid hands on Chewy's grave and said some final words:

With a recent photo and a popsicle stick cross, Chewy is laid to rest. Good bye Chewy. We will miss you.

2008 Tri Season In Review

2008-11-13T09:23:00.000-08:00

Season #5 has official come to a close as I look at my calendar and see no more triathlons on the schedule. It is bittersweet because, let's face it, I love racing -- but I know I should take a break. (Plus, I don't think there are anymore..other than IMs of course..or are there?..wait! Don't tell me..I'm taking a break..I'm taking a break..I'M TAKING A BREAK! but if you feel like whispering one to me, I won't hate you..)

Looking back, here's how my season went down:

Spenco Sprint Tri (4.6.08)
*not originally on schedule, I blame Erin for planting the wild hair seed
1:12:46
Age Group: 1st place
Gender: 3rd place

The Rookie Tri (5.10.08)
0:59:42
Age Group: 2nd place
Gender: 13th place

CapTex Olympic (5.25.08)
*debacle in the water -- part deaux
3:14:50
(I know, I know...I KNOW..ugh.)

Danskin (6.08.08)
*running with Plantars..fun! NOT!
1:26:56
Age Group: 4th place

Couples Tri (7.13.08)
*D and E Rocking the race!
1:23:13
Division: 3rd Place

Jack's Generic (8.3.08)
1:17:47
Age Group: 3rd place
Gender: 13th place

Sweet and Twisted (8.24.08)
1:28:58
Age Group: 9th place

Longhorn Half Iron (10.5.08)
5:38:32
Age Group: 21st place

USAT/Halfmax Half Iron National Championships (10.18.08)
6:24:12
Age Group: 12th place

IronStar Half Iron (11.9.08)
6:12:15
Age Group: 2nd place

Summary Metrics:

5 out of 10 podium placements
New Half Iron PR
3 Half Irons within 35 days
Qualified for 2009 USAT Nationals
Qualified for 2009 USAT Worlds (!!more to come on that!!)

Not too shabby for a season's worth of work! :)

And I have to say many, many, many thanks to my family, friends, babysitters, coaches, training partners, volunteers, cheerleaders and lurkers. I seriously couldn't have done any of this without you. THANK YOU! (Come find me, I will buy you beers..many, many beers.)

Next Year's Highlights:

(UPDATE: after much flack for not representing my true intentions, I've thrown in the B and C races I plan on doing also...alright? sheesh. This is just a preliminary wish list!!!)

February 2009 - AT&T Austin Marathon

April 5, 2009 - Lonestar Half Iron

April 20, 2009 - Boston Marathon

May 10, 2009 - Rookie Tri

June, 2009 - Danskin

June 21, 2009 - Ironman Coeur d'Alene (Idaho)

July 12, 2009 - Couples Tri

August 2, 2009 - Jack's Generic

September 20, 2009 - Halfmax National Championships (Oklahoma)

October 18, 2009 - Longhorn 70.3 (crap..that's not really going to work is it?)

October 25, 2009 - ITU World Championships (Perth, Australia)

Wow. It's gonna be a fun year! Who's with me???

3 x 70.3 in 35

2008-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Yep...that's right.

3 Half-Irons over 35 days.

I'm sure there are people who had done more, but for me...that was a lot!! (But I loved it anyway!!) Some people said I'm crazy. Which may be true. But my favorite response has been: "You are a MACHINE!" Me likey. The D Machine. YES!!

And now, my Conroe Race Report!!!

Let me begin my commenting on how powerful the mind is... I was in complete denial about the weather for the weekend...I literally did not think about it at all...well, rather that I was blocking it, because you know how am I about the cold....

Therefore, the only thing I arrive in conroe with in addition to my regular racing gear are my arm warmers. What I needed was a PARKA! HELLO! It was really, really cold...at least to me (and a few others I would hazard a guess when I looked around at the faces at the race).

Blasko was nice enough to lend me his spare pair of gloves, so I had those too...thank goodness!

But let us begin and the beginning...the swim....which under normal (read: warm) circumstances is a strength..but throw the cold in there and it becomes my biggest weakness. (What am I doing signed up for CdA?!@??!?!?#?!?$??&?@#?%#$!!)

So, I wade into the water in my !#!$%! sleeveless wetsuit and am instantly bummed that the water doesn't feel any warmer than the 40 degree air temperature. Crap. I ducked under the water to get my face wet and try to get my body acclimated to the temps, but it was no good.

I positioned myself in the second row and when the gun when off I started off, put my head in, took a stroke...and came up gasping. Wow. It was really cold. I could feel my chest clenching tight in rebellion. Ok, D, let's try that again. Put my head in, took another stroke. NO! Popped right back up, gasping for breath. Oh no, here it comes...the panic creaping in...wetsuit choking me..too tight...can't breathe... I stood there (the water was only waist deep) and watched the ENTIRE wave of women swim off without me..... I walked through the water....looked back at the swim entrance...it wasn't so far away...I could just turn around, walk out, put my warm sweats back on..cheer for the day...I had nothing to prove today...was just here for fun...if it's not fun, why do it...I could just turn and walk out...but I kept walking away from the start...deeper and deeper into the water....come on, D....pull it together....I thought of Lupuente and reached for my zipper and pulled it down about half way...more cold water slushed in...but the relief across my chest was heavenly...I took a full breath for the first time....ok, D.....you can swim..you are a good swimmer...you rock at swimming...just put your head in the water and swim...but, it's cold...put your head in the water and swim...the water was up to my chest now...put your head in the water and swim, D......now....DAMMIT, NOW! ok...ok.....OK! I put my head in....took a stroke..then another....then a breath....then another stroke...and another...and breathe...Hey! I'm swimming! Yes! I can do this! Slow and steady..here we go...just swim nice and easy...the PR is all gone for today....just swim....

And with that I finally settled into my pace. Before I knew it, I was passing the bulk of the ladies in my wave. I guess I wasn't that far behind after all. It felt like I stood there fighting with myself for a good 5 minutes, but maybe it wasn't that long after all. I knew I wouldn't catch the fast ladies in the front, but I ended with a 39 minute swim time. Definitely not my best, but not my worst either.

And as I exited the swim ramp, I thought to myself, I've already won today. I don't care what happens next, but I stood teetering on the edge of my own personally created disaster and stepped back and carried on. HUGE MENTAL WIN.

With that I leisurely entered T1, dried off with a towel, watched some of the other ladies zoom in and out and actually said the person next to me, "Wow! Those girls are really moving! If I was racing today, I'd be concerned about that." And proceeded to put on arm warmers, gloves AND my Stanford underarmour shirt on over my T3 Jersey. Yes, it was that cold. If I had my swim parka, I might've put that on too!!

After a nice stay in transition, I headed out on my bike. The course was beautiful! It was a nice, 56-mile rolling jaunt that took you through Sam Houston National Park (I think that was the name of it...). I settled into a comfortable pace and tried NOT to think about the cold. I focused on getting my nutrition down, staying aero and flat pedal strokes. That last part was interesting because my feet were so cold I couldn't feel anything at all. I just hoped they would thaw out by the time my run started.

I tooled along enjoying my ride, passing a few folks along the way (even chicked some dudes going uphill!), getting passed by a few folks...until a few folks turned into two ladies...in my age group....HEY! Wait a damn minute. Even though I'd already turned off the "competitor" switch, after I saw the ages on their leg, auto pilot kicked in and the switch went ON!

I kicked it up a little, caught up to them and passed them. We played back and forth, dropping one gal in the process....then there were two of us. The one remaining gal had passed me and started pushing the pace more and I decided I would let her go for now (keep her in my sights of course) and take her down on the run. But then as we approached an aid station, I saw her pull over..not slow down as in to take a bottle up...but to stop and make a potty stop.

Aha! So, the minute I saw her unclip, I bottled up, locked the beverage into my aero bottle and dropped the hammer for a bit. I figured if I could get far enough away where she couldn't see me, either her spirit would be broken or she'd fire it up and try to come and hawk me down....either way, she was going to have to work. And that seemed like a good plan for me.

I finished the bike without seeing her. (Of course I never looked back, but she didn't pass me, so I really have no idea where she was...) I felt good in T2, shedding all my layers as the sun was finally out and I could feel my toes again! YAY!! I grabbed my run nutrition, hit the potty and headed out.

The run was full of twists and turns through a neighborhood so we got to see alot of the other athletes over and over as we went in and out of probably every culdesac in the 'hood. I settled in to a nice easy pace. I really just wanted to complete the run steady and with no cramping! I walked through aid stations, took my nutrition and my electrolytes on schedule, then around mile 8, guess who came running past me! It was her!!

Oh ho ho! So you caught me, did you? Ok, it's on now, sister! I was feeling quite good on the run so I decided to be a strategic b*tch and just mess with her. I literally ran 1-2 feet behind her for several miles. I know she knew I was there. It was quiet enough where you can hear footfalls and breathing of the other runners and I was in lock step behind her. When she slowed down, I slowed down. When she walked through water stops, I walked through water stops. When she started running, I started running.

I figured, I'm a kicker. I felt good and if I could keep her just in front of me, when we got to mile 11.5 or so, I would drop the hammer and hit it hard. She might be able to counter, but I would have the element of surprise to get a little head start and she would have to really work to come take it from me.

So there was a little bit of a hill, just after the last water stop (that we had walked through...me following her lead)...so even though we had just started to run after the water stop...she walked on that next uphill.

I debated what to do. I didn't feel like walking, but I didn't want her behind me with that far to go...but as I was debating I passed her on part of the uphill. Dang it. There goes my element of surprise.......unless....I neared the crest of the ridge and slowed to a walk. I could hear her walking up the hill also. I was over the top and now on a little bit of a flat, but she hadn't caught back up yet and wasn't running yet. So I continued to walk...so did she... Dang it!!

So then I actually stopped. Bent over. Stretched my hammies (like they were bothering me or something.....what? It could've happened!!) And finally she passed me.....running again.

Phew. So I gave her about 10 yards and then started running again. I closed on her pretty quickly and she was laboring in her stride and with her breath. I looked at my garmin and it said 12-something miles, so I said, the hell with it...let's do this thing.

I picked it up and passed her! I kept it steady, leaning forward into my stride, forefront striking on my feet, even steady breaths and was moving nicely.

I could see the volunteers near the finish line, hear the announcer and see some of the finishing hoopla not too far ahead. Then I saw the mile 13 marker....I took a quick peek behind me, saw that she wasn't too close, then put together and nice strong finishing run! YAY!!

I am so mean. I will/would be so pissed if someone did that to me. But as some of my other Type A friends reminded me when I told them what I had done, said Hey. It's a race. That's just competing!

After seeing the results, I beat her only by 30 seconds (lord, do I know how THAT feels!). But it was nice to be on the winning side of that little battle this time!

So all in all, I had a great day. A huge mental win, some fun on the course and a 2nd place Award to boot!

And many, many thanks to all my T3 teammates racing with me, surprise appearances by friends from Austin cheering, and all the other volunteers. I would DEFINITELY recommend this race to anyone next year. Just be really, really mentally and physically prepared for the cold! ;)

Big thanks to Maggie for the pics! Here I am before the swim...freezing and faking a smile for the camera.

And here I am having a total mental celebration that I survived the swim! YAY ME!

Here I am on the run, flat out enjoying myself!

And so, I don't get grief from Mike...here's my award!

ps. Yes, I know I haven't posted a Vegas Halfmax report yet...it's coming! I swear!

Simply Amazing

2008-11-05T05:36:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a night last night! YAY OBAMA!

But even more exciting to me than his victory was the comment made by Shay this morning. Recently in his class, each student selected a President to study and then do a report to the class. Shay chose Abraham Lincoln. I think mostly because he remembered studying him last year in first grade.

Here's what Shay said to me this morning after I told him Obama won and was the first black president, ever...in the history of our country:

"Wow. Abraham Lincoln freed the black people in 1863. And now a black man gets to lead the country, just like Abraham Lincoln."

(And then I couldn't help but think, Let's just hope he doesn't depart the office the same way Lincoln did. Can you say beef up security, please?)

Wow, indeed.

Here's a pic of our President-Elect that I snapped this past winter when E and I randomly ran into him on the trail. (Here's a recap of how that went down) It was weird...even then, I knew I was in the presence of something remarkable.

It's never to early to start planking!!

2008-11-04T07:06:00.000-08:00

Best Home Security System

2008-10-28T06:24:00.000-07:00

Meet Officers Diesel and Boco.

My Disney Princess

2008-10-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

Check out my niece in her Halloween outfit!

Some say....

2008-10-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

You can tell a lot about a person by the contents of their fridge.

What in the world is mine saying about me???!!!?

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom

2008-10-22T06:05:00.000-07:00

YIKES!

Can you identify this bad boy??

Bike Build

2008-10-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

Check!

And so it begins...

2008-10-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

Today is a school holiday, so the boys are at home and have some friends over. The land line rings, I don't recognize the number, but it is local -- so I answer it.

Me: Hello, Dionn Schaffner
Her: Hi, Mrs. Schaffner....um...(giggles in the background)....uh...can we talk to Shay?
Me: (Surprised) Oh, Shay...uh....who is this?
Her: It's Jenna and Connelly
(2nd grade classmates of Shay's)
Me: Hi girls! Just one second...... SHAY -- PHONE FOR YOU
......
Shay: who is it Mom?
Me: Girls?
Shay: (blushing) nuh uh...who is it really?
Me: I'm serious...its Jenna!
Shay: oh my gosh, ok......(takes the phone)...Hi Jenna S.
...uh huh...
...yea....
....just hanging out...Cameron and Jack are here...we are playing the Wii...
...uh huh...
...ok...hang on..
(to me) Mom, they want to know if I can come over?
Me: (Dear lord...someone save me now) We'll have to make a plan for another day since you already have company.
Shay: (bummed)ok.....(on the phone) ..I can't today, I have company...
...yea....
...ok...
...bye...
(hangs up phone)
Cameron: Who were you talking to on the phone Shay?
Shay: Jenna S. and Connelly
Cameron: Why are they calling you?
Shay: Cause they wanted me to come over.
Cameron: To her house?
Shay: yea..
Cameron: OOOOhhhhhh....cool!
Shay: yea.

They are 8. EIGHT!!!! omg. I'm not ready for this. Not. Ready.

1+2=2009

2008-10-08T08:38:00.001-07:00

After some investigation off a hot tip from a friend, it looks like I qualified for the Halfmax National Championships in my age group for the Half Iron for 2009!!!

WOO HOO!!!

While last year I got in under the Option 1 rule (top 33% in a qualifying race...which was last year's Longhorn...I was 8th in my AG..but it was a much smaller and local field), I wouldn't have made the Option 2 rule which was by time, 5:45.

So when I was getting set to do THIS year's Longhorn, my A goal was to come in around 5:3x but my B goal was to get it in undfer 5:45, just so I could feel good about qualifying not because of who showed up that day, but on the basis of my own personal performance.

However, since Ironman 70.3 took over the Longhorn race, I didn't think it was going to be a qualifying race NOR would results be eligible for USAT Nationals qualifications. (I thought it was ONLY at qualifying races..). But lo and behold, you can qualify at a qualifying race OR at any USAT sanctioned half iron distance. I did not know this until yesterday. AND I didn't know that USAT Nationals changed their qualifying time for my age group down to 5:40!!

FORTUNATELY, I met my A goal and came in at 5:38, which qualifies me on my time. AND I was 21st out of 91 in my age group, so that would put me in the top 33% anyway.

Option 1: CHECK
Option 2: CHECK

=

2009 Halfmax National Championships in (wait for it......) Oklahoma City? Oh well.

ROAD TRIP!!!!

Rockin the Longhorn 70.3

2008-10-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

Wow. Let me just first say thank you to all my friends, teammates and coaches for being ALL OVER the course yesterday cheering me on! That was so awesome and inspiring!

Especially on the run course, everytime I thought about slowing down there would be a friend on the side hollering, clapping, cowbelling, handing me electrolytes and just supporting me along the way. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

And, wow, did T3 put the TEAM in Team Triathlon Training! There was T3 blue EVERYWHERE!!!! That freakin' ROCKED!!

Now, on to the report.....

I felt pretty good going into the race on Saturday, save a few pre-race jitters...until they escalated into MAJOR jitters when they announced that the race was going to be wetsuit legal. WETSUIT LEGAL? DECKER??? How can that be possible. Shit. Shit. Shit. I have a love/hate relationship with my wetsuit...mostly because whenever I wear it, the water is cold...and as you know, I don't do well in cold water. And once I had decided NOT to do the Austin Tri this year, I put my wetsuit away until January (when I start training for IMCDA!) and literally have not been in it OR cold water since CapTex (the debacle). I could have really freaked out, instead I thought about the Ironman and how on that race day you just have to be prepared for whatever the race gods throw at you that day (wind, rain, cold, flats, loss of nutrition, cramps, etc.) and play through it....so I figured this would be good practice for that. Yes, my eyes are already on the IM prize. :)

I am a pro at the clusterf*ck known as racing at Decker Lake. I arrived early and got shuttled over to the race site with plenty of time and no problems. I mean it's not like I was going to be sleeping that morning anyway, so might as well get an early start and save the stress and headaches for those other folks who were not so fortunate. (I bet they'll be early next year though!)

Got into transition, set up my gear, hit the potty (several times of course) and meandered down to the swim start. Met up with fellow T3ers and chatted and was quite relaxed before the start...surprisingly so. So much, in fact, that Erin, Michelle and I were dawdling around when we noticed our swim wave was in the hole and getting ready to get in the water!! So we hustled down (shit...just realized I left my flip flops at the race..dang it!!), dropped my shoes and sidled into line. Saw Coach Pain at the start..she gave high fives all around. We waded into the water and positioned ourselves in our favorite spots...at least I did...I lost E once we started walking into the water.

I found my favorite outside edge (even though I was getting hung up in the hydrilla) and posted up there. I was excited about the course because it had several things in my favor..or rather that I like. First, it was a counter-clock wise course, which is perfect for me because I breathe on the left. So, I get on the far right hand side and with every breath, I can see the buouys and all the swimmers..including my fellow ladies in the pink caps. It was a great way to swim and I rarely sighted...just kept my eye on the ladies leading our wave. The second piece is that is was a nice triangle shaped course...lots of long straight aways, which I love. I'm pretty straight in open water, so I wouldn't have to sight a bunch. Just keep my head down and swim.

A big group took off really quickly, but 1.2 is a long way to go and my swim mentality generally is build and finish strong... I had quite awhile in the water to catch them...I wasn't worried. And soon enough, I pulled up on the outside of them and just matched them stroke for stroke. We were really moving and plowed through many in the wave(s) ahead of us. I think there was one or two who pulled away ahead of us, but then a gaggle of us all came out of the water together at a 1:24/M pace in about 27:00 minutes (which we found out later wasn't quite right..the course was short ~300M...so that would put my pace at 1:41/M....which I will TOTALLY take!).

In T1, I was completely jazzed about my swim. No wetsuit issues and a speedy time. Awesome start! And just a couple of bikes missing from my rack. Sweet!

On to the bike. I had a good, uneventful ride. I passed some folks, got passed by others. Passed Blythe (she must have been talking on the phone or texting or something, I'm not sure..) who then later came roaring past me with Erin in tow around Mile 15. I tried to keep up with them for a bit, but then said to myself, "That pace is NOT in your race plan. Today's race is NOT about position, it's about time...stay with your plan. STAY WITH THE PLAN." So I dialed it back and hunkered down to my steady pace.

I THOUGHT I was following my nutrition right on plan, but somehow I got behind and entire bottle of electrolytes. (I usually do one bottle per hour) I only went through two...but I was on the bike for just shy of three hours. Ooops. Yep..I was going to pay through the nose (or rather the legs) for that later...

However, I came into T2 after posting 2:53 on the bike, which beat my time of goal of 3:00 on the bike! Sweet!! I went a little harder than last year and then I think my race wheel gains were negated by the additional wind this year, so I think my 19.4 mph (vs last years 18.4) was legitimate fitness gain! YAY!

On to the run! The first 4-5 miles went great! I actually thought my garmin was broken because it said my pace was somewhere between 7:55-8:15! What? That couldn't be right...but I felt great running....until the leg cramps starting showing up. Holy crap...those HURT! I've never had that happen before. And all I have to say is THANK YOU to all the teammates, friends, coaches and everyone else who yelled, encouraged, sprayed, gave me water, ice, gatorade, electrolytes and anything else to keep me going through my leg cramps. I would not have crossed the finish line without you. Seriously.

Even though my overall run time was abysmal and did not meet my time goal (sub 2:00), I was very encouraged by the pace I was running in between leg cramps. I feel pretty confident that when I get that nutrition hiccup taken care of, I will get that time right where I want it!

In the end, my goal was to go 5:3x and I made it! 5:38!(Perhaps with a little help from a shorter swim), but whatever...I'll take IT!!

Now to make a call to Meredith before my Vegas trip next week. Holy crap. I have to do another 70.3 the weekend after next?? Who signed me up for all this craziness??? Oh wait..that was me, wasn't it. Someone save me...from myself.

GO HALFMAX!!!

In the name of literacy...

2008-10-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

...reading to Chewy (the hamster).

Swimming with the Big Dogs

2008-10-01T10:53:00.001-07:00

This was the cheer going through my head today at swimming:

Keep up!. (clap,clap)
Don't get lapped! (clap, clap, clap)

Keep up! (clap, clap)
Don't get lapped! (clap, clap, clap)

(repeat)

Why? You may wonder... Because I found myself swimming 3200 with Ben.
And Hanna. And Logan.

Is it time for a nap and what time is track practice??? ...help...

Getting ready for the Longhorn

2008-10-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year...time to get your game face on, people. Nope, not just football this weekend. It's Half Iron time!! WOO HOO!!

For early week inspiration, I've been re-reading my race report from last year:

(HALF) Ironwoman - Hear Me Roar!

Man, I had a good time at this race last year. I'm hoping for a repeat performance in terms of fun, minimally!!

Shot in the dark

2008-09-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

YOU:
License plate: Z1Y-705
Black, dodge heavy duty 4x4 driving eastbound on 2222 between 620 and
360 at 10:15am

Why do you think it is ok to put trash in the back of your pickup so
that when you drive it blows out all over the highway?

And I'm pretty sure your suped up four wheel drive has at least one
ash tray in it, so why don't you use that instead of flicking your
ashes out your window.

Oh! And how very thoughtful of you to toss your butt out the window
into the drought ridden grass on 2222. I always wondered how those
grass fires by the road get started.

Ass hat.

As if doing laundry isn't hard enough..

2008-09-29T20:27:00.000-07:00

Try washing his beloved blankie!!

Awesome workout day!

2008-09-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

It was nice to get back into the swing of the workout schedule following the hoopla of VEGAS from thursday to sunday. (Details to come when the pictures are sensored....um..yeah....)

Anyway, I had a GREAT swim in Logan and Ben's lane. And even though the water was chilly at first, I jumped in and got my swim on. I even got a thumbs up from Coach Mo for good body position and hand shadowing. It was funny because as I was swimming the length up to the side where he was standing I kept thinking, Hey -- I think I'm doing it right! And lo and behold, I WAS! YAY!

Then at track practice we partnered/grouped up to do Fartlek's around the trail. 2 minutes easy, 1 minute hard, 2 minutes easy, 2 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy 3 minutes hard...you get the idea...up to 5 minutes hard then back down again. I ended up with Suzanne and Maggie Caldwell (who I finally had the extreme pleasure of actually meeting in person!). I was thinking, holy shit, I hope I had enough to eat this afternoon -- because I'm going to need it to keep up! And lo and behold, I KEPT UP! YAY!!

The run felt good..although I was trying on a new pair of shoes..and I'm feeling a little bit of shin pain now...I'm going to switch my inserts to the new pair and see if that helps....I really, really, REALLY don't want to have sore feet/legs again. Cuz that really, really, really sucked!

3300 yards swimming and 5.5 miles of quality running. I'll take it!!

Now of to bed to prepare for the big birthday bash for Shay tomorrow! So many, many things to do! YIKES!

Confirmation

2008-09-17T05:59:00.001-07:00

Sometimes as a parent, I wonder if my kids actually enjoy some of the craziness I sign them up for. (Grammar police, please excuse the proposition at the end of the sentence.)

Take tackle football for instance. You know there is football in our blood, but you never know if the kids are going to take to it and really enjoy it...or would they just tolerate it and do it because they think we want them to do it. I don't want to be one of THOSE moms that makes their kids do something they really don't enjoy.

When we first approached Shay with the idea of signing up for tackle football this fall, he was a little hesitant in that he wasn't sure how it was going to feel getting hit and tackled. Between some parental persuasion and peer pressure, he agreed to sign up. Our approach has always been: give it a try and if you really don't like it, you don't have to sign up for the next season.

After the first practice in full pads and through the first couple of games, you could see the progression going through Shay's head like "wow...that still kinda hurts even with pads on" then onto "I'm gonna blow this kid off the block! Take THAT!"

And last night at practice, Coach Hanna handed out official Falcon playbooks to the kids. And completely unprompted, this was the scene at breakfast this morning:

I almost burst into tears. Studying his playbook over breakfast. I love football season. And even way more than that, I love my kid.

Happy Birthday Shay!

My Official Cougar Card?

2008-09-15T16:51:00.001-07:00

Ok...seriously...WTH?

I know I'm getting close...BUT I'M NOT THERE YET!! QUIT PUSHING ME DAMMIT!

Yes, I'm a dork. I know. Carry On.

2008-09-14T05:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday for our long ride and given the unpredicatability of Ike (which as we know turned to be nothing for us to worry about here in Austin), the T3 long ride was schedule to be held indoors at the compound.

While some shudder at the thought of riding 4+ hours on a trainer inside...I actually don't mind it. (I've done a 5.5 hour stint by myself before! Whatever it takes, man...what...ever..it..takes.)

You get to chat with your friends, regardless of how much faster or slower they are than you. You are never more than maybe 1 minute from a restroom. You can bring as much nutrition as you could possible want and simply hop off your bike for a quick sec to refuel. You can watch movies, talk on the phone, email, chat...hell, blog if you really felt like it.

So, really I didn't mind one bit.

It was actually quite fun! We watched Wedding Crashers first. (I'd forgotten how funny that movie is!) and THEN, they popped in the DVD from the 2006 Kona Ironman. How perfect! And as dorky as I am, I was totally fired up! Make cadence and effort picked up as I watched all the stories unfold....it was cool to see the folks I've met and trained with for a week in San Diego and to watch Desiree's story and success unfold. Team Hoyt coverage always makes me cry. I seriously can't even tell non-triathletes the story without a few tears escaping. I mean, seriously, how can you not? And to see the late night finishers crossing the line in the dark. It is just a testament to the drive and perserverance of everyday mortals. I LOVE IT!

It was also really cool to look over and see Mo working hard on his trainer like everyone else. (And he literally created a pool of sweat under his bike...not a puddle...a POOL!) I'm excited to just be participating in the Halfmax race in Vegas with Chrissy and Mo. It is somehow oddly motivating to be competiting and doing something your coaches are doing too.

I also like seeing Jess, Jeremiah, Michelle, Maggie and others who are in the throes of IMAZ training, working their tushies off and thinking: "Hey -- that's going to be me in a few months. Throwing down the ironman distance training hours.....so....cool." I can't wait.

I think I've got my long ride nutrition under control, because I felt really good after the 3.5 hours and even agreed to brick run afterwards. (I didn't know we had one...guess I'd better start paying closer attention to the schedule.) It was just a 30 minute run, but I felt GREAT! No dead legs after just hoping off the bike or anything. (Granted the first .5 mile is downhill so I'm sure that helped.)

All in all, it was a great morning/afternoon of riding, running, talking, eating, hydrating and motivating.

Thanks T3. Thanks Austin.

M.O.M Degree

2008-09-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

M.O.M -- stands for Masters in Operations Management

Due to hurricane Ike, instead of going to Houston this weekend, my sister's family came here! YAY!!

The only issue is they came yesterday (their dad drove them) and my sister (who is on a business trip in Pittsburgh) couldn't get a flight from Pittsburgh to Austin until Saturday night!

SO...I've got my niece and nephew today (who don't have school), Shay (who has school -- OH, only until 12:45...because they are letting all the schools out early to avoid crazy traffic issues and free up the buses for evacuee transportation) and the Devonator (who has gymnastics this morning -- OH and I'm in charge of carpool to and from gymnastics today.)

So far this morning has gone like this:

1:30 am - console Devon from bad dream and give sippy cup of milk and cuddle back to sleep

3:30 am - Dogs decided they HAVE to go outside to potty.

3:45 am - Dogs decide they are done being outside and want back in.

4:30 am - Devon arrives at my bedside stating "I had a bad dream, can I get in your bed?"

4:31 am - Haul 40 pounds, plus blankie and binkie into bed

5:30 am - wonder why I have only about 6 inches of a king size bed to sleep on, but smile when a pudgy little hand reaches over and touches my face

6:00 am - hear loud rucus from upstairs where Shay and his cousin are horsing around

6:30 am - Get up to get Shay ready for school, realize Devon's gymnastics uniform somehow did not make it through the wash cycle -- so start a load of laundry
6:45-7:20 am - Get Shay fed breakfast, nag him to get dressed, put his name on homework, brush teeth, wash face, put homework in backpack, take vitamin, hop on bike and get him started on sidewalk to school, I will catch up after I check on remaining 3 kids.
7:22 - I follow on my bike carrying backpack which Shay forgot
7:35 - arrive at school with Shay, lock up bike, check with principal regarding lunch time and early dismissal
7:50 - return home, change laundry, clean up kitchen following 3 kids having breakfast
8:00 - Roust Devon from my bed because we have 25 minutes to eat and get ready to leave for gymnastics
8:01 - Realize that last cup of milk for Devon wasn't a good idea, because now he has wet MY bed. Take off sheets. Change laundry and hope his uniform will be dry in 24 minutes
8:05 - Confirm with Lila's mom that I will be driving carpool to gymnastics today.
8:25 - Dress Devon in semi-dry uniform, load 4 carseats and 3 kids into Condo on wheels, depart for Lila's house
8:33 - Load up Lila, depart for Gymnastics
9:00-9:45 - Entertain niece and nephew for 45 minutes at gymnastics club while Devon and Lila have class
10:15 - return home, change laundry, shower, check email, voicemail, blog.

and the rest of the day should be like this:
11:15 - depart with 3 kids for target to buy two more numchuks for the Wii so all four kids can play Lego Starwars
11:45 - drive through McDonald's and get 4 Happy Meals
12:05 - Arrive at Shay's school so his little brother and two cousins can have lunch with Shay!
12:35 - Leave with all 4 kids

1-5:00: Romper Room at my house
5:00- prepare for football practice, get Shay dressed in underarmour, football pants and pads, fill water bottles, pack snacks, camp chairs, towel and anything else I think we might need for a two hour football practice
5:30-7:30 - Football practice and entertaining 3 kids while Shay practices
8:00 - Feed kids, give baths, put in a movie pray for bedtime to come soon.

It's a good thing today is my off day from working out.

I think I need an adult beverage.

Leaps and Bounds

2008-09-10T08:11:00.001-07:00

I can't believe how quickly he is growing up. Here's Devon from this morning on his way to Jr. Pre-K (um...didn't we used to just call that preschool?). Check out his new Chuck's! He specifically asked to wear them today. :)

He must be on some kind of growth spurt. For breakfast he had waffles, a granola bar, a yogurt and a glass of milk!

Three-point stance, here we come! :)

Turn Here!

2008-09-10T06:07:00.001-07:00

I had a great time volunteering at the Austin Tri a couple weekends ago. In addition to pulling folks from the water at swim exit, I got to be the traffic director at the final turn into the finishing chute.

I really like this spot as it is great to see how excited everyone is to be finishing. But my favorite part is inciting sprint-offs to the finish by yelling at people things like:

"Hurry, hurry! He's/She's RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" (especially when there's no one really there..that one's always fun and the other spectators always get a good giggle out of it.)

--or when two people are coming in kind of close:

To the first person: "Go, GO - you're winning! Don't let her/him catch you!"

And to the second: "Go NOW. You can catch her. Run! RUN!"

-- or when I see someone I know, giving a little tough love:

"This is a race! Quit lollygaggin! Move your ASS! NOW!!!"

Good times....and an excellent arm workout to boot! :)

Thanks, Austin!

Puzzle-mania

2008-09-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited!!!

I've always enjoyed board games and puzzles and such, but it is hard to find others who share my dorkiness......

But it turns out (on the second time around), I've created by own! YAY DEVON!

And, not only does he like it, but it turns out he's pretty good!! He even managed to complete one that's rated for 5-year olds (with just a little bitty tiny bit of help from Mommy, but seriously not much.)!!

Here he is proudly displaying his work:

Falcons 2-0

2008-09-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

I mean, if we were keeping scores at the games... :)

But check out Shay's 2nd TD of the season:

What in the world??

2008-09-07T15:17:00.001-07:00

Can you believe this? I had to put my foot (that's a women's size 9) in the picture so you could get some perspective on how large it really is.....

What do you think it is??

Rockin' the PracticeMan

2008-09-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

Today, I had a good day.

T3 put on a "practice tri" for the Longhorn Half Iron Tri coming up next month. We swam in Decker, road the course and put in a little run at the end.

And, man, I felt GOOD!

The swim was 3 loops of a 500 meter out and back course. It was just a practice swim, so everyone started out pretty casually it appeared. I wanted to focus on swimming with good technique since we weren't in a hurry or anything. I thought about pressing my chest, having the water go over the top of my cap and shadowing my hands so I don't cheat my stroke. I did feel some added pressure becuase Mo was out in a kayak in the middle and I felt like he was watching my technique, prepared to offer some "gentle" reminders about my stroke. It was good though as it helped me focus on swimming with good form.

The 1500 came and went in 24 minutes. I'll take it!

The leisurely transition was followed by a hilly 56 mile jaunt through the country (Avg 17.5 I think). It was a GREAT ride with Tom and Erin and even included a familiar fall-down-when-stopped-by-failing-to-clip-out by me! YAY! (I get at least one of these every year. DOH!)

I followed my nutrition plan from Longhorn last year and it served me well. After the bike, I still felt awesome!! In fact, I was looking forward to the run! GASP! (I know!) The legs felt good and I felt mentally that I was prepared to slog out the 13 miles on race day. (Which for me is more than half the battle!)

I had a nice run with Erin.....even though she didn't think it was nice at the time. In fact, she swore me up, down and sideways as I convinced her to tackle the big hill and keep running whenever she really, really, REALLY wanted to stop. We may have only done 2.5 miles but they were BIG mental miles and as always, Erin stood up to the test! :) Way to go E!

The team BBQ afterwards was tons of fun as everyone "recovered" with food and grog.

Good times!!

Interesting Translations

2008-09-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

Got this from a friend today...found it to be interesting...what say you?

Your Pocket Guide to Speaking Palin-guage (Vol. 1)
John Ridley

Up in the Twin Cities area folks are speaking a new language. Or, should I say Palinguage. It sounds sorta familiar because it's Latin based. But different from the plain English we're used to speaking, in Palinguage recognizable words take on new meanings. Won't you take a moment to learn some Plainguage so you can talk like a hypocritical conservative?

REPEAT THE FOLLOWING:
If you're a minority and you're selected for a job over more qualified candidates you're a "token hire." If you're a conservative and you're selected for a job over more qualified candidates you're a "game changer."

If you live in an Urban area and you get a girl pregnant you're a "baby daddy." If you're the same in Alaska you're a "teen father." (Actually, according to your own MySpace page you're an F'n redneck that don't want any kids, but that's too long a phrase for the evil liberal media to take out of context and flog morning noon and night).

Black teen pregnancies? A "crisis" in black America. White teen pregnancies? A "blessed event."
If you grow up in Hawaii you're "exotic." Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you're the quintessential "American story."

Similarly, if you name you kid Barack you're "unpatriotic." Name your kid Track, you're "colorful."
If you're a Democrat and you make a VP pick without fully vetting the individual you're "reckless." A Republican who doesn't fully vet is a "maverick."

If you say that for the "first time in my adult lifetime I'm really proud of my country" it makes you "unfit" to be First Lady. If you are a registered member of a fringe political group that advocates secession that makes you "First Dude."

A DUI from twenty years ago is "old news." A speech given without proper citation from twenty years ago is "relevant information."

And, finally, if you're a man and you decide to run for office despite your wife's recurrence of cancer you're a "questionable spouse." If you're a woman and you decide to run for office despite having five kids including a newborn... Well, we don't know what that is 'cause THAT'S NOT A FAIR QUESTION TO ASK.

View from my office

2008-09-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

I decided to take advantage of my swanky laptop, the wireless network, the absolutely beautiful day, the back porch and ceiling fan and am working alfresco today.

Here's the view from my "desk":

I don't know why I don't do this more often. Anyone looking for office space in NW Austin, feel free to stop on by....I've got a few extra chairs and room at the table.

Social Networking Addictions

2008-09-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

Oh my... just want to say a big "Thank you" to Erin for getting me sucked into...I mean...showing the wonderful benefits of Facebook!

Between e-mail, chat, texting, blogs, Facebook and T3 Elite -- I'm pretty sure I'm networked up to the gills!

But how fun! YAY!!

Please feel free to forward me all your tips and tricks for the newbie! :)

Texas Tri Mom

What I Learned at School Today

Ironman Florida - The Race Report

Halfmax National Championships - The Race Report

Boston Marathon 2010 - Race Report

I get knocked down...but I get up Again!!

Why an Axe?

THE Big Game

Hooray for Customer Service

Pictures and More from Perth

Hogwarts Triathlon!!!

And just when you thought it was ending....

EEEEK!

Shay's Vipers shut out SWA Dawgs! 24 - 0!

Vipers vs Chaps

Because sometimes just showing up...

EEEEEEK!!!

Typically Atypical -- (The Redman 70.3 Race Report)

MEND Childhood Obesity Intervention Program

Women's Health Issue

What I Love About...

Anything BUT Generic - My Tri Race Report

Getting Back into the Speed of Things

And 1

Ironman Coeur d'Alene: Race Report

Ironman Coeur d'Alene: Tomorrow

Ironman Coeur d'Alene Tracking

Ironman Coeur d'Alene: T- 1 Day

Tracking Me at Ironman CdA

Ironman Coeur d'Alene: T-2 days

A short story: The Rookie Race Report

Dream the Impossible Dream

A good start to the day

In the thick of it...

Warhurst - Take 2

Soul Busted

OMG...it's really happening...

When Quality Scares You...

Fortitude Test #3

Need inspiration?

Finally!

Training - A New Level

And the worst part....

President's Day

We were just *this* close!

Ahhh...that's better

And so it begins...

Failing...

Week #4 -- CHECK!

My lunch dates..

Damn! The Dam Loop Brick

25 Random Things About Me

tiMING!

Where'd it go?

My First 10K!

LSD

Fortitude Test #1 of 2009

Beware the Pyschobabble!!

Did I mention...

Not quite how they write it up...

How should I Get 'Er Done?

Who needs 8 reindeer?

I can't wait..

Everybody's Waiting...

Christmas Fun

I can't decide which portrait to buy!!

Baking with the little man...

You know it is marathon season when...

R.I.P. Chewy

2008 Tri Season In Review

3 x 70.3 in 35

Simply Amazing

It's never to early to start planking!!

Best Home Security System

My Disney Princess

Some say....

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom

Bike Build

And so it begins...

1+2=2009

We were just this close!