Vancouver's All American Triathlon race report

We did this event last year. Here is the link to the blog post about it. What a difference a year can make! We sponsored this event again this year. Packet pick up was at our store, so many of the participants were familiar with us and many of the participants were customers. Lots of familiar faces on the course. Its a small, local event with about 50 entrants.

I love this pond. It feels like home.

This race takes place in familiar territory. The swim is in Klineline pond, about two miles from our house. This is where we did all our open water swimming this year. The bike ride is on the hilly roads around our house, where we did much of our bike training this summer. The run is on the Salmon Creek path, where we have been running for about 8 years now. Even so, I was nervous. Not as nervous as usual, but still nervous.

The event started at 10 am, so there was lots of time to think about it!! We got down there and set up our booth, talked to some people and got ready to go. It was finally time and we walked over to the start - right by the tree where we always leave our stuff during our Tuesday night swims.

It was getting hot already and the water was really cool, it felt SO good. We got in, it was time to go and off we went. It took me a bit to get into a routine. Even though I've done this swim 100 times before, I usually do it with just Trevor, this time there were a lot of others in the water with me. That made it a little different! About half way through, I got into a good rythym.

This is not a chip timed event, so my times are all rounded to the nearest minute by what my watch was telling me!

swim time 1/2 mile: 17 min

This was about 3 minutes faster than last year. awesome. I got out of the water and there was Trevor, still in the transition. I was kind of excited about that because I thought we could do the ride together, like we always do. He got out of tranisition ahead of me and said he'd take it slow so I could catch him.

T1: 4 minutes.

I had planned to take today nice and easy and just enjoy it. As I got to the bike mount line, the volunteer said "you are the fourth woman" and all of a sudden, I thought "I could place overall in this thing". From that point on, my heart rate was higher than I like to keep it and I pushed a little harder than I had planned.

I immediately passed one woman, that meant only two more in front of me! This course is really hilly, but as I've said, we've ridden it 100 times, I know every hill, every turn, every pothole. I eventually caught up to Trevor and told him that if he really wanted to compete today, to go ahead and not wait for me. So he did. He didn't get too far ahead of me. I'd pass him on the flats, he'd pass me on the downhills. I passed another girl - that meant only one more in front of me.

This ride went really quick to me. Before I knew it, I was making the final turn into the park and getting off my bike.

Bike 14 miles: 55 min

This transition went faster than most this year, not sure why.

T2: 3 min.

Now to the run. As I got out to the run start, the volunteer said, "You are the second woman". I knew this wouldn't last. I always lose it on the run!! I am not a fast runner. I am slow and steady. I felt pretty good and was running a bit faster than normal. It was hot out. By now it was about noon and there wasn't much shade on the path. At about mile 1, the first girl passed me and at about mile 1.5, the second passed me. No podium for me in the overall category. Oh well. I was still really doing good with my time. Last year took me 2:04 and this year I wanted to do it in about 1:45.

I saw Trevor and he looked good. We high fived and kept on going.

Run 3.1 miles: 30 min.

Total time: 1:49

I finished 4th overall woman and 1st in my age group (for the second year in a row). Trevor finished 2nd in his age group and had a good event today. We haven't been in the open water since Lake Stevens on August 16th. I expect we'll sleep good tonight!

I spent today thinking about a lot of things. First, I thought about this event last year and how hard it was. I realized how far I had come in just a year. Last year, we were planning to really challenge ourselves this year with an Olympic distance. Instead, we ended up doing a 1/2 Ironman and now are signed up for a Full Ironman for next summer.

I also thought about how this is the end of the season for triathlons. No more until next year. This was the last "just for fun" event we have. Next year it will all be training for the BIG ONE. Ironman Canada.

We met a lot of really great people today. One woman did Ironman Canada a few years ago and we'll keep in touch with her. I expect we'll do some long bike rides together and pick her brain for information!

Afterwards, we worked out booth, handed out samples, magazines and water bottles. It ended up being a super hot day and I was really wiped out.

The summer is over, the season is over. It makes me sad. Its been a good one and as always, I can't wait to see what the future brings.

September 11

It is that day again, it comes once a year. On this, the 8th anniversary, it seems to be less and less visible. The 1st anniversary was a big deal, then the 5th, now it has kind of faded to grey.
The front page of the paper doesn't blare the headline, instead its buried on page A5 - a short story about how today is a day of service. I don't know how it is closer to the site, but 3000 miles away, the observances are much smaller. The flag at the bank across the street is at half mast, there is red, white and blue wreath at the bank tower where we go to Starbucks. I expect that many people pass it and don't give it a second thought. Surely, someone will look at that flag today and wonder why it isn't flying high, maybe they'll think "oh, that's right, its September 11th."

I can't help but think of the thousands of people who live every day with the memory of how their loved one died that day. The thousands who were there, close by when it happened. The ones who's daily lives have changed forever, in every way. The ones who's dreams are only nightmares now.

I remember that day and how it changed things - in the days that followed, we were all in it together. People were more friendly, more willing to help others. Blood donation centers has lines around the block, flags flew high. Now, 8 years later, we are a nation at war. At war with ourselves, each other and foreign enemies. Thousands died that day, thousands have died since that day in the name of that day. We have gone back to the way things were before. United we stand, divided we fall. What do we do now.

Why I love my husband

There are lots of reasons, big and small. I am so very fortunate that we found each other. The number one reason I love Trevor is because he makes me laugh. He makes me laugh at every day things. I don't think a day goes by that we don't laugh about something. I love nothing more than when he laughs really, really hard. Not just the "haha" chuckle, but the hard core, laugh your ass off kind of laugh. We had one of those last night. It was actually left over from the night before.

The night before, we were headed to bed and I was putting my cup in the dishwasher. You should know that I have a problem with the dishwasher. I don't stack items neatly here, I cram as many things as I can into it. I am sure that I only fit about half the amount of dishes in because it is so unorganized when I'm done. So, I was putting my cup in and there really wasn't room where I was trying to put it. That didn't seem to matter to me, I just keep pushing it down and pushing it down and it wasn't fitting. While I was doing this, I knew what I was doing made no sense and was futile, but I didn't stop. Trevor walked over and just looked at me. I said "I know", left my cup in its spot in the dishwasher and walked upstairs to bed...with the dishwasher still open and Trevor standing there. I could hear him reorganizing things, closing the dishwasher and starting it.

Then, last night, we were getting ready to go to bed. I was in the kitchen and Trevor came in, he opened the dishwasher and said, "Now let me see if I can remember how this goes", we both busted out laughing while he tried to reinact my dishwasher loading.

I love that. I love that he doesn't yell at me about it or get mad. I love that he doesn't even try to change it anymore. I love that instead of something small being a big deal, we can laugh about it. I always tell him that these are the things he'll site in the divorce "the way she loaded the dishwasher made me hate her". Until then, we'll laugh.

September 10, 2001

I grew up in New Jersey and lived there until I went to college at the age of 18. I went home every summer and moved back for a year when I was 25. I love NJ. I love the east coast and I miss many, many things about it. There were many things I took for granted when I lived there. Trevor shakes his head is disgust about these things that I never really appreciated.

For example, just about every year of my school life we took field trips to Philadelphia, Washington DC, New York, Baltimore. What 10 year old really understands and appreciates the Smithsonian museum...all of them? All that history was kind of lost on me. I have great memories of running through those places, driving by them in our bus, seeing them in the distance during road trips with the family.

My parents moved from NJ in 1995 and things were never the same. My Grandparents remained. My Pop-pop died in 1997 and around 2000, my Grammie started talking about selling the property and moving to Florida.

Grammie's house was full of family heirlooms, antiques that had been passed from generation to generation. Through my life, there was always a running tally of who got what. I'd get the goblets that Grammie collected, Dad would get the old wooden bench from the kitchen, etc. When Grammie talked of moving, she wanted everyone to come get their stuff. She was going to take just a few things with her to her new home.

We all made the trip back home, one last time, to take our memories with us to our new homes.
That was the week of Labor Day 2001. It was the most beautiful September - sunny, clear and warm. The sky was so blue.

The time came for me to return home, where Trevor was waiting, with his newly purchased Harley Davidson motorcycle. I was anxious to get back. My friend drove me to the Newark airport, bright and early that Monday morning for my 8 am flight. It was a non-stop from Newark to Portland and there were only about 30 people on the flight. I have a picture of me and my friend outside the airport, saying good-bye. Shortly after take-off, I was able to stretch out over all three seats because the plane was so empty. I fell asleep, feeling sad that I was really leaving home for the last time. Sad that things would be different now, forever.

The next morning, I woke up and headed back to work. I turned on the radio and heard the news....it was September 11th. And nothing was ever going to be the same.

Another excuse...

A friend of mine forwarded me an article last week from Time Magazine. Its titled "Why excercise won't make you thin" If you have time to read this, go read something else instead! Here's the link just in case...
here
The premise of this article is that if you exercise, you will want to eat. And when you want to eat, you will chose unhealthy foods. The author talks about how much he hates to exercise and when he does, he wants to reward himself with things like Blueberry muffins. He also talks about how Gatorade has 130 calories in a serving and if you go for a 20 minute run on a hot day, you'll guzzle that down in no time. All this leads to NOT being thin. The author also sites a study, blah blah blah.

Poor Laura - my friend who sent the article to me, with the innocent question, "what do you think of this"? I told her what I thought of it and as I type this now, my blood pressure is rising again, because I think this is a bunch of shit. I think this is another article/study that gives people an excuse to not take care of themselves. "Oh, working out will just make me hungry, so I won't do it"...."Oh, no wonder I'm not losing any weight, I workout, but then I'm hungry and so I eat".

Hello, people. Working out will make you hungry. You expend energy, your body wants to replenish it. The idea is that you replenish it with fuel, not crap. Instead of the blueberry muffin, you have a protein shake. Another note - 20 minutes of running is going to burn about 150-200 calories. You don't need to a full serving of gatorade (mostly sugar) to replenish. Your body isn't looking for simple sugars, your body is looking for protein and quality carbs to refill its stores.

I read these articles and I cringe, because people everywhere are looking to a magazine, with a great reputation, like TIME for their information. And this is what they get.

I know so many people who are looking for an easy answer to being healthy or an excuse to not have to work at it. The solution is simple, not easy, but simple. It could be easy, but instead it is hard. Its hard because of everything around us - the processed foods, the fast food, the snack packs of empty calories, the fat free, nutritionally void food that surrounds us in our vending machines, grocery stores, school cafeterias, mall food courts.

It takes work to be healthy. It takes preparation. If you go workout and don't bring something healthy to eat afterwards, its all too easy to hit the Starbucks and get a treat, a 500 calorie treat.

Another thing I don't understand is why so many people do workouts that they hate. If you hate to run - don't run, find something you like - spinning, kickboxing, walking, swimming, soccer, tennis, handball, karate...the list goes on and on. Find something that feels good. Because when it feels good, you want to do it, you do it more. When you hate it, its all too easy to find reasons to NOT do it. When you hate it, you find it necessary to reward yourself. And the cycle continues.

The thing that makes me the most crazy is that on www.time.com, this story is the 3rd most popular. It was posted on August 9th, so a month later, its still at the top of the list. It makes me crazy and it makes me sad. We live in a world that is full of overweight, unhealthy adults and children. Our health care system is being crushed because of this (and other things, but certainly this). How will this be resolved? Will this be resolved? Will we spend the rest of our lives looking for reasons why we'll never be something we say we want to be? Or will we just go out and be it.

Healthy and fit doesn't have to suck. It can actually be really fun. Stop believing what you read in articles like this. Go find your fun. Oh...and make good choices, whether you have just worked out or are at the grocery store. Be responsible for your choices, in health and in life. We are all we've got.

The end of an era

Today, the 87 year old Publisher of The Oregonian announced his retirement. This is the end to 4 decades of his family at the head of our paper. Heaven only knows what will happen now. I can only hope that Fred enjoys his retirement and lives many more years to enjoy life after The O.

Read the story here

No escaping us

If you haven't seen it yet, here is an article about me and Trevor. It was in the September Max Muscle e-newsletter. It went out to about 100,000 Max Muscle Customers all over the country. I think its pretty good. Enjoy.

click here