Ripping & Tilling

The arena was ripped 4-6 inches deep today

The footing is all clay so it came up in big hard chunks

After a few hours of circles, it looked like this

Then the helper came & the rototiller was attached

It took a few runs each direction to get it good

Looking better already

But its just going to compact again so Builders Sand will be added and mixed in. After its compacted, more sand will be added on top and I HOPE to add 1 inch rubber crumble to the sandy top for better footing.

This morning we turned the big horses on the front pasture 24/7 while the back pasture is sprayed for weeds. All of them napped together.

First Wifi stood guard.

Then she laid down beside Joey for a while

And Mack had a good snooze

I signed up for the FINAL SEASON of Tribabes and last Saturday was the first BRick; 5 miles bike/1 mile run. I took my mountain bike because my shoulders/back/neck were very sore with a big lump in my muscles. 

I guess I'm going to need to spend time each day running or riding. I'm not thrilled about the swimming, my wetsuit fits someone that's 20 lbs lighter than I am now.

And Now, Triathlon

Went to the doctor today for the pain in my foot and the ultrasound showed the tumor is practically gone, which is a very good thing. But he couldn't find any explanation for the pain in the top of my foot.

Now for something weird: There is a tiny spot on the second metatarsal bone of my left foot, the foot that hurts and its an old stress fracture.

See the small gray spot here? This is where it is.

And something different, where the 2 small bones are circled in red on my right foot, I have 3 small bones. Obviously this isn't my right foot.

He said there isn't any arthritis in my feet at all, that the xrays show my feet looking

very good for my age.

So while there is no reason for my foot pain I do have the go-ahead to train for IMCDA 70.3 on June 24th so I've got 144 days to train.

Ironman World Championship

Our friend, Heidi, is racing in Kona today, you can follow her here

https://track.rtrt.me/e/IRM-WORLDCHAMPIONSHIP-2017#/tracker/RKBGDTZP

 

The following poem was written by a friend, super cute

 

Now that it is December, I can spread the holiday cheer! :-)

Sweat drops on muscles and blister prevention;
New Ignite hoodies and convertible mittens;
Cool event t-shirts and tattoos with wings;...
These are a few of my favorite things!

Pizza and burgers and all kinds of pasta;
Chicken and rice ‘cause it makes me run fasta;
Custom race bibs next to finisher blings;
These are a few of my favorite things!
When it’s hot out;
When it’s raining;
When my brick goes bad;
I try to remember I’m paying for this and I don’t want my coach to be mad!
Race belts and run gels and Blue Steel for Rashes;
Electrolyte supplements and avoiding bike crashes;
Mike Reilly’s voice each time my phone rings;
These are a few of my favorite things!
Bright colored bike shoes and pushing the big gear;
Well fitted wetsuits and goggles that stay clear;
Corndogs and donuts and food fit for Kings;
These are a few of my favorite things!
When it’s dark out and I’m worn out;
When I don’t think I can;
I simply remember my favorite things -
And that I finished IRONMAN!
~Gnay Galloway

Results IMAZ 2016

Dave didn't Finish, as NO ONE thought he would. He 'CRASHED' on his bike at about mile 40 and had to stop. Whaaa. Poor big baby. He didn't finish a single race or long ride this summer because every time, SOMEONE ELSE made him crash or 'hit him with their car'... EVERY time. So no one is surprised.
His swim was OK, 1:46:45.

Ironman Arizona 2017

I'll find a way to get there, even if I have to call in sick.

 

Lan will be racing and I'll be damned if I make him go alone. I'll drive the car down and probably back or he can drive it back and I'll fly...

 

But this next year is going to be dedicated to his race.

 

He asked a local coach to help him but as far as I know Lan hasn't heard back yet. I'll be pissed off if the coach doesn't at least tell him personally why not, if he doesn't want to coach him. Lan has tons of potential to do very well at IMAZ, even in the largest A/G.

 

At Vineman he was 96th out of 217 in his A/G and he admits to being under trained. If he had a coach, someone that would demand accountability, then he could get into the top 25% and that's HUGE. He won't listen to me though so I can't help him at all and he's going to have to speak up when he has a problem, any problem.

Today I made another big life change. Transferred my entry into the Marine Corp Marathon (October 30 in Arlington, VA) and am making plans to do another Ironman race in 2017.

Hoping I can get in to the one I want.

 

Which is

IRONMAN ARIZONA 2017

 

Suzie has an early entry into it so I asked her if she doesn't use, may I please have it and she said maybe. She wants to do Chatty again. But I'm sure she will give her early entry to someone else that she likes better than me.

 

Lori sent me a text the other day, saying shes got the bug and would I like to do it again with her. I asked Lan, he said I can't whine to him about training. I promised I'd only whine half as much as last time.

 

 MCM was and still is on my bucket list and I'll enter the lottery again when I don't have something else going on at that time of year. This year its Hawaii for the Ironman Championships.

I also want Lan to have a chance to do another Ironman, I can't hog them all.

And I cried over this decision.

USAT Age Group Nationals

 

A few months ago I told you about how I qualified at Irongirl Sprint Tri 2015 in Seattle for the

USAT Age Group Nationals,

I came in the top 10% and was invited to race in Omaha, Nebraska against the other top 10%

in the nation.

This is the weekend they raced and several of my friends went;

Windy, Barb and Lindy.

 

And this is the medal they all received in the Olympic distance

 

Windy 3:20:39 age 44

Bard 3:25:47 age 54

Lindy 4:18:58 age 70

 

I wish I had been able to go to the race but working where I do just doesn't allow summertime vacations. My supervisor encouraged me to go but I'm not stupid, it would have been a waste of money. Today they were paying overtime for someone else to show up, he would NEVER have given me today off.

 

And its about 100* in Omaha, that would have sucked.



2016 Vineman 70.3

Lan raced Vineman 70.3 on Sunday in Windsor, California

 

The swim and T1 are 20 miles away, in Guerneville in the heart of the Sonoma Valley wine region.

The 1.2 mile swim is in the Russian River, 4-6 feet deep in most places but only about 12" deep at the turn so athletes had to walk the turn around.

 

  Lans swim wave was the 4th to start, 16 minutes after the pros started their swim. First wave after the pros was the 35-40 yr old women, then 3 waves of 45-49 yr old men.

 

 

 

Pros came out of the water in about 25 minutes.

 

Craig Alexander and Andy Potts are just two of the pros in this shot.

 

 

Here is T1

 

Lans swim was 38:01, he was 118th in his age group

 T1 was 4:10

 

The bike was on a rolling hills course through wine country.

The pros finished the 56 mile bike in about 2:10.

 

Here are Craig Alexander and Andy Potts with a couple other pro men heading out on the run and they are after it. These guys were #3, 4 & 5, the other 2 were ahead by 90 seconds.

 

A short time later Lan finished his bike, in 2:47:18,

an average of 20:08mph.

69th in his age group.

 

 

Right about the time he finished his ride the pro men finished their 13.1 mile run;

Andy Potts was the winner with about 3:48.

 

Lan, almost falling as he heads out on his run.

His T2 time was 6:15

 

Here are the pro men chatting after the race, still in the finishers chute.

 

There is Lan in the yellow shirt as he finished his run with a time of 2:17:09,

he was 96th in his age group.

 

Total race time was 5:52:23

There were 217 men in his age group and 1996 total athletes competed.

 

Just happy to be done.

Vineman 70.3

Lan is signed up for Vineman 70.3 this weekend. Its supposed to be hot and he has been training in the hotter parts of the days but not nearly as hot as it will be there. He has been going to the pool to swim without his wetsuit so he's used to that in case its not wetsuit legal and swimming at the lake in case it is.
Its about 14 hours drive time from home and he has to work tomorrow. We've been talking and still don't know when departure time is but thinking later Thursday or early Friday. While he's at work I'll pack and load the car, purchase water and things and get the house ready.
The horses will be staying home with Julia to care for them and luckily she will feed chickens and the dogs too.
I'm not excited about this, I'm excited for the Hawaii trip in October. Have started checking out surfing lessons, rental cars and other things to do. Whoo Hoo, fun times.

Black Diamond Triathlon

 

Once again I'm in for the Black Diamond Long Course triathlon in Enumclaw, WA.

This year on September 10th.

 

I finished last year in 7:38:50

with times of

Swim~ 50:13

T1~ 4:48

Bike~ 3:39:38

T2~ 3:09

Run~ 3:00:59

 

All I have to do this year is beat each one by 1 second and I'll be good.

 

The next day is Tri Turtle Tri, our local sprint put on by Lisa every year; my fastest time on that was 2:00:26 so all I gotta do is beat 2 hours. This is weird, my fastest TTT was 2011, I also did it in 2013 but took 2 minutes longer and least year I was the bike in a relay team and I was still slower. Geesh.

Spring Weather, Bike Rides

Today I had a fun ride on the mtn bikes with Leona at Banner Forest, about 6.26 miles in 1:40 hours. So much fun. Shes got skills and is about equal to me so we ride well together.

 

Here is her bike, leaning on a log. We had to climb over that sucker.

 

I've been asked to ride 32 miles tomorrow.

 

Going long.

 

This morning before I rode the bike I had a massage, she worked hard on my left shoulder and right hip. The hip is messed up because the shoulder is messed up, all aggravated by the accident. I have stretching exercises to do to help it get better and IF I JUST DO THEM it can only make me feel better.

 

I'd be able to swim faster too.

 

Horse news:

Joey is awesome.

Wifi is shedding, should be white soon.

I DID IT!

16:11:33

Officially, I am an Ironman.

 

112

Today I did something I never knew I'd do in my life, never even imagined it. I rode my bike on the CompuTrainer for 112 miles. It took me nearly 8 hours but I didn't turn off the timer for all potty breaks.

 

Here I was still on the first lap of the Ironman Arizona 3 lap course, still felt pretty good.

 

And here I am at about mile 106, my hoo haw was SCREAMING and I wasn't looking forward to doing a run afterward.

 

Here is my awesome Helmet Hair

 

And the run.

I wasn't happy to start, I was scared it would be miserable but it wasn't.

 

So I was happy to be done, even though the run was only 1 mile.

 

Here is my nutrition table which doesn't show the bacon or the chicken sandwich.  I drank 5 bottles of water and 3 bottles of Gatorade.

I wore my helmet for the entire ride so my neck could work on carrying the weight.

 

I'm really tired but have to stay awake for The Walking Dead.

3.5 weeks

with 3.5 weeks left until my race I'm getting a bit excited. Only a bit though. I've done this twice already, I know its going to be a hell of a day. Hard, never ending, I will quit a thousand times and just keep going.
Its time to start packing bags and making  purchases of the things I'll need that I don't already have. Time to inventory so I CAN shop.
I've already got a bunch of spare tubes and 2 new tires, I've got a couple C02 cartridges, I'd like 4 more.
I still haven't completely dialed in the nutrition for the day but I'm trying. I know I'm going to have cookies and chips in my special needs bag. I also k now the Bike Special Needs is at mile 66 so I'll have to carry a lot of stuff with me. I've done plenty of 56 mile rides with just the stuff in my pockets so I'll be fine.
I've begun using the fuels they will be providing on the course so I'll be used to them but I haven't gotten any of the Lemon-Lime Gatorade yet. I must get some soon and drink it on my run. I DO have a Red Bull, which they provide on the run, I should use that tomorrow to see what happens when I drink it. Might be interesting.
I'm going to start going over a packing list, see you later.

Run. Swim.

Today I run and swim.
Tomorrow I run and Bike.
Saturday only about 5 hours of running, biking and swimming.
Sunday Running and biking. Monday biking and running.
Or I can swim Saturday and nothing else but we're getting so close. Only 4.5 weeks away now.

On the home front:
Lan and I went to Olympia and met our new family member, a Brazilian Mastiff puppy, a little girl. I think we're going to call her Jenny.

88

Yesterday was 88 miles of pain on the bike. I rode 56 outdoors, until I almost got killed when some asshole pulling a trailer cut me off and almost hit me with his fucking trailer. Since I was doing laps out on our own road, I just decided to come home and finish on the bike trainer. Took me longer to go another 30 miles than it did the 56. And then it was getting dark so I couldn't run.
There was a lot of tears and frustration involved.
I do not want to train fro Ironman any longer, I just want to stop it and be ME, not some dumbass triathlete thinking they will do anything spectacular. I won't, I never will. I hurt all the time and never have time for anything else.

Exhausted

I'm not the only one, I've read several reports from other FB people that they just can't get enough sleep. This is when injuries happen so I'm being very careful. This morning I slept in until 9am, unheard of for me lately.
Today the only exercise I got was a 22 minute walk at the YMCA after I renewed my membership. I need a place to swim and the Y in Bremerton is so close to work that I can't go wrong. I'll swim before and/or after work. But I need a new bathing suit, my old one that fits is threadbare and see through, my others are too small since I've gained weight in the last 9 months.
This morning I did weigh in at 149.2, the least amount I have weighed in about 3 months.
I am enjoying having the CompuTrainer, its getting used a lot. The bummer is that if I take my bike outside for a good weather ride then I have to reset the CT and I'm too lazy. So last week I rode the trainer for a 3 hour ride, and I've ridden it several times for 2+ hour rides. They say indoor training is better for you than outdoor.

Ramping Up

This week the official amount of hours my training plan calls for is about 15 hours. So far I've completed 4 hours of training, all running and biking. Tomorrow will be more biking.
Neither of the two wetsuits I picked up from Wetsuitrentals.com will work, both are too big so I'll be returning them for another one or two.
I am also going to sign up for the YMCA again so I can get my miles in swimming. I think I'll be going in tomorrow for that.

Black Diamond Race Report

Black Diamond Half Iron Distance 70.3 miles

 

1.2 mile swim: I chicked a dude and peed in Lindas wetsuit 5 times. FIVE TIMES! Before swim start Lan asked me what my swim time would be, I told him 50. It was 50:12.9.

 

T1:  Its always nice having the whole area to use because everyone else is already out on the bike.  4:48.6

 

Bike 56 miles: I chicked a dude. Stinky dead deer on the side of the road, had to smell it 4 times. I always thought this was a hilly course before but its not, its nothing like the hills we have in Kitsap County, so I was in aero a lot. My neck hurt from looking up so I didn't look up sometimes, just followed the white line. Greg Pelton chit chatted with me for a sec as he passed me at mile 50-ish. (WHY did Greg pass me at mile 50? Could it have been the 4 flats he got?? (Thank God it was him and not me (or I'd still be out there (and I wasn't calling YOU an asshole when you passed, I was calling that truck that honked at us an asshole)))) PR'd for this distance of a ride with 3:39:38.8.

 

T2: Once again I had transition all to myself. 3:09.8

 

Run 13.1 miles: I'll just set this right here, I needed to poop and it wasn't happening. This was my problem at IMCDA and a couple months ago at the See Jane Run Half Marathon. Tummy hurt. I will test prunes soon. My slowest time for a half marathon is 3:29:14 and my fastest was 2:24:28, today I took 3:00:59.5. It wouldn't have taken much to sub 3 hours, shoot.

 

Overall race time 7:38:49.6 was a PR!! and I beat 2 other people, yay, so proud of myself. But it's the only 70.3 distance race I've ever done.  7/ 7 in my age group, 58th of 60 female finishers,  48/60 swim, 44/60 bike and 57/60 run. (additional results not posted online yet).

 

I stole the results sheet off the restroom wall and I see 3 other ladies I know. And I got to talk to Patty Swedberg and Diana Hull.  And Lan ROCKS as a Sherpa, I'd hire him any time.

 

I HIGHLY recommend this course in case you were interested and Raise The Bar did a fantastic job with the whole event, there was plenty of good food at the end and everyone was all smiles, all day. OK, maybe not everyone all day.

 

I lost 1.2 pounds today.