I get 10 days off work, whoo hoo!

How is training going? Pretty good.

This morning was Torreys spin/core/strength class and it was hard. Not just hard for me but for everyone. That's good, shes not keeping it easy for anyone, making us all earn it. There were several people both Tuesday and today that were groaning and moaning. Made me feel better. This week I upped my weights to 8 pounders from 5. It was HARD to day and I did go down in weight for 1 exercise and should have for another one too but I didn't. I need to build strength and staying at 5 pounds forever isn't going to do it.

Today was my last day of work, I'm getting laid off for 10 days starting September 30th. Lan and I are going to head up to Canada with the mtn bikes for a couple days, ride the mountains around Whistler. I cant wait.

269 days to train

How is training going? Its going well.

Today training called for 10 x 30 second sprints with 2 minute rests in between. I got 7 done and then my right foot started hurting on the top, pretty badly. I did the 8th one and the foot hurt worse so I stopped. But I got most of them finished and I'm proud of that. 
I thought an hour of rest would make it feel better but it didn't, after sitting in a restaurant at an Appaloosa club meeting it hurt just to walk on it. I'll be icing the foot this evening.

I told Lisa that I hired Ryan and I think shes mad and hurt. I did want to use her as my coach but she is so 'lets wait' and I'm so 'lets get the show on the road'. but yesterday she got together with Linda and they did a couple things so I know Lisa is getting serious now.

I don't know if she told Linda about Ryan because I asked her not to so I'll just have to wait and see if Linda says anything.

I'll be going in to the Physical Therapists office on Friday morning and getting my Functional Movement Screening. I have no idea how much it normally costs for her to do something like that but shes totally willing to barter payment and I'm so cool with that. I'll babysit all winter for free if she helps me.

Horses: I love my horses. a lot.

At the appaloosa meeting this evening we turned in our penny a mile numbers and I had 218 for the year. I padded my numbers because I know Meghan was cheating but tonight I realized shes in the younger category than I am so we will both win. Unless some asshat puts in more miles at the last minute. I simply don't see that happening as last year only 1 person did it at all and he put in like, 8 miles.

Black Diamond Race Report

 How is training going? Today was my first Olympic distance tri.

Black Diamond Triathlon, Enumclaw, Washington.

.5 mile swim, 24 mile bike ride, 6 mile run.

I felt good at the end of it!!

Before the race even began...

Last night I thought I'd leave Sunshower and The Pie out in the arena overnight so they could run around and get some exercise. So at 4am the wind and rain kick in and shes out there screaming and whinnying and running around. Lan and I had to go out there to put them away in the barn. Then back to bed for another 2 hours of sleep (I wished anyway).

Got up at 6am, took an anti-diarrhea pill and ate my usual pre-race breakfast of oatmeal. And water. We had packed the car last night so we only had to put a few more things in the car before we left. Linda came with us and she got here just in time. Left the house at 6:30am.

Arrived at Nolte State Park at 8am, they said the parking in the park was full but we could go in, drop our stuff and take the car down the road to a fire station & ride the shuttle back. Thats what we started to do but someone pulled out of a parking space right in front of us to we took it. We also needed to have a Discover Pass for the state park and luckily, we did.

Here I am right after getting body markings; they wanted me to get my age on my right calf so competitors could know I was in their age group but I declined so I could have an edge. I was #80 today in the 'ladies who are 48 years old' category.

I have a really nice tri bag but when its full its really heavy so I gave it to Lan. It holds stuff I don't need and I always feel the need to fill all the pockets. I'll use it next year for ironman.

Putting on my wetsuit. Last year it was really cold and pouring rain but today it was a pleasant 55*-ish and the water wasn't too cold. I really hate transition photos and so many people don't know how to take good shots. I have a million of these and I never look at them. I want to see me OUT ON THE COURSE in action.

There's me, swimming. I knew I'd be slow but I was faster than I thought I would be. It took me about 45 minutes to complete about 1 mile, 2 laps around the bouys. There was 1 other person who was slower.

It took me about 1/4 mile to get over the freak-out mode I always start in and then I got it. By then I had already been passed by the fastest Olympic distance swimmer. It took about 200 yards before another person passed me. The water wasn't too cold or murkey but there were a lot of leaves and pine needles floating in it.

Back in transition...

Getting the slimey wetsuit off. At least I remembered to use Body Glide so it wasn't too bad but it kept slipping out from under my feet. I took the time to dry off my feet well and put on a jacket so my T1 time will be longer than normal. I was surprised to see 3 other ladies in my area still in T1 and there were a lot still in the entire area.

Ready to go out for the bike ride. Which direction do I go? I had already asked that question, we had to go out behind me and go all the way around, couldn't take the short cut.

I was nice and relaxed here, not breathing hard or anything. But starting the bike I did get breathing hard, thats not unusual either.

Look how much shit is all spread out here!

I was almost finished with the bike here, only had about 3-4 miles left to go when I hear a truck and think 'That sounds like Terrys truck' and low and behold, it was. My father in law was driving by with Lan in the passenger seat, taking my photos. How cool is that?? I <3 Lan. He takes action shots.

I felt good on the bike and was going well but after the turn around there was a head and side winds. I had to get out of the aerobars for some of it but I stayed in them as much as I could. There are a lot of nice wide shoulders on the roads and I took advantage of them. I passed a few people but not a lot. The course had some rolling hills, nothing big and scarey but there are a lot of false flats that feel uphill both ways.

The run was on county roads through farms, out and back then one loop around the lake. I felt good throughout the whole run, but made myself walk up the 3 small hills to protect my hip flexors. Linda was there for the end and Lan got my photos as I was coming across the finish line. This photo looks like a good candidate for Special Olympics.

Finally, finished. I felt really good here, didn't start crying, still felt like I could have gone farther. Not that I wanted to go farther. My training is paying off.  On the left of this photo are a group of Kitsap Tribabes, they came out to cheer for all of us that raced.

I hired Ryan today

How is training going? GREAT.

This morning after I cleaned the barn I headed out for a bike ride, had wanted to do 30 miles but only got 21.5 in before I had to head to work. That was disappointing but I have to go there sometimes. But I came up Mullenix hill and didn't need to stop and rest, I did a lot of it standing up and it felt good the whole way up. I was SO PROUD of myself. I wish Lan had been there with me.

After work I drove into Silverdale and met with Ryan Chapman. I hired him to train me for my Ironman and we'll start October 1st. You'll hear all about that in the coming months.  I'm pretty excited about it.

Facing Disappointments

How is training going? After a long day its back on track.

This morning I got up early, packed my bag and drove out to the lake to swim with Lan, who told me I need to be able to swim a mile in 2 short weeks. So I waited and waited and waited. And he never showed. I do not swim alone, its dangerous so I came home, really upset.

I was ready to send him a WTF? text but deleted it and I waited. A couple hours later he called, he had been stuck at work. By the time he got home he was too tired to swim.

While waiting for Lan to call I made a major life decision: I am going to hire Ryan Chapman as my personal trainer for my Ironman.

 I'm meeting with him Friday evening to iron out the details; he'll tell me what he expects of me and I'll tell him what I expect of him. Hes not cheap but I'll be able to afford him if I'm frugal for the next year. I've got stuff to sell and I'll pick up jobs throughout the winter.

Ryan has never done a full Ironman but he did complete a half Ironman and hes got other clients who are training for the full. He is a Total Immersion swim coach and he gives running lessons. I need to work on my swim and run so theres not a better person to coach me. Lan can go on bike rides with me and coach me on riding, I can ride with Linda and I can ride with Les.

I did get a good ride on Wifi today, ride #6. I also asked Meghan to ride her and she did work on backing, which Wifi doesn't want to do. I'm going to spend time with her bridled, not riding, just asking her to turn, stop and back, with pressure on the bit. I need to long line her is what she needs.

Disappointment

How is training going? ho hum today.

I woke up early this morning to go for an early morning swim. I don't NEED to swim today, it is a taper week for me, but I still want to get as much in now, before fall, that I can. Horseshoe Lake is nice and warm, closer to home than Wildcat and much, much cleaner. I was dressed, had my bag ready, had everything ready to go & received a text, Linda can't go.

 Linda decided to go kayaking yesterday and is sore today so she decided to go to yoga instead. I understand, if I were sore I'd rather do yoga instead too. But *I* am disappointed because I don't swim alone, its not safe. Partners are needed. And I was ready to go. I got out of bed EARLY.

Yes, I'm whining but this is MY blog and I'll whine if I want to.

Meghan is supposed to come over for a while and we'll work Wifi. I rode her again yesterday and it felt really good but shes getting frustrated, she doesn't know what I'm asking. Its going slow but that's OK, it was only our 4th ride. Today my goal is to get off the lunge line and/or keep her going forward a few times around a circle.

Lets Ride Bikes

Labor Day

How is training going? Very good.

Started out the day cleaning the barn then headed out to Horseshoe Lake for a 1/2 mile swim. Its been a few years since I have swam there and today I thought the water would be all nasty like it used to be but it turned out nice and clean. All the geese were gone and the water is clear, but green. I could see the bottom or plants the entire swim.

I asked Lan to stay near me for the first portion of the swim in case I got scared of things in the water and he did. I was doing OK until he pointed out 2 girls riding their horses in the water over at the boat launch. I had to stop and watch for a few minutes. I got to the dock we had been aiming for and saw that it took me 18 minutes to swim the first 1/4 mile so I tried to get back faster, didn't stop to see horses, didn't stop to rest, nothing. Finished the 1/2 mile in 32 minutes. My average is 28 and since I spent so much time watching horses I think I did OK on the way back. Linda still swims twice as fast as me.

BUT I can kick her ass on the bike and in transitions so I'm glad for that. Or, at least I could last year. I haven't trained this year as much as she has, she might just kick my ass in Tri Turtle tri this coming Sunday. I hope not.

Lan and I spend this Labor Day holiday in Port Townsend, messing around at Fort Warden. That is where a lot of An Officer and a Gentleman were filmed. The houses aren't all painted in many colors like they were for the movie, they are all gov't pinking and white but they are being taken care of and that's what matters.

We hiked up the trail to the battlements on the hill.



It was about 1/4 mile up on a steep hillside. We took the shortcut that ended up being the long cut.

Fort Warden was built to protect Puget Sound from the Japanese during WWII, along with Fort Casey over on Whidbey Island. Now are both state parks, they still have a lot of their old buildings and are FUN to play at.

You can go up & down the stairs and see wonderful views from above or go down inside the buildings.

And down we go

These buildings were long and narrow. There were many heavy steel doors separating rooms in a hallway and off to the left there were many more rooms. Outside there were informational signs with interior maps of the buildings, saying what each room was used for.

Some of the stuff is just pretty.

And back up we go.

A lock on a cell door?? Maybe it was used for storage.

But there were many in a row, all lockable.

Mt baker as seen from a battlement

This was an underground tunnel, about 200 yards long. Lan has raced his mtn bike thru here before.

This army truck was driving along a road. Back in the day I bet there were hundreds of army vehicles here.

The walk back to the car was refreshing and the views too die for.