Yukon Do It Race Report

 

 

Today was the Yukon Do It marathon & half marathon in Port Orchard. I had signed up for the full but decided to do the half since all my friends were only doing the half and I have nothing to prove to myself any more.

 

Linda, Windy and I had decided to start at 8am with the full marathoners and walk, giving us more time to finish but I found out at 8:01am that my time wouldn't count and I need a time for Half Fanatics.

 

Windy, Linda and Steve all have injuries preventing them from running at all so to keep myself from getting injured too, I walked with them.

Steve,
me, Windy & Linda

West Sound Triathlon Club had a water station about 2 miles onto the course at Waterman Dock. They provided water, Heed & Gu; one of the Gu's had tons of caffeine so I took 1. I should have taken 100, they were that good.

 

By the time we reached these guys we were keeping a consistent pace of about 14:14 minute miles, good for walking. I was jogging slowly most of the time because its easier for me to do that than to walk.

Rhonda & Steve at WSTC water station

We did slow down a bit at the half way point, when we hit manchester State Park. Those were the only hills we encountered with an elevation gain of 100 feet coming out of the park.

 

Manchester State Park elevation

 

 I felt very good for the entire race but my feet were hurting at mile 10 and I was just tired after that. I enjoyed the whole long walk.

 

At the beginning the temp was 36* and the end it was 39* but no ice, no snow, no rain.

 

Me & Windy, waiting for Linda and Steve to finish. Linda was hurting too much to keep up and Windy was hurting too much to slow down. I chose the faster of the 2 options.

 

Here are us girls, all FINISHED. 

Linda finished in 3:44:51

I finished in 3:35:32

Windy finished in 3:35:31

 





The shirt & medal

Pilate's

I went to Roller Pilate's at Gig Harbor YMCA this morning, first time I've done a roller class. I only fell off the dang thing 2 or 3 times, otherwise it was OK. The lady made me feel kinda stupid for the first few minutes but after she saw I was paying attention she backed off. I could see that she only wants to make sure everyone is doing it correctly and she thinks we're completely new gym members.

I'm enjoying the classes that I haven't taken before I just need to find instructors I like. I have 3 gyms I can choose from so I shouldn't be that hard, but it is.

I also did a fast & furious 30 minute spin class, got in about 8 miles. I didn't particularly care for the instructor or her choice of music; shes from L.A. & does all the hand signs and head movements. Um, you're not in California any more. I will admit I was the only one besides her that knew all the words to 'Dirty Low Down' by Boz Scaggs.

We had planned on going to Triday Friday right this minute (they are between swimming & spinning right now) but had an injury in the barn so had to deal with that.

I do have a new swim suit so I can go to the Triday Friday and not feel like I'm wearing someones pregnant bathing suit.

I have 2.5 days until the Yukon Do It Half Marathon, I'm going to try to run most of it. Lan & I were going to sign up for the Bremerton YMCA Resolution Runs but I saw that they are doing a mtn bike duathlon instead so I want to do that. Run 2 miles, ride 6 miles & run another one. Sounds like way more fun to me. I've ridden on some of those trails & they are easy... or they were 2 years ago.

We'll still do the remaining Resolution Runs, they are the first Sunday mornings of each month January through April, starting with 5k then 10k, 15k & finally 20k. Certainly wont hurt me to do them.

Horse update:
Joey got another cut on his face and it was very bloody, it was pouring down his face. Lan saw it & came to get me. I got it cleaned up & it stopped bleeding as soon as it was cleaned up. He didn't want to be caught, he knew what was up but once he was in the cross ties and I had warm water he was better. Its not bad, just a small gouge above his eye and a cut alongside his eye, they wont scar. I'm lucky he hasn't put out his eye with all the times he has cut his face this exact same way.
I made him a warm mash with alfalfa pellets, beet pulp, oats & 2 Bute. Then I locked him in the foaling stall. I'll have to do a quick check of it in the morning before I leave for work.

This morning I was in a hurry so I only threw some hay into each stall like we used to do. When I got home from the gym I put the girls out in the arena & Joey & Mark went into the small pasture. I gave them all hay outside to eat. Then I cleaned their stalls. I cant believe how much hay was wasting on the floor! I need to make time to fill the hay nets, no matter what.

Lans not going to like doing that very much.

Things are going well

Training is going slow but well. I am getting some good workout done at the Y and am working on getting things going at home. I work on-call so of course I worked 10 hours each on Christmas eve and day with no time for exercise.

Today I went with Linda & Brayden to Gig Harbor Y for a couple classes and to use the recumbent bike. I dislike that bike but the only spin class available while we were there was lead by Dana and shes a really shitty instructor. Her strength class is good, she makes sure you're doing it right, quality not quantity. but her spin is actually a good way to get yourself hurt so I avoid her.

We did Yoga which I enjoyed but Linda didn't and we did a strength class in the gym which was not structured well, another way to get hurt if you're not careful. I'll keep going to classes and will sooner or later find a bunch of them I like.

Tomorrow night is Triday Friday at Bremerton YMCA where we do a 15 minute swim, 30-45 minute spin & 20 minute run on the indoor track. Its just a lot of fun & a good way to get a workout in when you'd rather be at home.

For Christmas I was given a new helmet, neoprene shoe covers for cold weather and a nice weight set with 3, 5 & 8 pound weights. I know Lan paid a LOT for his helmet & this is the same kind so that was nice, very nice. I do already have some pretty nice cold weather cycling shoes but these will allow me to ride the tri bike with my tri shoes so I can be super used to them come Ironman time. All in all I received some thoughtful gifts and that means the world to me.

Linda has finally shared her Ironman race report with me. I know it would be long, she had said 16 pages before but I started reading it & only got to the 2nd paragraph before I gave up. Shes telling her life story, not a race report. But I'm going to have to read it all & give her feedback. Shit. I've already heard her story only about 14,823 times.

Horses update:
I've been using the slow feed hay nets for a couple weeks, have enough for all horses now + an extra and I LOVE them. I wish I had enough that each horse had 2 so I could prefill them. They have cut down the hay waste to a minimum amount, the horses are taking much longer to eat, they aren't going as long between meals and they aren't all pissed off when I do get into the barn to feed them. They have quit pawing the walls, Wifi doesn't whinny at 5am for breakfast and they have a bit of manners when they get the hay in front of them. 

I do miss the nickers that I used to get when I'd walk into the barn, I miss that a lot.

The poor horses have had no attention for a week besides being fed & stalls cleaned. The arena is too goopy for turnout. Maybe I should just haul mine to Sawda & let them run around in the indoor arena while I feed & clean with Amy.

Next Week

No more postponing.

Its been 6 freakin' months since IMCDA and I need to get my ass back in the water, back on the bike and back out onto the road, running. I won't have time to mess around any longer.

I have the book I received from Les for my birthday, its where I will write down all the things I have done each day and I need to buy a book with a plan in it. Linda had one, she followed it to a T each and every day and she was able to finish with 45 minutes to spare. I'll get the book & let Lan use it too.

I bought this book for Lan for Christmas for him to keep track of his Ironman Training. I know hes not going to like it but once its filled in and he is an IRONMAN, he will appreciate it. I plan on saving mine & giving it to a grand child someday. What a cool item to share with the kids!

This is the inside, enough space to write a lot of info, areas to keep track of weekly miles & year to date. The book I have is very similar to this.

I ordered new shoes online, a new brand. Usually I wear narrow but they were so tight they cut the circulation to my feet. Returned them, got more of the same size but they were too long so they are in the mail being returned too. Sigh. I hope size 8B fits well, if not, I'll be back to the damn stores again. I HATE trying on shoes.

Horses: I have bought 6 slow feed hay nets and absolutely love them but the horses took a while to get there. This is Mark, before he started training, right after I gave him his bath, eating out of his feeder. They waste so little hay now that I'm able to feed less and they are wasting less. I'll keep an eye on their weight, just in case, but I'm feeding about 2/3 of the amount of hay they had previously been getting.

Mark hasn't been to a lesson in 2 weeks, hes just sitting here eating hay & shitting. Since Terry decided to have Cathi sell him, nothing has been done besides me groom him, get him new shoes and put blankets on him. If Terry had left things well enough alone, Mark would have been sold already and they wouldn't have... I wouldn't have this horse to feed. They haven't put a penny towards his care except for 4 bales of hay & 2 big assed bags of grain meant for cows. Dumb asses.

Kate told Jean & Terry that if they want her to continue riding then Mark has to live at her barn so of course, that's not happening. Idiots. He had a chance to belong to Kate & live in horse heaven and be something.

In other horse news, the barn is full, 7 in all.

Poseidon, a 4 year old paint gelding, should be leaving in a couple weeks to go into training. He needs it and I'll be glad to see him go. I wish I could be here when Lauren is here so I can ask her if hes ever had weight in the saddle, I can give her just a few tips on more stuff she can do with him before she sends him to a trainer that's just going to charge her cash to do this same stuff.

 I got a new saddle.

Its an older Circle Y, trail type. This photo makes it look a lot nicer than it really is but its not in bad shape. It had been on Craigslist last summer, I inquired about it way before we went to Las Vegas in October, kept a note on my desk with the info on it, saying WATCH THIS SADDLE!  I sent them another email asking 'Since its been for sale for so long, would they take $275 instead of the $325 they were asking.' They said yes & I headed up to Sequim the next day. It fits Sunshower, who already has a nice saddle and I had been hoping it might fit Wifi. I'll see what its like on Sunshower next spring & if it fits better than her old one I'll sell that one and use this one.

I've got an old Circle Y 1 ear headstall & matching breast collar that I'll put together with this saddle so its a set. It does need a new latigo & off billet.

End of Year Festivities

The tri club Lan & I are members of, West Sound Triathlon Club, had its end of year Awards Ceremony & Christmas in Kona party today. There was a good turn out and I knew almost everyone there.

There's me, in the yellow.

It was fun to talk with everyone about their races this year, see the people who got MOST INSPIRATIONAL ( Linda & Terry), Suzie got one for something, Dan & Mike got most GEAR HEAD. There were several others too.

Me, Terry, Linda, June, Suzie (standing), Barbara & Rhonda

So many of these ladies are already signed up for many races & runs while I am only signed up for Yukon Do It Full marathon & Ironman CDA in June. It kills me that I can't be signed up for a dozen already.

I might not even be able to do Yukon, if they schedule me to work on New Years Eve morning then I'm screwed.

Sleep

If I could sleep enough every night I would be a happy person. I AM a happy person but I'd be happier if I got enough sleep. I'd like 7 hours of UNINTERPRETED sleep every night.

I was able to babysit yesterday evening, its such fun to play with the kids. Pasha is going to be 6 next week and she beat me at Chess.

Seriously, she beat me. I was going to let her win but not that fast! She insisted that we finish the game so I lost again with the remaining pieces.

I ran a mile with Lan yesterday morning so I could try out my new Timex GPS watch but I didn't get it figured out at all. I have the patience of a goldfish. I do know it was a faster mile than I'm used to (besides the fact I rarely run at all) because I stayed beside Lan the whole way and he runs faster than my slog. I'll guess it was a 9:30 mile. I'm good with that. And I could be exaggerating by a minute or two.

Back at it

I've taken way too much time off since Ironman Coeur d'Alene. I knew I was going to slow down & do horses all summer but I didn't plan on taking 6 months off from serious IM training. I've gained weight & lost all muscle tone.

 

Today we had my 50th birthday party & I was given 2 pretty pink Timex GPS watches. I'll take one back to REI and get Linda something really nice because she got me one of them & Lan got me the other. Shes going without her arthritis medications & spending $99.99 on pink watches for me & I feel bad. But I did give her a jacket she really wanted the other day when we went shopping; I said I was buying it for me.

I'm not really 50 until 3:53am Tuesday, December 11th. Then I can forget things and be mean to kids.

I'm going to get up that day and weigh in, take measurements of my whole body and take photos. I'm going to look worse than I did last year, ugh.

With my age comes a new age group too, I'll be competing against all older women. This theoretically gives me an advantage but if I don't do well I'll look silly.

Updates on races:
Race for a Soldier- I had to work so Amanda Arr ran with my bib. My new PR is 1:38:37 for the half marathon!! and its going to be a bitch to ever beat that time again, lol.

Seattle Half Marathon- Ran/walked this with Linda. Shes on new meds and they help but not enough to allow her to run. She had BAD pain in her left knee for more than half the distance so we decided to just walk and have FUN. We took a lot of photos and had good times with many people we knew. We finished in 3:29:14.

Jingle Bell 5k- That was last weekend and I did OK but no PR (got that last year running with Lindas bib, 29:21) this year finished in 31:14. I'm ok with that since I haven't run at all.

I want to try my new watch out so Lan & I are getting up bright & early to go for a run around the neighborhood. I've got to be back before 9:30 because the farrier is coming.

Oh, let me introduce you to Mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze06pT6d0co&feature=plcp
He is a 5 year old TB gelding that started race training but never raced but he got a bad habit of taking off when an inexperienced rider would raise their hands too high, then squeeze in fear. Mark belongs to my FIL & I found a trainer for Mark, got him looking good thru her riding & training & a decent diet. His hooves are current and hes been wormed.

Markster, September 30, 2012

This was 'Bubba' before I changed his name to Mark. He is 16hh. In this photo he had been at Terrys for a month, the trainers for a month before than & doing nothing the whole time. He lacked muscle so looked very awkward. I could see that with riding his back would come up, flattening his topline, rounding his croup, filling out his neck & deepening his chest. I don't have current conformation shots but he looks SO good now, can't wait to get some taken so I can share.

All my horses are fine and I can't wait to start riding again.

Black Diamond Olympic Race Report

Black Diamond Olympic Race Report: This was my second Black Diamond Olympic distance race (also in 2011); I've also done 1 Sprint (2010). This is the first race that didn't include rain.

The swim started normally for me,

an inside freak out that lasted until just past the 1st buoy then I was able to continue on for the rest of the mile mostly fine. It took a long time to do but I knew I was going faster than last year. It also helped that there was another woman in front of me that I was trying to catch and pass. I didn’t, she was standing & walking up the ramp when I was just touching the bottom of the lake.

Swim time: 42:16 Last year 45:28. I thought there was a bigger difference than this but I was wrong.

T1 starts at the lake shore then you have to go up the hill & into transition,

it’s a couple hundred yards. They’ve got it carpeted for the worst of the rocky part. I got my wetsuit halfway down before I got into T1 so all I needed to do was remove it from the waist down, take off goggles & head stuff, put on biking shoes w/o socks, helmet & glasses and was on my way.

I beat 6 people in the swim.

T1 time: 3:31

Last year: 4:21 Difference must be that it wasn’t raining, didn’t need a jacket & didn’t put on socks.

My bike ride was nice and went by faster than I thought it should. I’ve ridden the course a couple times before so I kind of knew it but didn’t have it all memorized. At one at spot I thought I was passing people behind me but they were in front of me instead but it gave me targets to catch. No wind or rain so it was a much nicer ride than years past. I only passed a few people on the course, maybe 10, one of them a guy, on a hill, I FLEW past him! Came into the park feeling really good.

My bike placing was 117, I beat 41 people on the bike, and I was in 134th place overall after the bike.

Bike time: 1:26:51 Last year: 1:38:13 There wasn’t wind or rain and I’ve had more training & have a better bike.

T2 Starts at dismount, run a hundred yards to transition. Shoes, helmet, glasses off, socks & shoes on, grabbed hat that had food & sweat bands in it & ran. I put the hat on after I was out of T2 & running so I wasn’t wasting time standing there. I use elastic shoe strings so all I have to do is pull them on, no tying involved.

T2 time: 2:00 Last year: 2:24 Way faster this year, considering I had to put socks on this time. Maybe it was the rain before that slowed me down??

The run was not fun and I didn’t have any time that I felt ‘in the zone’ at all. My shins were burning for the first couple miles.

It didn’t feel any better to walk than to run but walking didn’t beat on them. At the 3 mile mark I started running alongside Marianna, another TriBabe. We walked/ran the rest of the race together and finished side by side.

One thing I noticed was my head was hot with a cap on so I either need good running sunglasses and no hat or maybe try a visor.

I beat 5 people in the run.

Run time: 1:17:02 Last year: 1:09:28 Last year I ran the whole time and felt good but it was cooler weather.

Total time: 3:31:41 I was 8/8 in my division (women 45-49) and 142/158 total finishers. Not my best race ever and I felt a lot better after last years race.

Good News

Yesterday I received some really good news: I'll be working at the Bremerton Ferry Dock starting September 23rd, all the way until June 23rd, 2013. Coincidence? I think not.

I thought about it long and hard and kept coming up with the same answer to my question of if I should change docks or not: YES.

I'll have more time to workout because I am now low man on the totem pole of seniority and with the shortened fall/winter/spring sailing schedule there will be less hours available.

At Fauntleroy I had 4 people below me and I would be working almost 40 hours all winter. I can go back next summer if I want... IF.

I should be able to get to the gym or get an outdoor workout almost any day too because the dock is only about 4 miles away from the Bremerton YMCA. How convenient is that?? VERY. I'll catch the Masters swimming lessons so much easier.

This last week I once again didn't have enough time to workout much but I did get out to the lake once and this morning I did a spin class. Torrey is no longer going to lead them at the Gig Harbor Y, Dana will do them and shes a freak. Shes OK for Pilate's because she makes sure you've got good correct form but shes no good on the bikes.

This weekend I've got the Black Diamond Olympic tri in Enumclaw, did it last year in 3:39:55 and I hope to hell I can beat that time this year, even if its just by 5 seconds.

Things will be different this time around

How is training going? Good so far.

I'm getting back into the swing of things, gearing up for an intense 10 months of hard training. My nutrition will be more structured, my training is going to have more aspects to it and I'll FOLLOW THROUGH.

I'm going to purchase and use Hammer Nutrition products. I've got some information from them and have spoken to actual athletes who use them and I like what I'm hearing. I'll start using gels and LIKE them. I'll learn what, how much and how often to feed my body during workouts. I'll keep track in writing of this information so I'm not just winging it.

I'll TRY to quit eating all the crap, or at least most of it. I'd like to lose some weight but a little of that will happen as I progress and I'm not at a bad weight anyway. I'm planning on having some nice muscles at the end of this and for that I'll be doing some weight lifting so I could end up heavier. Who knows at this point.

And if I say I'm going to do a workout I'm GOING TO DO IT. No more plans being broadcast all over town & then me changing things up to make it easier on myself.

Now if I could just figure out this website; its being all goofy and difficult with me.

I've been on vacation from triathlon training

Bucket List

When I was in high school back in the late 70's, King Tut came to Seattle. I think I was one of the only residents of the state who didn't get to go see it. Our Social Studies teacher was too busy with basketball to make arrangements for our class to go on a field trip. (I've held a grudge for 35 years)

I've always wanted to go.

This is Seattle's Pacific Science Center

Lan took me on a date here last Friday, it was to make up for us not running in the torchlight fun run the weekend before. This was one of the most awesome days of my life, in the top 100 days of my life, for sure. Not as high up there are feeding Seattle Slew a carrot or jumping out of a plane though.

We rode the Bremerton-Seattle ferry over Puget Sound in the early morning.

Parking in the city is hard to find and expensive but if you look around a little and are willing to walk an extra block or two it can be a lot cheaper. Across the street from the center it was $15 for the day. We paid $1 per hour for 4 hours since we knew we wouldn't be there all day. And walked an extra block. Ha.

Seattle Center is pretty big, colorful and loud; I've always enjoyed going there. There are a lot of things going on at all times and some of my best teen memories are of concerts in the now Key Arena, previously called the 'Coliseum'.

So we found our way to the King.

But first I had to get a photo of Lan with the dino's.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These statues were the first things you saw as you walked into the exhibit. They were close to life size but I did notice they had extremely big feet; for a body about 5'6" tall there were size 14 feet.

At this point I wasn't thinking about taking photos with the info but its got his name right there on the side of his seat.

This was a female queen. Someone took the jewels out of her eyes.

Stela of Any in a Chariot

 This commemorative stela from his tomb shows Any, a scribe and steward, returning from an awards ceremony where he received from Akhenaten the "gold of honor" that he wears.

Colossal Statue of Amenhotep IV

This is about 8 feet tall and made of stone.

Wooden casket of a queen

This wood is 5000 years old and in magnificent condition. The paint is still bright in color and up close on the back of the casket you can see teeny carved feathers on her back, all up and down, like wings.

Golden Mask of Psusennes I

 This was amazing to look at.

Its life size and was fit over the head of this pharaoh. It goes around in back and obviously is hollow but you never see the back of it. So I took a photo for your viewing pleasure.

This is King Tuts bed. He wasn't very big, just about 5'6" tall and this is a short bed. Obviously he slept alone too. The bed still has its woven rattan or whatever it is and the legs of the bed have feline feet.

He didn't always sleep alone because they had a wooden box with two golden mini caskets that held the fetuses of his daughters.

This golden Canopic Coffinette is about 18" tall and gorgeous.

This is a replica of King Tutankhamen. The shape of his head is alien-ish, maybe due to the fact his parents were brother and sister and they were offspring of incest themselves. Royalty thought it would make them smarter if they married siblings, uncles and close cousins.

 This is a poster of the real mummy, on the bottom left is his father. 

Parenthood was verified in 2008 by DNA testing.

 Lan and I spent a good 2-3 hours in the exhibit. I read every plaque and spent a lot of time looking at every item.

I thought it weird that they included a toilet lid.





After we left King Tut we wandered into the rest of the Science Center and played around on the kiddy things.

Here we are with the Space Needle. It costs $20 each to go up in it now-a-days so we didn't go. Its cheaper to go into the Columbia Tower and that's way higher.

The goofy mirrors made up laugh.

Lan the Troll, with his 2 wives.

These round balls were a "Stoners Dream", according to Lan. There were about 20 balls that you could roll into the bowl, they would spiral around, around & down, then you do it all over again.

We did it, over and over again.

After 4 hours and a ton of fun we left the center and headed into Seattle to see bike shops & eventually rode my ferry home. This was one of the nicest days ever.

Forever ago

I signed up forever ago for Lan & I to run int he Seattle Torchlight 8k Fun Run that started at 6:30pm and ran along the course of the Torchlight Parade route. It was cheap but I was really looking forward to it and I had planned on dressing up like a Pirate, using my BIG skull & cross bones flag as a cape. Then I wanted to watch the parade, something I've only done once before in my 50 years of life.

But one of Lans work buddies had a BBQ at the same time and Lan thought he really needed to go. Chris had the BBQ and He is the guy who Lan replaced so it WAS important.

But I also didn't want to go because Heather was there, she was one of the ladies who interviewed me for a job & then they didn't hire me. So I didn't want to hang out with her.

Everything would have been OK except that almost an hour after I got home Lan got home & he had been out. RUNNING. He ran 5 miles. Without me.

It hurt my feelings.

Fucker could have at least waited for me & run with me. OR GONE TO THE FUCKING FUN RUN.

I was so hurt.

So I sat through his fucking BBQ and for the first hour not one of the people said more than HI to me. Finally after that one of the other wives sat by me & included me in some conversation and then Chris asked me some stuff about Ironman. But Heather had nothing to say to me. That bitch can die for all I care.

I WILL NOT be attending another BBQ with Lans work buddies any time soon and he owes me something pretty fucking nice that I don't have to plan nor pay for.

A perfect life

Sarah  on Joey

Me on Sunshower

At home they hate each other

but out on the trails they are best friends

Sarah did a little bit of stuff on Joey in the arena.

I sure love this horse.

I did a bit of stuff on Sunshower.

I sure love this mare.

A lot.

I decided I'd try to do the 'Intro to dressage' test that Sarah did on Joey in their show last weekend. We weren't very good, not at all, but it was fun.

I might just have to get a dressage saddle.

For fun.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Meghan and I had planned on me riding Wifi today for the first time this year. Meghan's been working with her for the last 2 weeks and Wifi is ready again, but last night we had HUGE thunder storms and this morning & still now its raining. The arena is soaked, its still windy and its not a good day to be getting back onto a green horse.

Yesterday I got to my YMCA class that Torrey leads but she wasn't there so they made me lead the class. I'm not a good leader but it was better than leaving, which I saw a lot of regulars do. Then I came home and texted Christine & we ended up going about 10 miles.

Found an injured turtle along the roadway, they don't normally live here so it was weird to see one. I gave him a ride in my jersey pocket to the feed store & he went home with a man who has a pond and a female turtle living in it.

Its my day off work and all I really feel like doing is reading my book and sleeping.

Current read:

Stephen Kings The Dark Tower series, #4, Wizard & Glass.

I just finished #3 earlier this morning & am 100 pages into #4. I read the first 3 when they were first released many years ago but never got to read the rest and they are just as good now as they were then.