Tri Relay and Paris VII/2011

Note: Yesterday, I promised the video from the Sunrise Track workout, but after watching the video last night, I decided not to waste your time. Maybe next time, the end result is a little more interesting.

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Tri Relay

If you are a friend of mine on Facebook, you have already seen what I got in the mail last week:

So shiny!

TA-DAH... The award for 2nd in the 30-34 age group..... out of 4, but who's counting anyways! ;-)

I don't have conclusive proof, but I guess this little streamer has something to do with my newest "gig": Being the swimmer in a relay at the Off-Road Triathlon at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte NC.

When my friend asked me, she said it's a 750m river swim... After already committing, I read the description on the event webpage:

 AWESOME!!!! I guess, I am going to bust out my Vibrams and start doing swim-run-swim bricks! ;-)

"550 meters in the Catawba River followed by a 500 meter run then another 200 meters in the whitewater holding pond.  The swim across the lower holding pond is a straight line and is 200 meters."

Last year, we spend a day at the Whitewater Center* and I have a pretty good idea where I have to run in between the two swims and it's not going to be pretty! ;-)

*I just read the post from that day again and there was one picture of whitewater kayakers on the canal with the caption "This time we were just spectators... Next time, we'll be on the canal." Well, I won't be "on" the canal, but in the canal. Who would have thunk!


Paris VII/2011

In other news: I made it back on Paris Mountain for the first time since April... This climb just doesn't seem to get easier and of course, I haven't done any real climbing since Mount Mitchell, so I guess I can just be happy to be still alive... Oh and it was stinking hot last night too!! I had two water bottles for an 18 mile ride, that normally doesn't happen.

Not only did I climb Paris, but also did cadence drills while we were at it. Originally, I thought about doing the cadence drill (alternate between 75-80rpm and 90+rpm) and then roll down the mountain for recovery. But I was out there with some co-workers and wanted to stick to the group, so my recovery was still going up the mountain, but at a lower cadence (around 60rpm), waiting for the urge to throw up to subside and then start all over again. Good times!

On Monday, I am celebrating Independence Day by doing a 67 mile ride in the mountains, so I am glad that my legs still remember how to climb.

Mark Your Calendars! 6-30-2011

7/2
Red, White and blue Shoes 5K
@Furman University, Greenville SC

 7/3
Inaugural Columbus Firecracker 5K
Starting time is 8:00 a.m. at the Columbus, NC. courthouse, and will be run over a certified 5k course.

7/4
The Easley Firecracker Frolic 5K
Registration here. Pre-registration $20, race day registration $25.
Race day registration and packet pick up begins at 6:30 am at Old Market Square, Easley, SC with the race to follow at 7:30 am.  Awards, in 5-year categories, will follow the race.

7/4
Fabulous 4th Metric Bike Tour
Start: Tryon NC
Register here.

7/6
Garmin GPS Clinic
Location: The Great Escape in Greenville SC
Time: 6:30 - 8:30pm
One night only specials on Garmin products. Garmin rep will answer all your GPS related questions and showcase the latest Garmin products.

7/9
6th Annual Hot Doggett 100, Madison County NC
Route options: 100 miles and 100K closed loop courses

7/9 and 8/6
Hilton Head Island Beach Bum Triathlon
Start Time: 8am

Race Location: Coligny Beach, Hilton Head Island.

Race Format: 500m Ocean Swim / 6mi Beach Bike / 3mi Beach Run.

7/15-7/17
A Ride to Remember

7/17
You Go Girl - Sprint Triathlon
250 yd swim - 10 mile bike - 2.5 mile run
Greenville's only Women's Only Event!
Register here.

8/4

Sports Specific Nutrition for Women Seminar

@ Pedal Chic

TIME 6 -8pm

COST $10.-

8/6
Greenville Cycling Center - 1-Day Nutrition Workshop, Focus on Sports Supplements
TIME: 10 - 2pm (break for lunch)
COST: $10.- Lunch not included
Register here!

8/13
Back To School 5K
@ Middle Tyger YMCA Duncan SC
5k (starts at 7:30am) and One Mile Kid's Fun Run (starts at 8:15am)
Register online at http://www.spartanburgymca.org/ or http://www.strictlyrunning.com/

8/27
Hickory Nut Gorge Olympiad VII (1-mile, 2-mile)
Location: Lake Lure, NC

8/27
4th Annual Ride for M.A.C. in Easley SC
10, 20, 40, 62 (Caesars Head ride) and 100 mile (Super Challenge)
starts at 7:30am

9/3
Cherokee Foothills Bicycle Tour
Time: 8AM (100 and 66 mile routes), 9AM (28 mile route) and 10AM (10 mile route)
Where: N. Greenville University Stadium

9/10
Setting the Pace at Whitten Center 10K and 5K Run/Walk at 8:30 a.m.
Clinton, SC
Entry $25 before August 26th. Late entry is $30.

9/17

Kings Mountain/Moss Lake Open Water Swim

Distances: 5K, 3K, 2k, and 500m

Information/ Registration here.
9/17
Tour of Oconee presented by Wilderness Wheels
Start location is Fair Play SC. Fully supported road ride. 118 mile ride, following the perimeter of scenic Oconee County SC. Also 64 mile ride and 26 mile ride. All skill levels welcome. All riders receive a custom designed jersey and t-shirt included in the registration.

10/8
iRecycle Run Half Marathon and 5K
in Spartanburg
click here for registration

10/15
Bluffton SC Half Marathon and 5K

11/19
2011 Hope Relay in Greenville SC
RUN - 48 MILES...12 LEGS...6 RUNNERS...1 VAN...
WALK - 24 MILES...6 LEGS...6 WALKERS...1 VAN...
Register here.

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Greenville Track Club Paris Mountain Trail Run Series

8/13 - 7K
11/5 - 15K


The Y Tri Series:

07/16 – Columbia, SC
07/31 –Blacksburg, SC
08/27 – Toccoa, GA
09/10 – Surf City Beach, NC
09/17 – Hartsville, SC
For more information (pricing, distances, if duathlon event is available etc) check the website.

Other YMCA Tri/Du Events:

8/ 6 Union County YMCA
8/ 13 Laurens Family YMCA
9/ 24 Tri the Ridge Pickens County YMCA


2011 XTERRA South Carolina Trail Run Series

7/10 Harbison Half Marathon (Columbia)
8/? Table Rock 15K

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GROUP RUNS organized by the Greenville Track Club

* Tempo Runs at Mauldin Middle School every Monday night at 6:30pm
* Track Workouts at Greenville High Track every Wednesday night at 6:00pm

ON THURSDAYS

"Girl's Morning Out" at Carolina Triathlon in downtown Greenville. Gather at 7:45am to pedal promptly at 8am (time change!). This is a 30-mile "C" ride hosted every Thursday by GHS EveryWoman Cycling Team and Carolina Triathlon. Road bikes and helmets are required. Everyone is welcome and nobody is left behind.

Normally gets canceled, if rain is in the forecast.

Sunrise Track

Lately, I was complaining and then complaining some more about my running. But funny things happen, when you finally have a good run: A track workout all of sudden doesn't sounds too bad anymore. Especially, if you have some mile repeats on tap where the speed was defined as "recent 5K pace" and I have a brand new and shiny and faster than in a long time 5K pace.

The 4.30am wake-up call (I apologize in advance if somebody feels offended by my wake-up time! ;-) came and I felt like a truck rolled over me. These early mornings never get really easy, but I also know that it's not going to happen at all if not in the morning. Especially with the heat, humidity and thunderstorms in the afternoon right now.... And I am also planning a bike ride this afternoon with co-workers... If it doesn't storm!

By 5.10am I was on the track and warming up... Normally, this is a group thing, but Coach skipped the track today, so I knew that most likely nobody is going to show up. While I do prefer the group workouts (even if I am always the slowest on the track), it worked out quite good today. This way I could start even earlier and still complete the workout without having to scramble in the end to make it to work on time.

All in all, I got 7.5 miles in before breakfast and no matter how much it sucks to get up this early, the feeling afterwards is priceless.

For the fun of it, I actually recorded a time lapse video, but of course can't upload it from work, so I hope to do that tonight sometime.... If I still feel up to it after doing hill repeats on the bike on Paris Mountain... YAY for the rough days*, they make the easier days seem easier!

Okay, lunch break is over... Gotta get back to work.

*The day of track in the morning and bike hill repeats in the afternoon is totally self inflicted due to some mechanical issues on the bike last night... Oh the joys of bike mechanics, never a dull moment.

Race Report: 2011 Tri The Dam Sprint Triathlon

750 meter open water swim - 17 mile bike - 3.1 mile run

Results (based on chip time):

Swim 12m58s OA 21/87 AG 2/7 GR 12/45
T1 0m55s
Bike 54m51s (speed 18.6 mph) OA 34/87 AG 2/7 GR 11/45
T2 0m46s
Run 28m36s (pace 9:14 min/mile) OA 61/87 AG 6/7 GR 27/45

TOTAL 1h 38m 08s OA 40/87 AG 6/7 GR 17/45

OA= overall, AG= age group, GR= gender rank


Pre-Race:
Due to the 1h15m drive down to Hartwell GA, it was another early morning for me. I left the house around 5am and was at the race site around 6:15am. Because they race didn't start until 7:30am, I turned on the bike course, to see what is going to be in store for us... I was hoping for fairly flat, but found pretty quick, that it's going to be a rolling course with the last mile a slight uphill. While in the car, I had a banana and a Larabar (cashew) as a pre race food and a lot of water.

Packet pick-up, body marking etc was a breeze and I had transition set up with plenty of time to spare, so I just went down to the water and stuck my toes in there and chatted with other participants (my favorite part! ;-)

For this race, I tried something new: I had my Garmin with me for the whole race. Since Garmin gives funny reading when worn on the wrist during the swim, I had it in a plastic baggy under my swim cap* and then snapped it on my quick release wrist band once I got out of the water. I had the Garmin set on the multisport function, so once the watch was started, I just hit lap every time I ran in and out of transition and had all my splits including transitions with heart rate readings and everything. It worked great and pretty much matched the official data.

*Not my idea, I saw that at the DC Rainmaker blog... Seriously, if you are a gadget geek, you have to read his blog. 

Swim:

Mom look! I can swim a straight line! ;-)

The start was done in two waves. First the men and three minutes after that, it was the women's turn. I went out way too fast and got winded with the first three minutes and it took me until the first turn buoy to get myself together again. But after that, the swim actually felt pretty good. I was fairly sure, that I swam a good line for the most part and was happy when I saw that confirmed when looking at the Garmin mapping.

T1:
Every transition under 1 minute is a win in my book! ;-)

Bike:

The bike course was rolling and a straight shot out and back... No turns other than the turnaround. Me likey! I pushed it right out of transition, since.. you know... the bike is kinda my thing lately! ;-) On the way out, the course felt a little crowded and I had to sit-up and soft pedal several times in order not to violate the no drafting rule. I had the Garmin set on 5-mile-laps to give me a feeling of where I am pace wise and was happy happy happy after seeing the first split and just kept on pushing. Every time, I saw a new split, I was cheering myself on: "Good job, good job...!" Is anybody else doing that?? ;-)


Fortunately, people seemed to get a little more strung out after the turnaround and especially in the last five miles, I felt like I was finally able just to ride my pace without having to watch what other people where doing all the time.


Up until then, the sky were overcast and I didn't feel a lot of wind. Really perfect conditions.


T2:
See above.

Run:

The run course was pancake flat. It was an out and back on the dam and was just perfect. As we all know, running is my weakest discipline, but after a recent track workout and some feedback from Coach Katie, I thought I am just going to put it on the line and try to push myself. I felt good, I had fueled good on the bike and wanted to give it a shot.

While for most people a 28:36 minute 5K is nothing to celebrate over, the run that day was the portion I am most proud of. This is the fasted 5K I ran in probably a year... And I did this after swimming and cycling. Also, for the first time, I felt like I really pushed it on the run and not just accepted, that I am "just not a runner"... It certainly didn't harm that the course was flat. Of course, it still kind of sucks, that I got off the bike in second position (in my age group), only to get run down by everyone but one.... At least, I know I left it all out there... Besides, all the other girls ran under 8 min/mile 5K's and that's sort of not happening for me anytime soon.

Post-Race:
After the race, I just walked around a little and grabbed some food, before packing up my stuff and headed out pretty much right away.




Race Review:
This was the inaugural event and they had a good turnout. They offered a triathlon, a duathlon and a tri relay option. The location was great and the transition and start/finish area was set-up nice. The only downside in my opinion was, that there were no showers available.

The swim course was secured with a ton of people in jet-skies and even people with floatation devices in the water. The bike course had a good road surface and only very little traffic (the course was not closed) and tons of volunteers that secured the bigger intersections! THANKS, VOLUNTEERS! The bike felt crowded at the beginning, so if they have even more participants next year, it might be worth having more waves and space them apart more. The run course was on Hartwell Dam and therefore didn't have any traffic. The only bottle neck was getting in and out of transition with bikes still coming in and runners going out or vice versa, but once again, they had plenty of volunteers directing traffic. The run didn't have any shade and is very exposed, so it can get miserable quick on a hot and windy day, which wasn't a problem yesterday.


Timing was done by On The Mark Sport and results were published on race site fast and available on the website that afternoon.

Overall a great event at a great location and organized really well. I will definitely be back next year, if it fits in.

.

Let's Talk About Old(er) People

Today, I raced the Tri The Dam Sprint Triathlon down in Hartwell, Georgia... I am very happy about the race (even though the race results probably don't look that way) and the race report will follow hopefully tomorrow... But that's not what I wanna talk about.

What I want to talk about are the people at these events, because there are some great inspirational women and men out there.

For example the two ladies that parked right next to me. One of them is 65 and did her first duathlon and the other one is 70 (has a pace-maker as I found out later) and did the triathlon. Those two ladies were out there rocking it! When I packed up my stuff, I met the one that did the duathlon in transition. She was also done already and we got to talk a little. I told her, that I found it inspirational that they are participating in these events and put themselves out there and that I hope, that I'll be still racing at her age. She answered: "If you take care of yourself and work hard, you can do this too!" Amen, sister!

And then there was this 71 year old dude that I leap-frogged with for the last couple of miles of the bike course. We went back and forth for the longest until he just left me in the dust... At 71!! I am less then half his age!!! Ridiculous and very inspirational.


What has inspired you lately? ;-)

Logging Workouts for A Cause

For a moment, I thought to name this post  "Logging Workouts for World Peace ", but that would have been overkill! ;-)

When it comes down to the nitty gritty of things, my athletic endeavors are pretty selfish. It's time I take for me and for my health (mental and physical). I am very blessed that I have a supportive husband, that has athletic goals himself and who sort of gets what I am doing.... Even if I am a little a lot more extreme than he is.

Even though your training might be a selfish activity, there is a way to improve the life of others, just by logging the workouts that you are doing anyways. The best part of it: Other than a little of your time (to actually go online and log the workouts), it doesn't cost you a dime.... Oh and that was a rhyme.... ;-)

Sounds to good to be true? That's what I thought, but the thing is totally legit and if you want to learn a little more on how it works, please go over and read this post on FatCyclist.com to explain it all... and oh, please join Team Fatty on the Plus 3 Network Site (once again, doesn't cost you a thing).... since, you know... he brought it to mine and therefore to your attention! Thankyouvermuch.

For every workout you log, SRAM will donate money to the World Bicycle Relief. The World Bicycle Relief provides bikes to kids in Africa to give them the opportunity to get to school on time and learn. One bike is USD 134 and by logging my June workouts so far, I was able to collect over 30 bucks already.... That's almost 1/4 of a bike.... So every couple of months, I should be able to "earn" a bike for the WBR... Without knocking on doors and asking for money... SWEET.

Good Food Challenge: Day 4-7

Confession time... Here are the eats Thursday through Sunday of last week.

Tons of Salad.

THURSDAY (1,930c)

breakfast: Scrambled Egg Whites with Spinach, Cheese and Black Olives (460c)

morning snacking: Non-Fat Greek Yogurt (120c), Banana (100c)

lunch at my desk: Mixed Salad with Chicken Sausage (720c)

afternoon snacking: String Cheese (100c), Banana (100c)

dinner: Baked Sweet Potato with Cottage Cheese (280c), Pear (50c)

FRIDAY (2,270c)

pre run:  Larabar Cashew Cookie (210c)

post run: Lowfat Cottage Cheese with one scoop recovery power and a pear (400c)

lunch: Mixed Salad with Chicken Sausage (920c)

afternoon snacking: Starbucks Skinny Caramel Machiatto (170c)

dinner: Scrambled Egg Whites with a Baked Sweet Potato (570c)

SATURDAY (2,140c)

breakfast:  Greek Yogurt with Fruit (220c)

ride fuel: 2 Bananas, 2 Larabars Chocolate Brownie Dough, 1 Pear, 1.5 packs of Gel Blasts (880c)

lunch: Grilled Chicken Salad (560c)

dinner: Grilled Catfish on Kale (480c)

SUNDAY (1,880c)

pre run:  Larabar Cashew Cookie (210c)

post run: Smoothie with Chocolate Milk, Frozen Mixed Fruit and one scoop recovery powder (330c)

lunch: Grilled Catfish on Kale (570c)

afternoon snacking: Watermelon and String Cheese (140c)

dinner: Grilled Salmon and Sauteed Veggies (630c)

Nutritional split for the total week:

This was a great week for me and I was able to stick to my goals in general.

The only thing I really completely failed was the 40-30-30 ration (protein-carbs-fat) and I am not surprised, but I am just a little stumped on how I am supposed to reach this. Especially, because I don't eat a ton of meat and my tummy doesn't do well with processed soy products (tofu and the like).

Aside the ratio thing, I am very happy with how I stuck to it. And really still sticking with it as of today.... Okay, okay... Happy Cow is maybe not completely on the clean eating plan, but chocolate milk used as part of a recovery smoothie, I think it still kinda fits in! ;-)

While it was fairly easy for me to do this for one week, it certainly is nothing I would want to sustain for longer... BUUUUT: I feel it helped me to refocus on making better choices.

And more salad.

Ride Report: Bee Buzzin' Tour Metric Century

Photo credit: Berry M. THANKS!

We were supposed to go out of town this weekend, but the trip fell through and so I was able to do the Bee Buzzin' Bike Tour in Greenwood SC. I knew that one of my Mitchell training buddies would be there, so I would see at least one familiar face and I also heard, that the course was pretty fast and "as flat as things get in the Upstate". Sounds like a deal to me!

Pre-Ride:
Greenwood is a 1.5 hour drive from the house, so I headed out fairly early. Also, because I did walk-up registration, I wanted to make sure, that I'll be there on time. The registration went off without a hitch and I even got a t-shirt in my size out of it.

After a short pre-ride meeting (hydrate, hydrate, hydrate) we were sent off.

Ride:
The ride was fast right off the bat. We were booking it out of Greenwood and on the back country roads. The first rest stop close to mile 15 came after less than 45 minutes. That was really quite speedy and all that, while catching up with my training friend. Pretty sweet hmmm? After a quick pit stop and a banana, we were on the road again. For the next 15 miles, I was able to tuck in with a group of guys that made a good pace.

We reached the second rest stop at mile 28ish close to an 19mph average (for me). So far, it has been pretty overcast, but at this point, the sun decided to come out and heat things up, like it wasn't hot enough before.

The second rest stop was also the point, where we started to head back again. As soon as we turned that one corner, it was clear why it seemed so easy so far... We had tailwind on the way out and it was also a slight downhill.

Once we turned onto Hwy 176, I found myself in a little group with two others. When it was my turn to pull, I pulled and probably overdid it a little, since I wasn't able to hold on anymore after I let myself fall back. I spend the next 10 miles to catch up again and just made it in time for the 3rd rest stop.

Time for a group picture!!! ;-) I started this ride only knowing one person, but ended up riding with a whole group of fun people! Thanks guys and gals for letting me tag along.

The last rest stop was at mile 48ish and we just had 15 miles left in the ride. Those 15 miles dragged on longer in my head than the 48 miles before. The sun was out in full force and my stomach had gotten a little iffy.... Besides the headwind was just brutal and yes, the downhill while heading out was now an uphill.

Eventually we made it back to Greenwood and with a 17.5mph average over the distance, this has been by far my fasted metric century EVER! Yay! I guess all those mile repeats, that the coach has me do these days really pay off!!!

Post-Ride:
Even though it was quite a speedy ride for me, there were hardly any cars left in the parking lot when we got back. I thought I saw something about lunch being served, but I couldn't find anything other than drinks and the usual rest stop food. Well, I brought my own food anyways, so it wasn't all too bad. I sure enjoyed the iced water!


Ride Review:
Very pretty ride and yes, this is a fast and fun course without a ton of turns! Prepare for hot weather, because... it's in SC in June. The rest stops were stocked plenty with food and drinks even for us in the back of the pack. The volunteers were super friendly and there were plenty of them on the course. Definitely a ride worth the trip down there.

Extra bonus for everyone riding back to Greenville on Hwy 25... Perfect reason to stop at the Happy Cow Creamery! ;-)

Half a gallon of chocolate milk and three kinds of cheeses later...... Thank you, Happy Cows! ;-)

Mark Your Calendars! 6-16-2011

6/18
Candlelight Run 5K
@ CU-ICAR Campus Greenville SC

6/18
Save the Trails Challenge at DuPont State Forest

They have a 25 and 45 mile option. 25 miles in DuPont is a hard ride. 45 is epic - comparable to a century on the road.

6/18
Bee Buzzin' Bike Tour
Routes: Metric Century and 25 miles

6/25
1st Annual Miles 4 Missions
Location: Tractor Supply - Georgetown, SC
Options: 10, 32 & 75 Mile Rides
To register go to http://www.setupevents.com/

6/25
Maggie's Third Annual 5K Run/Walk and Mile Fun Run
Furman University Campus
Register here by selecting Maggies Run

6/25 Greyhound Rescue Ride
@ Ducworth/ Tucker Sports Park in Anderson SC
Route Options: Metric Century, 40-miler and 25-miler

6/26
The Ridges Resort Invitational 5k Open Water Swim
Location: Hiawassee, GA

7/2
Red, White and blue Shoes 5K
@Furman University, Greenville SC

 7/3
Inaugural Columbus Firecracker 5K
Starting time is 8:00 a.m. at the Columbus, NC. courthouse, and will be run over a certified 5k course.

7/9
6th Annual Hot Doggett 100, Madison County NC
Route options: 100 miles and 100K closed loop courses

7/9 and 8/6
Hilton Head Island Beach Bum Triathlon
Start Time: 8am

Race Location: Coligny Beach, Hilton Head Island.

Race Format: 500m Ocean Swim / 6mi Beach Bike / 3mi Beach Run.

7/15-7/17
A Ride to Remember

7/17
You Go Girl - Sprint Triathlon
250 yd swim - 10 mile bike - 2.5 mile run
Greenville's only Women's Only Event!
Register here.

8/27
Hickory Nut Gorge Olympiad VII (1-mile, 2-mile)
Location: Lake Lure, NC

8/27
4th Annual Ride for M.A.C. in Easley SC
10, 20, 40, 62 (Caesars Head ride) and 100 mile (Super Challenge)
starts at 7:30am

9/10
Setting the Pace at Whitten Center 10K and 5K Run/Walk at 8:30 a.m.
Clinton, SC
Entry $25 before August 26th. Late entry is $30.

9/17

Kings Mountain/Moss Lake Open Water Swim

Distances: 5K, 3K, 2k, 1k, and 500m

Website, once it's availble

10/8
iRecycle Run Half Marathon and 5K
in Spartanburg
click here for registration

10/15
Bluffton SC Half Marathon and 5K

11/19
2011 Hope Relay in Greenville SC
RUN - 48 MILES...12 LEGS...6 RUNNERS...1 VAN...
WALK - 24 MILES...6 LEGS...6 WALKERS...1 VAN...
Register here.

********************

Greenville Track Club Paris Mountain Trail Run Series

8/13 - 7K
11/5 - 15K


The Y Tri Series:

06/18 – Ft Mill, SC
07/16 – Columbia, SC
07/31 –Blacksburg, SC
08/27 – Toccoa, GA
09/10 – Surf City Beach, NC
09/17 – Hartsville, SC
For more information (pricing, distances, if duathlon event is available etc) check the website.

Other YMCA Tri/Du Events:

8/ 6 Union County YMCA
8/ 13 Laurens Family YMCA
9/ 24 Tri the Ridge Pickens County YMCA


2011 XTERRA South Carolina Trail Run Series

7/10 Harbison Half Marathon (Columbia)
8/? Table Rock 15K

********************

GROUP RUNS organized by the Greenville Track Club

* Tempo Runs at Mauldin Middle School every Monday night at 6:30pm
* Track Workouts at Greenville High Track every Wednesday night at 6:00pm

ON THURSDAYS

"Girl's Morning Out" at Carolina Triathlon in downtown Greenville. Gather at 7:45am to pedal promptly at 8am (time change!). This is a 30-mile "C" ride hosted every Thursday by GHS EveryWoman Cycling Team and Carolina Triathlon. Road bikes and helmets are required. Everyone is welcome and nobody is left behind.

Normally gets canceled, if rain is in the forecast.

Good Food Challenge: Day 1-3

Well, I guess it's pretty easy, to post yourself a challenge already two days into the project. Takes the pressure a little off hmmm? Anyways, this is the reason, why it's already time for mid-week update on my "Good Food Challenge".

Here are the eats:

Kidding... This was a cupcake from the beach party themed BBQ on Saturday and yes, it tasted as good as it looked!

But now for real... Here are the eats so far.

MONDAY (2,050c)

pre swim: Bolthouse Protein Plus Shake (380c)

morning snacking: Watermelon (180c), Larabar Cashew Cookie (210c), Banana (100c)

lunch at my desk: homemade Quinoa Salad (540c)

afternoon snacking: Larabar Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (220c), Banana (100c)

dinner: Mixed Salad with Tuna (320c)

TUESDAY (2,020c)

breakfast: Scrambles Egg Whites with Veggies (380c)

morning snacking: Grapes (120c), Larabar Cashew Cookie (210c)

lunch at my desk: Mixed Salad with Garbanzo Beans (610c)

afternoon snacking: Grapes (120c), Larabar Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (220c)

dinner/ post ride recovery: Bolthouse Protein Plus Parfeit Smoothie (360c)

WEDNESDAY (1,900c)

pre run: Larabar Cashew Cookie (210c)

post run recovery: Bolthouse Protein Plus Shake (380c)

morning snack: pineapple (170c)

lunch at my desk: Mixed Salad with Tuna and Kidney Beans (790c)

dinner: Scrambled Egg Whites with Beans and Spinach (350c)

So far so good when it comes to calorie intake and the quality of food.

I am still way too carb heavy and have to find ways to fix that! This morning, I had a chat with Coach Katie on the way back from the track and we talked about some options to incorporate more protein into my diet and I will keep working on this. That chat also resulted in a grocery store stop after work and switching up my snacks starting tomorrow.

Also, I am sometimes avoiding raw veggies because I am worried it's going to lead to GI problems on my runs, but this morning's track workout went off without any tummy issues which makes me a little more confident in what my stomach is able to do... Knock on wood.

The Good Food Challenge

Note: The pictures in this post are from today's ride and have nothing to do with the post itself. ;-)

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Showing of my turtle jersey.

If you are an athlete, I am sure, people say that to you in the office:

"Take another donut, you'll run that off in no time!"

If you are an athlete, I am sure that at one point you thought to yourself:

"I am training for 10 hours a week, heck, I am going to have an extra piece of that birthday cake and maybe some ice cream on my way home!"

Last weekend, I was at a party and there was a huge spread of food and I went bananas on the buffet. At one point I got stopped by one of the hosts saying: "Chips AND a beer! What is going on?" and then the other host chimed in: "She'll run 30 miles tomorrow, don't worry!"

Truth is, I eat a lot. Truth is also, I eat fairly decent when it comes to the quality of my food. And also, when I was in the middle of Mitchell training, I could get away with a lot, only because I was working out so much. Well, I am not in Mitchell training anymore and over the last couple of weeks, this mindset of "I restricted myself so much (which I really didn't) while I was in full blown training, I deserve XYZ now!" settled in and my waistline... Oh well.

Maybe two weeks ago, I started logging my food again. This time, I do it in Training Peaks, the software that my coach uses to schedule my training and where I log my actual training. She gave me the first round of feedback the other day and basically suggested more protein and more raw fruits and veggies on top of what I was already doing.

An old barn.

With this in the back of my head, I am giving myself a "Good Food Challenge" this week. I am not trying to do this for a whole month, but just for this one week. I don't believe in restriction, but moderation mostly. Still, I want to do a whole week of clean eating, to reboot my eating habits and also because this week is just so perfect and doable. The conditions (my lunch buddy is on vacation, our weekend trip fell through, I am not racing) just seemed to line up perfectly.

It looked like rain the whole time.

This is what I will be shooting for:

• plenty of raw fruits and vegetables
• try to keep a 40-30-30 nutrition ratio (40% proteins, 30% healthy fats and 30% carbs)
• no chocolate (other than what's in the larabars), beer, popcorn, ice cream etc

I am not going to publish my before and after weight, because the weight on a scale is a crapshoot to start with. Also, it's more about better habits and I expect the weightloss to eventually follow. But I will give an account of my eats for this weeks... All of it... Yikes! ;-)

My start and end point.

Race Report: 2011 Death Valley Open Water 3K

Results (preliminary);

1h 09m 14s -  2:08 mins/ 100 yards

17/42 Women's Open
2/4 Age Group 30-34

Pre-Race
Due to the 10am start, I was able to sort of sleep in. Maybe would have been able to sleep past 7am, if the dog hadn't decided to be whiny. So I got up and had a little breakfast and then waited for Terry to get back in from his run, so we could hit the road. I decided last minutes to come along to be my sherpa and photographer. Thanks, babe! :-)

Once we got to the race site, I signed in and got body marked  - on both arms and on my back. A lot of things are different at an swim event vs a triathlon and this is one difference. The other difference is all the little kids that run around.... Kids that are a third my age and are signed up for the same distance. Besides that, I was happy, that there were many people with tri shorts around... I said to Terry: "Oh goody, plenty of triathletes around, so I won't be last out of the water!" ;-) Yep, all these pure bred swimmers really had me concerned for a moment.

I spent the time before the race to chat to a tri team friend of mine, who was signed up for the 2K. 10 minutes before start, we had a little pre race meeting, going over the course again and what things can get you disqualified (no contact - another difference to triathlon) etc.

And we were already on the way into the water. It was pretty warm, that's why the swim caps were not mandatory. I do like me a swim cap, but I don't like the latex ones they hand out at a lot of races. They feel like they cut off the circulation in my head and I know that I am exaggerating.

Course

Well, the race course looked something like this... (Lindsay, I aspire to eventually be able to produce sophisticated diagrams like you do all the time, but obviously, I have a long way to go! ;-)... Sorry, the proportions are way off. The start point was the left buoy of the double buoys closest to the shore. Then you do an out and back and had to swim between the double buoys to cross the finish line. The buoys from the start to the turnaround point were spaced apart 500 meters. There were smaller buoys in between for orientation. The green line is supposed to show something close to an ideal line, the pink line is how I imagine I swam. BTW... The water is not turqouise and the beach is more grass than sand, but you get the idea.

Race
So yes, I didn't have a clue how to line myself up. I was way in the back of the field to the left, the furthest away from the ideal line, I could have possibly be. I don't even know exactly why I did that... But I think part of it was, that I didn't know what to expect. The first 500 meters, I spent with getting into a groove and getting closer to the buoys, because 1) it's the shortest way and 2) it makes sighting so much easier.

The next 500 were uneventful and I was even able to draft off a couple of feet here and there. I saw one of the big buoys (500, 1000 and 1500 meter markers) and the swimmers ahead of me started turning. I was surprised, that we should already be at the turnaround and started to turn myself until one of the kayakers pointed us into the other direction. Yep, We were just 1000 meters into the fun.

And with that, I also lost my draft and was now sandwhiched in between two swimmers. I kept free styling my little heart out, while both of the other swimmers did a weird mix of three strokes breast and three strokes free. It was driving me nuts, but I just couldn't get rid of them until the turnaround (500 meters later).

Once I saw the turnaround buoy, I cut the corner and just booked it... I didn't see the girl after that anymore and left the guy behind me after maybe another 100 meters. From then on, I was in no-man's land. There wasn't anybody even close to me for the rest of the race. So I just kept plugging along and had a pretty good rhythm until I breathed in a bug. After hacking and coughing for a while, I finally got it out of my mouth again. Yummie. It freaked me out a little, but soon, I got back into my groove. A little ways down, I swallowed another bug, but fortunately got that one out pretty quickly.

Once I saw the double buoys marking the finish, I picked up the pace a little.

Post-Race
Soooo.... My goal for this race originally was under 1 hour. I don't know, if that was realistic or not, but obviously sub 1 hour didn't happen.

In general, I really liked the event and I am thinking about doing another open water swim this season, if it fits in and is not too far away.

Two days later, I am still sore, so I think I worked out there... That's something! ;-)