Tag Archives: triathlon

Tips to Tri

Posted on by Run DMT
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Suncoast Running hosted an informative Tri Night on Tuesday evening for anyone considering competing in a triathlon this season.  All levels of triahtletes were welcomed, so I dragged my clumsy ass self to the workshop. That night, I took away some yummy Mix1 and great tips from Geoff of Suncoast Trailside Bicycles.

 

1. Position

  • A proper bike fit is essential.
  • Need to be comfortable.
  • Should have an easy bike to run transition.
  • Comfort + Efficiency  = Speed

 

2. Training

  • Use every minute to the best of your ability
  • Train your weakest area the hardest.
  • Cycling can set you apart
  • Attend a Master’s Swim class.
  • Practice transition.

 

3. FocusSuncoast Trailside Bicycles

  • Pay attention and be really aware of your surroundings, even on a trail.
  • No time to be nervous.
  • If you’re full of anxiety, then you’re not ready.
  • Know where your bike is racked. Count the steps to your bike and memorize it.

 

After competing in a few sprint triathlons, these tips may seem like common sense.  For me, I need to hear it out loud to drill it into in my head.  After the workshop, I made a commitment to get over my fear of falling off my bike, get back on my bike and really, truly train for another sprint triathlon.  Now, I just need to register for one.

 

I’m Tri-ing

Posted on by Run DMT
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I want to be this woman again.

I want to get over my fear of crashing or falling off my bike and get back on it again this year.

I want to compete in at least one triathlon this summer.

Chaotic Coteeman 2008

But most importantly, I want to be this fit again.  I want these abs back.

Babes and Bums 2009

 

Postpartum Countdown

Posted on by Run DMT
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I have two weeks until my postpartum visit with my OB.  When she visited me in the hospital, she advised me to take it easy. (This is the same doctor that advised me NOT to run the marathon pregnant.)

 

Can I do some yoga?

 

No.  You may unknowingly rip or pull something.  Give your body a chance to heal.

 

Can I walk?

 

I would not attempt anything until your postpartum check-up.

 

Then, Allan chimed in and asked “Bottom line, Doctor. When can she run again?  That’s the real question.”  (He knows me so well. :-) )

 

“I would wait at least 4 weeks before you run again and even then I would ease into it”, my doctor advised me.

 

This week, I hit the 4 week mark and I’m feeling closer to my old self again, except for the hamstring and pelvic muscles I pulled during the birth and honestly, I find that to be the most bizarre occurrence.  In three years of running (2 marathons, 3 triathlons and 4 half marathons), I’ve never pulled a hamstring muscle, but squeezing out an 8 lb, 10 oz  baby caused all kinds of muscle strain.  And just for the record, running a marathon is WAY easier than giving birth.

 

Today as I roll into the 4 week mark, I feel like walking to celebrate.  Unfortunately, it’s raining buckets here, so I’ll have to put off walking for one more day.  *sigh*

 

But truthfully, I’m really looking forward to running again after my postpartum visit in two weeks.  WOOHOO!

Our Looney Longleaf

Posted on by Run DMT
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Having always wanted to compete in a long distance triathlon relay, my friends and I assembled our relay team months ago for Sunday’s Longleaf International Relay (0.9 mile swim, 23 mile bike, 6.2 mile run).  Allan, our swimmer, swam miles each day in the pool to finish close to 20 minutes. 

 

 

I tortured myself with speed drills.  I constantly tried to run between 8:30-9:00 minute miles to finish under 54:00.  My Race for the Cure performance indicated that I had my work cut out for me.

 

Our cyclist, Julie, battled a hip injury which prevented her from reaching any distance higher than 12 miles and she felt like she would be the weakest link in our team.

 

 

Since the three of us love the movie Old School, we selected the team name We’re Going Streaking with streak offering such a great play on words.  After all, we hoped to move at lightning speed.  Other great names thrown into the mix included Average Joes, Strategery, Pager-Friendly, Wolf Pack, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, That’s What She Said, Shake-N-Bake, and Tri Us.

 

Days before the event, Julie decided not to compete.  Between her hip, issues with her bike and some personal matters, she didn’t feel prepared to cycle 23 miles.  In the last minute, our friend, Mike, filled her shoes. 

 

 

 

Going into the competition, we weren’t quite sure how the relay/transition thing would work.  Then, the morning of the event, we learned how to transition between legs.  We were to pass our electronic ankle chip like a baton, which seemed simple enough.

 

The temperature Sunday morning dropped to 49 degrees and the winds began blow.  Poor Allan froze for 45 minutes waiting to enter the water.  The swim was seeded with men leading, then women and then relay.  As a mixed relay team, we were pushed even further down the line, however, being a strong swimmer, Allan quickly found himself at the front of the pack. 

 

 

Unfortunately,  another swimmer grabbed his ankle and pulled off his chip.  Thankfully, his wife snapped numerous pictures and his performance was digitally recorded by Cathy.  Although we estimated that Allan finish in 14:50, our relay team would not make the official roster.

 

 

As Allan ran into transition, we learned about his lost chip, but the show must go on!  Chipless Mike bolted out of transition to begin his 24 mile ride.  He hoped to finish it in 1:15, but he faced some strong head winds which added a minute onto his time (1:16).  As I waited in transition, I chatted with Andrea (a fellow Strider competing in the Sprint Relay) and I worried about the winds affecting my performance. 

 

Once Mike arrived back in transition, I took off and passed my family who cheered for me as I began my journey.   From the very start of my 6.2 mile run, I struggled with the fierce winds and I couldn’t move any faster than 9:30.  Faced with only our second cold snap of the season, I don’t think my body was prepared enough to face the cooler weather.  My lungs hurt and I could feel an asthma attack building.

 

At mile 3, the route turned and finally the wind was behind me.  My pace picked up to 8:30, but I knew I couldn’t shave any minutes off my time.  Around mile 5, Larisa and several other Striders formed a cheering squad on David and Karen’s front porch and cheered for me as I ran past.  It always feels good to have friends and family rooting for you or even honk for you as they leave the race.

 

During the last half mile, I passed Andrea strolling back to David’s house for the post-race party.  She had finished her 5K in record speed (20:26) and made it back to cheer for her fellow Striders.  Hearing the kudos from such great runners like Andrea really helped put some pep in my step.

 

As I turned the final corner to the finish line, I found my family cheering for me once again.  With Cathy’s mad photography skills, she snapped a photo of me crossing the finish line with our “unofficial” finish time.  My Garmin clocked 57:02 for my 10K run. 

 

 

After crossing the finish line, I had an asthma attack and needed my rescue inhaler.  With the relatively cold winds and whatever grass/weed the wind blew triggered an attack.

 

Despite all our hurdles, we had a great time competing in the relay and we can’t wait to do it again.

Getting Down to Bizniz

Posted on by Run DMT
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“Half Marathon training officially begins tomorrow. Bring it on,” read my running mommy friend’s status update on Facebook.

  

Her status update startled me like a loud buzzing alarm clock waking me from a sound sleep.

  

What the?! What half marathon?!  Which half marathon is twelve weeks away?! 

 

Is the Women’s half only 12 weeks away?

  

I opened my Outlook calendar to count the number of weeks until the Women’s Half on November 22.  Counting this Sunday, the race is only 11 weeks away.

  

ELEVEN WEEKS!

 

 Holy pacing, Batman!  I need to get back into the game!

 

I thanked Laura for the reminder and the motivating update to help me focus and rev up my training again.  I downloaded Hal Higdon’s Intermediate Half Marathon Training Plan, posted it on my fridge and e-mailed a copy to Tiffany with the subject line “we are so screwed” to prepare her as well.  Considering that Tiffany and I ran 6 miles last Saturday albeit pathetic at best, we still attempted it and it starts us right where we should be according to my almighty Hal.

 

The upside to this sudden and urgent desire to get training again will also get me on track with the Longleaf Triathlon International Relay, which is only 6 weeks away.  As the runner on the relay team, I need to finish a 10K in less than 50 minutes to place at least third according to last year’s stats.  And for the simple fact that my team is relying on me, I need to pick up the pace for sure.  Then, there’s also the Race for the Cure 10K in 3 weeks, which will provide me with an opportunity to determine how I will perform at Longleaf.

 

So this morning, I jumped out of bed at 6:00 a.m. to run 3 miles.  No more lying in and complaining about time off from my injury, the dark, allergies, asthma, my DH’s new schedule or my kid’s school schedule!  It’s time to get serious and down to bizniz!  With that, I decided to run my “race pace” in the dark.

 

3.16 miles

Time 30:54

Ave Pace 9:47

 

Not exactly my race pace, but it’s an improvement from Monday’s run.  I’ll run another 3 miles tomorrow morning and then, Tiffany and I will go for 6 miles again this Saturday with the Striders.

I Didn’t Tri

Posted on by Run DMT
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I haven’t run since last Friday.  Every day, I wake up and evaluate my rib situation.  There’s been some improvement, but still some tenderness.  Occasionally, when I sneeze or cough, I’ll feel tightness in my side.  Oddly, driving my car causes some discomfort. 

 

Then, while hanging some laundry in the closets yesterday, I felt a new pain as I pushed the clothes to one side and at that moment, I decided not do the Faces of Courage triathlon on Saturday.  I figured if I couldn’t push without causing myself some pain, then how could I swim?  How can I run if taking deep breaths hurt?

 

My wonderful husband brought my bike to the local bike shop for a tune-up and to repair my handlebars.  Once my bike was good as new again, Allan suggested I go for a test ride or run to determine if I could attempt the tri, but I was too nervous and thought I would cause more damage to myself.  What if a decent dismount caused me more pain?  In the end (late Friday evening), I opted out of the event.  The most upsetting part for me is the “no show” results that will appear in my active account.  Spoken like a true athlete, right?  LOL

 

I don’t think any athlete likes to rest even though we know it’s the best medicine to heal an injury.  I’ve been anxiously sitting around the house and all this nervous energy is building. I can’t wait to hit the pavement again.  Hopefully, tomorrow I can attempt a couple of miles.  *Fingers crossed*

 

From all of this, I have learned a great lesson.  From here on out, I will only ride my bike on the trail.  My friend, Chrissy, wants to ride with me during the week once school starts and I will ride with her hubby’s bike group once in awhile on the weekends.  Safety in numbers ;-)

 

On a side note, I came across this funny t-shirt design from I Do That!  This is so me.

 

Laughter is NOT the Best Medicine

Posted on by Run DMT
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On Sunday, my mom, dad, my sister and her new husband stopped in for a visit to celebrate my belated birthday over brunch.  As usual, the jokes were flying back and forth and the stupid one-liners dished out between courses brought tears to my eyes.  Only your family can make you laugh so hard that you cry and for whatever reason, your family loves to see you in pain.  The giggles and laughter that tickled my ribs came with a price because all that laughing really hurt.  Bruised ribs are no laughing matter.

 

Since last Friday’s crash, it still hurts when I take a deep breath, cough or sneeze.  I contemplated visiting a doctor for an x-ray to satisfy my curiosity: Is it cracked ribs or bruised ribs?  But knowing the answer won’t help with the healing process.  From what I’ve read on-line, bruised and/or cracked ribs can take weeks to heal.  Resting and popping the occasional Tylenol when needed are my only options.

 

This morning, my 4 y.o. awoke crying from a bad dream.  When my DH didn’t respond to her wails, I slumped out of bed to comfort her.  When I picked her up, I felt a shooting pain in my ribs again, which meant another day of no running for me.

 

I can’t sit in certain positions and sometimes lying down hurts.  The pain isn’t as bad as it was on Sunday when my family had me in stitches, but every day I wake up hopeful that I can run again and be ready for the triathlon on Saturday, however, at this point, it doesn’t look good.

Gracie’s Gear Giveaway

Posted on by Run DMT

Blogoversary

Part of preparing for a race includes selecting the right outfit.  This might sound silly, but you have to wear what’s comfortable.  Plus, it needs to be something you’ve trained in and you know works for you. 

 

For Saturday’s triathlon, I’ve selected a pair of padded bike shorts for sure, but I’ve also decided my Gracie’s Gear Long Tank is the perfect pick for Saturday’s triathlon because I know it works for me.  I plan to stash a Cliff Shot in the flexible Power Pouch so I can suck down a shot running into transition to gear up for the biking leg.  (Did I mention it’s a reverse tri?)

 

I wore my Gracie’s Gear Long Tank during the Gasparilla Marathon and proclaimed my love for it.  Now, once again I can share my love for this product with another Gracie’s Gear Giveaway!  :-) To win a Gracie’s Gear Long Tank, visit graciesgearandtraining.com and view The Long Tanks.  Then, post a comment stating which size/color long tank you would like to win. 

 

 

For additional entries to win a Gracie’s Gear Long Tank:

  • Write a post about this giveaway on your blog.
  • Follow @denisermt on Twitter.
  • Tweet about this giveaway.  Add a new comment for each time you tweet: @denisermt Run DMT’s #blogoversary #giveaway- Win a Gracie’s Gear Long Tank- http://tinyurl.com/n3c79n
  • Visit graciesgearandtraining.com and read her Training Tips.  Add a comment here to let us know which tips you read and if you tried them.  Each time you read an article and post another comment is an additional entry. 
  • Gracie’s Gear is a supporter of EMWomen, so visit emwomen.com and let us know what interesting things you found there.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Posted on by Run DMT
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Last Friday, I was so bummed that I had to cut my 10.5 mile ride short after almost getting crushed by a pick-up truck.  Since my nasty spill, my bruised ribs and headaches have prevented me from training for the Faces of Courage Triathlon.  I just want to ride my bicycle and perform well on Saturday.

 

Queen’s Bicycle Race seemed like the perfect song to lift my spirits and help me prepare for next Saturday’s triathlon even though it may be a few more days until I heal and am ready to run and hop on a bike again.  Although, I won’t be butt naked on a bike.  Good Lord, I can’t even imagine racing on a bike without padded bike shorts!

 

 

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Bruised Body and Spirit

Posted on by Run DMT
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This week has been a terrible week for training.  My DH changed his schedule around and started leaving for work earlier a couple times a week.  That combined with my laziness and the heat has made it way too easy to loose my motivation. 

 

Finally on Thursday, I found the motivation to get out the door for a quick run before Allan left for work.  It was a decent run despite the heat, but I crossed paths with a cottonmouth in the road which I think motivated me to run a bit faster.

 

 4 miles

Time 40:11

Pace 10:02

 

Knowing I needed to get at least some tri training in this week, I decided to run and bike today.  I’ve been doing a lot better on the bike.  My balance is improving and I can dismount without falling on my ass, which is always a bonus.

 

Once again, the heat made the 3 mile run tough.  With the unbearable heat and humidity, even my eyelids were sweating.

3 miles

Time 30:31

Pace 9:49

 

After an extended Gatorade and water break transition, I hopped on my bike for a 10.5 mile.  However, I think the heat has made people drive like lunatics.  Or is there a full moon?

 

On 4 different occasions, I nearly became road kill today.  First, when I exited my neighborhood, a commercial van flew passed me scaring the tar out of me.  Whenever I see commercial vans driving like idiots, I make a mental note to never use their services.

 

After about 5 miles into my ride, I was making pretty good time.  Then, a mini-van backed out of her drive without looking and nearly hit me.  I swerved out of the way by hopping on the sidewalk.  That’s when I noticed the “Baby on Board” sign in the rear view mirror.  Great.  So, she can drive a jackhole and run others over because she has a baby in the car.

 

The mini-van passed me, but eventually slowed down when a cement mixer began to reverse in the road.  When the cement mixer spotted the mini-van, he let her pass, but I guess he didn’t see me behind Miss Mini-Van.  When she passed him, he proceeded to back up again and I had to swerve out of the way by hopping on the sidewalk again.

 

I should have taken these all as signs to call it quits, but I continued pedaling.  Then, a pick-up truck backed out his driveway without looking and nearly hit me.  Once again, I swerved onto the sidewalk to avoid getting hit, but this time I hit the curb.  I flew off my bike, landed on my knee and shoulder and rolled slamming my face into the concrete.  It happened so fast that I honestly do not remember the sequence of events, but the results of the crash are evident on my right cheek, right knee and right shoulder.

 

I was pissed MAD!  The crash caused my handlebars to bend and twist out of alignment.  My body ached.  Feeling like my training had been crushed due to almost being squashed, I had no choice to hop on my bike and head home.

 

A lady in a SUV witnessed my accident and stopped to offer assistance.  Thinking back, I should have asked to borrow her phone and called Allan to come get me, but I was so mad and in shock that I couldn’t think clearly.  Instead, I pedaled home on bike with crooked handlebars.

7. 51 miles

Time 34:10

Speed 13.2

 

 Once back home about a half hour after my spill, I had the worst headache and my vision went funny.  There appeared to be a blurry or hazing in my peripheral vision.  I took some Tylenol and called my doctor to see if I need emergency care.  While on hold with the doctor’s office, the headache and my vision disappeared, so I never went to the doctor but I took it easy for the rest of the day.  Later in the day, I began to feel a pain near my ribs, which I assume is a bruised rib.   

 

Allan suggested I bike the trail near our house, but the psycho cyclists on the trail scare me.  I think they may hurt me worse than an idiot driver.  Allan also thinks that it may be time to abandon the biking thing.  Running is definitely my strongest sport.