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Decided to just make one big post and add to it, so here goes:
Got off to a bit a of a rocky start Fri am, when I got to Penn Station and found out that the NJT trains were not stopping at Newark Airport, but we had to get off and take a bus. There were a whole bunch of us on the same train so we all followed each other and got in the bus line, and I was fortunate enough to get a seat. Everyone's bags were blocking the aisle and the driver kept yelling at people to move back and they kept yelling back "we can't, there are bags!" Then the bus stopped at all terminals and I had no idea which terminal I wanted, was planning to read the directory while on the air train. Everyone else was in the same boat tho, and people were calling back and forth "What terminal does so and so airline go out of?" There was a dude in a Continental uniform so i got off when he did *grin*. Even with the bus detour I was one of the first there.
Got coffee and a bagel, and then since I didn't see anyone I recognized yet, went to the group check in counter to see if I could check in. The lady just asked for my id and handed me my boarding pass. That was easy! Security not toooo bad either. Saw a couple familiar people near the gate, and then I roamed about to get the fluids I was supposed to be drinking, and some trail mix. Turned on Chuck to see if there was a free connection - there wasn't. So read book instead.
The flight was much fun, as we had practically taken it over. Flight attendants had to keep asking people to stop congregating in the aisles, and snacks were being passed around the whole plane. Probably some non-TNT people snuck in on that one, as no one knew for sure who everyone was. My roommate was next to me, as everything had been done alphabetically, so we got to know each other a bit on the flight and after. There were shuttles waiting for us, but we had to wait a bit on them b/c some dude left something on the plane. *shakes head* ;)
We checked in - the rooms are very nice, even an iHome clock like I have home, so Bono has a place to sleep. Plus, familiar clock face and alarm for me are a bonus. After check in, we walked across the parking lot to a restaurant, totally overwhelmed the poor dude who was waiting on us, but we tipped well, and the food was good.
After food was bike pick up at a bike shop down the street. I ducked into the shop (yes I admit it, for the AC) and ended up buying a bento box for the front of the bike to put gels and stuff in for the ride. It also makes quite a handy coffee cup holder.
Came back, stashed the bikes, and jumped in the pool. When i say jumped in, we sort of took it over. Felt *really* good after the long flight and the heat heat heat. There was a nice view of the river, and even the hot tub was nice - both pools were salt water, which was sort of strange since we were nowhere near salt water.
We went for dinner at a terrific mexican place a few blocks away. The guacamole was outstanding, and I don't think anyone had a dish that wasn't terrific. I took a picture of my food, Joe Mallozzi style. Back to the hotel and crashed for the nite.
Saturday morning we got up early to go swim, after playing dueling alarm clock snoozes. I had set Bono to country music (To quote Pat Murphy "When in Rome, tho I wasn't), and my roommate had set her cell phone. The alarms were about two minutes apart, and we are both snooze fiends apparently. So it went "brrring brrring, BAM." "Whiney country voice, BAM", repeat about 4 times.
I had my one cup of bad hotel room coffee and that was it, b/c supposed to be hydrating. We met with our bikes, tossed out bags in the back of a van and rode down to a cold spring that is one of the area's attractions also, so two birds, one stone. Put on our wetsuits and did a practice open water swim, using coaches heads for buoys. The water was *cold* At first I couldn't catch my breath and kept stopping every few feet, but the second lap around once I warmed up was better.
when we got back we went for a bike ride to scope out the course for Sunday. Everyone ahead of me would cross the street just before the light changed and i kept getting stuck at the red lights and falling behind. I'm a total wuss when it comes to riding the bike on the street. My mentor took pity on me and doubled back, but I got the gist of the course and did the two major hills.
We came back, and went to the expo to register and get our race packets. Bought a cool pair of sunglasses on clearance for $15 and a race belt with a pocket big enough to hold cards and keys. We got free water bottles and of course teeshirts. At this rate I'm going to have a whole wardrobe of teeshirts :) After the transition clinic (still didn't get an answer of where I was supposed to plug in my hair drier) we took our bikes over to the transition area to be racked. Since it wasn't by race number, we could go anywhere on the racks for our age group, so we were able to group several of our bikes together - great for us first timers who were worried about encroaching on someone else's space by accident. Oh, and they designate your age by the end of the year! So all my stuff said 39, and I kept saying but I have a few months to go! :( And I *still* have the 39 on my leg from body marking on race day. The sharpie markers love my skin. It will probably still be there in August when it will become accurate.
We walked around the transition area, saw where the swim start was, where the buoys were, and where the exit was, where the bike goes out and where the run goes out. Then we went back and got changed for the pasta party.
The pasta party was fun. Everyone got cheered and cowbelled when we walked in. The pasta was just that - pasta, with choice of three sauces. And garlic bread and really good cookies. (Detox will be starting Tuesday. I have a little over a month to detox before I go to Hungary and eat way too much chocolate, meat, and cheese.) After the food there was a presentation - a video about the origins of Team in Training, and lots of clips, first timers were acknowledged, then veterans, and a couple that have done more than 12 races with TNT. Cancer survivors of course were applauded, and after a dude in a cowboy hat told us how he had hired a weatherman to say the weather would be sunny *rolls eyes*, a local woman got up and told her story, which had most of us both laughing and crying.
We had a last minute meeting and decorated our singlets with our names for people to cheer us the next day.
After that was back to the room to sleep. Hopefully. We packed our transition bags and laid out our clothes and breakfast stuff, and went to bed.
Moment of truth *grin*
Pre Race: Got up at 5AM after a half hour of dueling snooze buttons (see yesterday), had my one cup of bad hotel room coffee, a whole grain roll with nutella, and a banana. Started drinking water and a little bit of gatorade after the coffee. Put on clothes, grabbed bag and water bottles/camel back and went downstairs to get body marked with race number on both arms, and my age that will be correct in 3 months (and probably the mark still there in three months) on my calf. Headed over to transition, dropped my bag and took the bike back near the entrance where one of the coaches was allowed to hang and help people put air in tires. He pumped both tires and also checked for me that the front wheel was secure as it had seemed wobbly when I racked it the night before.
Took the bike back and laid out my towel with my sneakers and socks, helmet and gloves, sunscreen, camel back, water bottles and sunglasses. Put gels in the bento box and a water bottle on the bike. Rubbed on some body glide, grabbed my wetsuit, ziplock bag with goggles, cap and ear plugs, and a water bottle and headed out.
The plan was to put the wetsuit on 10-15 min before our start time, but there was so much confusion on the start times, that the other TNT people in my wave and I were nervous and decided to be safe and at least put the bottom half on. It worked well, I didn't get overheated, and we did the upper part and put on cap and goggles while the wave before us was getting in the water. I ate my gel a little earlier also to be safe, but I think it was ok.
Swim: 45:35 The swim I thought went very well. The in water start was good, treading water is very easy in the wetsuit and water wasn't too cold. I stayed to the back and the middle, and did breast stroke for a few yards after the gun to get my breathing under control before putting my face in the water. Could see nothing in the water, which was probably a good thing *g*. Got into a rhythm pretty quickly and before I knew it I was at buoy number one. I never stopped, tho I did breast stroke at each buoy until I could see the next one. There were 15 minutes between us and the next wave, so I was well into the second half before a few of them started to catch up. So no real issues with other people, I got around the buoys, found the exit, and thanked the people pulling me out just like my swim coach taught us. Overall the swim seemed to go much faster than in the pool, probably b/c I didn't have to keep turning around and ducking under ropes.
T1: 10:08 I confess I took my time with the transitions. I felt really good after the swim, and tho I walked back to my spot rather than ran, I had my goggles and cap off and the wetsuit to my waist all read to go. Kicked it off and sat on it while I put on my sneakers, put on my helmet and camel back, forgot to put on my gloves. Oops. Drank a little water, and then walked the bike to the exit.
Bike:2:02:16 The bike was... slow. I hadn't done much with the group biking, and biking alone I have no one to compare myself to, so now I realize just how slow the old mountain bike is. The distance was fine though, I just stayed all the way to the right the whole time, and every TNT person as well as others cheered me on by name so that was helpful. I managed the hills without too much difficulty tho I wanted to shoot the camera dude who was sitting at the top of the first one. He must have four pics of me huffing and puffing. I was able to speed up on the long stretch and go to the higher chain, but still nothing compared to everyone else. I definitely need a bike for next time. The bento box worked really well, I was able to eat both gels from it as well as drink from the camel back. I did experience some chaffing issues I hadn't had before. Nuff said. I enjoyed the bike ride, and the scenery, especially the sunflowers along the flat stretch.
T2: 6:29 I felt pretty good coming off the bike even tho it had been long. Stripped off my camel back and helmet, took a puff of my inhaler for just in case, and put on my race belt. Started to jog toward the exit and then decided to walk. This will become a trend...
Run: 1:22:28 Oh, let's just call it a walk, shall we? I started out running, immediately my face felt like it was on fire and I couldn't catch my breath. There was a water station almost immediately, so I slowed down and walked to it. They were out of gatorade, so I drank some water and throw some on my head. Never did have the issue of water getting all into my shoes -maybe the visor caught it. Anyway, started running again and again got overheated and panting. So I decided that I had accomplished quite a bit, I was feeling really good at a fast walk pace, and pushing myself for the sake of running the six miles would not be worth it. I did run again for a few spurts, and at the end with Coach Meghan running me in, but otherwise I walked 80-90 %. And I'm okay with that. It was a little discouraging when they were dismantling the barricades while I was on my second loop, but....
I FINISHED!!!!!! Total time 4:26:59. Gotta love the 59 seconds.
So to summarize, I need to get a better bike (tho huge hugs to my brother Jerry for loaning me this one, and he's not getting it back just yet) and to really work on my running. Swimming can of course improve, but I think that was my strongest part of this race.
And I am going to wear the teeshirt every single day this week! Perhaps I should wash it first...
We waited for the last person to finish, and ran her in, which I thought was great. I can't say enough about the team spirit of Team in Training, and all the encouraging and helping each other that goes on. One person stayed with our bags and the rest of us rode our bikes back to the bike shop for shipping back to New York, and then back to the hotel to SHOWER.
I called my parents first to tell them I was alive and athletic *g* and then got into the shower with all my gear. The transition area had been dirt so everything was filthy. We did leave a good tip for the housekeeper. The Hyatt could use more places to hang things up - between the two of us we decorated the entire room with wet dripping things. Sat in the hotel bathrobe for an hour on the bed with my feet up and chatted with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
smileraniko, checked email, etc. Then on to the victory party.
The victory party... well. Imagine your typical wedding, or office holiday party? We had that same DJ! There were tables set up banquet style and a buffet of salad and taco stuff. We stayed for about an hour, and then went on to the *real* party.
We went to a place down the street called Docs, where they were actually excited to have us and had set drink specials. Now, if anyone is still reading this that knows me from cons, you know when I say I'm going to go out drinking all nite, i really mean nurse one drink for two hours and be heading to bed before midnite. *grin* I was pretty true to form. Had a frozen margarita (resisted the urge to yell "Boo Jimmy Buffet"), and some munchies. Since I was so congested (which thankfully did not affect my race, but was a bit of a bummer party wise), I was ready to leave when the group was going on to find a bar with a mechanical bull. Stopped at a gas station on the way back and got some nyquil, which meant a very good nite's sleep.
Monday we all got up very late (well, most of us *g*), hung out by the pool for awhile, went to a BBQ place called Ironworks for lunch, and then off to the airport. And HOME :)
Got off to a bit a of a rocky start Fri am, when I got to Penn Station and found out that the NJT trains were not stopping at Newark Airport, but we had to get off and take a bus. There were a whole bunch of us on the same train so we all followed each other and got in the bus line, and I was fortunate enough to get a seat. Everyone's bags were blocking the aisle and the driver kept yelling at people to move back and they kept yelling back "we can't, there are bags!" Then the bus stopped at all terminals and I had no idea which terminal I wanted, was planning to read the directory while on the air train. Everyone else was in the same boat tho, and people were calling back and forth "What terminal does so and so airline go out of?" There was a dude in a Continental uniform so i got off when he did *grin*. Even with the bus detour I was one of the first there.
Got coffee and a bagel, and then since I didn't see anyone I recognized yet, went to the group check in counter to see if I could check in. The lady just asked for my id and handed me my boarding pass. That was easy! Security not toooo bad either. Saw a couple familiar people near the gate, and then I roamed about to get the fluids I was supposed to be drinking, and some trail mix. Turned on Chuck to see if there was a free connection - there wasn't. So read book instead.
The flight was much fun, as we had practically taken it over. Flight attendants had to keep asking people to stop congregating in the aisles, and snacks were being passed around the whole plane. Probably some non-TNT people snuck in on that one, as no one knew for sure who everyone was. My roommate was next to me, as everything had been done alphabetically, so we got to know each other a bit on the flight and after. There were shuttles waiting for us, but we had to wait a bit on them b/c some dude left something on the plane. *shakes head* ;)
We checked in - the rooms are very nice, even an iHome clock like I have home, so Bono has a place to sleep. Plus, familiar clock face and alarm for me are a bonus. After check in, we walked across the parking lot to a restaurant, totally overwhelmed the poor dude who was waiting on us, but we tipped well, and the food was good.
After food was bike pick up at a bike shop down the street. I ducked into the shop (yes I admit it, for the AC) and ended up buying a bento box for the front of the bike to put gels and stuff in for the ride. It also makes quite a handy coffee cup holder.
Came back, stashed the bikes, and jumped in the pool. When i say jumped in, we sort of took it over. Felt *really* good after the long flight and the heat heat heat. There was a nice view of the river, and even the hot tub was nice - both pools were salt water, which was sort of strange since we were nowhere near salt water.
We went for dinner at a terrific mexican place a few blocks away. The guacamole was outstanding, and I don't think anyone had a dish that wasn't terrific. I took a picture of my food, Joe Mallozzi style. Back to the hotel and crashed for the nite.
Saturday morning we got up early to go swim, after playing dueling alarm clock snoozes. I had set Bono to country music (To quote Pat Murphy "When in Rome, tho I wasn't), and my roommate had set her cell phone. The alarms were about two minutes apart, and we are both snooze fiends apparently. So it went "brrring brrring, BAM." "Whiney country voice, BAM", repeat about 4 times.
I had my one cup of bad hotel room coffee and that was it, b/c supposed to be hydrating. We met with our bikes, tossed out bags in the back of a van and rode down to a cold spring that is one of the area's attractions also, so two birds, one stone. Put on our wetsuits and did a practice open water swim, using coaches heads for buoys. The water was *cold* At first I couldn't catch my breath and kept stopping every few feet, but the second lap around once I warmed up was better.
when we got back we went for a bike ride to scope out the course for Sunday. Everyone ahead of me would cross the street just before the light changed and i kept getting stuck at the red lights and falling behind. I'm a total wuss when it comes to riding the bike on the street. My mentor took pity on me and doubled back, but I got the gist of the course and did the two major hills.
We came back, and went to the expo to register and get our race packets. Bought a cool pair of sunglasses on clearance for $15 and a race belt with a pocket big enough to hold cards and keys. We got free water bottles and of course teeshirts. At this rate I'm going to have a whole wardrobe of teeshirts :) After the transition clinic (still didn't get an answer of where I was supposed to plug in my hair drier) we took our bikes over to the transition area to be racked. Since it wasn't by race number, we could go anywhere on the racks for our age group, so we were able to group several of our bikes together - great for us first timers who were worried about encroaching on someone else's space by accident. Oh, and they designate your age by the end of the year! So all my stuff said 39, and I kept saying but I have a few months to go! :( And I *still* have the 39 on my leg from body marking on race day. The sharpie markers love my skin. It will probably still be there in August when it will become accurate.
We walked around the transition area, saw where the swim start was, where the buoys were, and where the exit was, where the bike goes out and where the run goes out. Then we went back and got changed for the pasta party.
The pasta party was fun. Everyone got cheered and cowbelled when we walked in. The pasta was just that - pasta, with choice of three sauces. And garlic bread and really good cookies. (Detox will be starting Tuesday. I have a little over a month to detox before I go to Hungary and eat way too much chocolate, meat, and cheese.) After the food there was a presentation - a video about the origins of Team in Training, and lots of clips, first timers were acknowledged, then veterans, and a couple that have done more than 12 races with TNT. Cancer survivors of course were applauded, and after a dude in a cowboy hat told us how he had hired a weatherman to say the weather would be sunny *rolls eyes*, a local woman got up and told her story, which had most of us both laughing and crying.
We had a last minute meeting and decorated our singlets with our names for people to cheer us the next day.
After that was back to the room to sleep. Hopefully. We packed our transition bags and laid out our clothes and breakfast stuff, and went to bed.
Moment of truth *grin*
Pre Race: Got up at 5AM after a half hour of dueling snooze buttons (see yesterday), had my one cup of bad hotel room coffee, a whole grain roll with nutella, and a banana. Started drinking water and a little bit of gatorade after the coffee. Put on clothes, grabbed bag and water bottles/camel back and went downstairs to get body marked with race number on both arms, and my age that will be correct in 3 months (and probably the mark still there in three months) on my calf. Headed over to transition, dropped my bag and took the bike back near the entrance where one of the coaches was allowed to hang and help people put air in tires. He pumped both tires and also checked for me that the front wheel was secure as it had seemed wobbly when I racked it the night before.
Took the bike back and laid out my towel with my sneakers and socks, helmet and gloves, sunscreen, camel back, water bottles and sunglasses. Put gels in the bento box and a water bottle on the bike. Rubbed on some body glide, grabbed my wetsuit, ziplock bag with goggles, cap and ear plugs, and a water bottle and headed out.
The plan was to put the wetsuit on 10-15 min before our start time, but there was so much confusion on the start times, that the other TNT people in my wave and I were nervous and decided to be safe and at least put the bottom half on. It worked well, I didn't get overheated, and we did the upper part and put on cap and goggles while the wave before us was getting in the water. I ate my gel a little earlier also to be safe, but I think it was ok.
Swim: 45:35 The swim I thought went very well. The in water start was good, treading water is very easy in the wetsuit and water wasn't too cold. I stayed to the back and the middle, and did breast stroke for a few yards after the gun to get my breathing under control before putting my face in the water. Could see nothing in the water, which was probably a good thing *g*. Got into a rhythm pretty quickly and before I knew it I was at buoy number one. I never stopped, tho I did breast stroke at each buoy until I could see the next one. There were 15 minutes between us and the next wave, so I was well into the second half before a few of them started to catch up. So no real issues with other people, I got around the buoys, found the exit, and thanked the people pulling me out just like my swim coach taught us. Overall the swim seemed to go much faster than in the pool, probably b/c I didn't have to keep turning around and ducking under ropes.
T1: 10:08 I confess I took my time with the transitions. I felt really good after the swim, and tho I walked back to my spot rather than ran, I had my goggles and cap off and the wetsuit to my waist all read to go. Kicked it off and sat on it while I put on my sneakers, put on my helmet and camel back, forgot to put on my gloves. Oops. Drank a little water, and then walked the bike to the exit.
Bike:2:02:16 The bike was... slow. I hadn't done much with the group biking, and biking alone I have no one to compare myself to, so now I realize just how slow the old mountain bike is. The distance was fine though, I just stayed all the way to the right the whole time, and every TNT person as well as others cheered me on by name so that was helpful. I managed the hills without too much difficulty tho I wanted to shoot the camera dude who was sitting at the top of the first one. He must have four pics of me huffing and puffing. I was able to speed up on the long stretch and go to the higher chain, but still nothing compared to everyone else. I definitely need a bike for next time. The bento box worked really well, I was able to eat both gels from it as well as drink from the camel back. I did experience some chaffing issues I hadn't had before. Nuff said. I enjoyed the bike ride, and the scenery, especially the sunflowers along the flat stretch.
T2: 6:29 I felt pretty good coming off the bike even tho it had been long. Stripped off my camel back and helmet, took a puff of my inhaler for just in case, and put on my race belt. Started to jog toward the exit and then decided to walk. This will become a trend...
Run: 1:22:28 Oh, let's just call it a walk, shall we? I started out running, immediately my face felt like it was on fire and I couldn't catch my breath. There was a water station almost immediately, so I slowed down and walked to it. They were out of gatorade, so I drank some water and throw some on my head. Never did have the issue of water getting all into my shoes -maybe the visor caught it. Anyway, started running again and again got overheated and panting. So I decided that I had accomplished quite a bit, I was feeling really good at a fast walk pace, and pushing myself for the sake of running the six miles would not be worth it. I did run again for a few spurts, and at the end with Coach Meghan running me in, but otherwise I walked 80-90 %. And I'm okay with that. It was a little discouraging when they were dismantling the barricades while I was on my second loop, but....
I FINISHED!!!!!! Total time 4:26:59. Gotta love the 59 seconds.
So to summarize, I need to get a better bike (tho huge hugs to my brother Jerry for loaning me this one, and he's not getting it back just yet) and to really work on my running. Swimming can of course improve, but I think that was my strongest part of this race.
And I am going to wear the teeshirt every single day this week! Perhaps I should wash it first...
We waited for the last person to finish, and ran her in, which I thought was great. I can't say enough about the team spirit of Team in Training, and all the encouraging and helping each other that goes on. One person stayed with our bags and the rest of us rode our bikes back to the bike shop for shipping back to New York, and then back to the hotel to SHOWER.
I called my parents first to tell them I was alive and athletic *g* and then got into the shower with all my gear. The transition area had been dirt so everything was filthy. We did leave a good tip for the housekeeper. The Hyatt could use more places to hang things up - between the two of us we decorated the entire room with wet dripping things. Sat in the hotel bathrobe for an hour on the bed with my feet up and chatted with
smileraniko, checked email, etc. Then on to the victory party. The victory party... well. Imagine your typical wedding, or office holiday party? We had that same DJ! There were tables set up banquet style and a buffet of salad and taco stuff. We stayed for about an hour, and then went on to the *real* party.
We went to a place down the street called Docs, where they were actually excited to have us and had set drink specials. Now, if anyone is still reading this that knows me from cons, you know when I say I'm going to go out drinking all nite, i really mean nurse one drink for two hours and be heading to bed before midnite. *grin* I was pretty true to form. Had a frozen margarita (resisted the urge to yell "Boo Jimmy Buffet"), and some munchies. Since I was so congested (which thankfully did not affect my race, but was a bit of a bummer party wise), I was ready to leave when the group was going on to find a bar with a mechanical bull. Stopped at a gas station on the way back and got some nyquil, which meant a very good nite's sleep.
Monday we all got up very late (well, most of us *g*), hung out by the pool for awhile, went to a BBQ place called Ironworks for lunch, and then off to the airport. And HOME :)
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Still very impressed with you doing the triathalon.
From:
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*Thank you* for writing all that down - I will never ever do anything like that, but I am in AWE of you and all the other triathletes
WELL DONE!